828 



THE RECLAMATION OF THE WEST. 



leaders of l)oth parties. As time has _o-one on the people of the coun- 

 try have beo'un to appreciate more and more the importance of the 

 law not only to the West but to the country as a whole. It is now 

 appreciated that if that law is well administered it will mean much to 

 the future dcvelo])ment of our country, and a complete change in some 

 physical and economic features. 



As geouraphers we are interested in the development of the country 

 and in the changes that take place, and as citizens of the United States 

 we are concerned in seeing that every resource is put to its best use, 

 and that the country is developed to the fullest possil)le extent. The 

 ol)ject of the reclamation law is primarily to put the public domain 

 into the hands of small land owners— men who live upon the land, 

 support themselves, make prosperous homes, and become purchasers 

 of the o'oods manufactured in the East and the cotton raised in the 



Fig. 2.— Map i^howiiig mean annual rainfall in the United States. 



'South. At the same time this is to l)e done in such a May (hat it will 

 not become a l)urden to the taxpayers. 



The money for the reclamation fund is from the disposal of public 

 lands in the West. This money is returned again to the fund l)y 

 repayment by the persons who are directly benetited. This matter of 

 refunding is one of the most essential features of the law. Many con- 

 sidered this provision as trivial. 1)ut the more the effect of the law is 

 studied the more thoroughlv is it demonstrated that this repayment is 

 one of the Ijest safeguards of the law, keeping the administration 

 clean and business like. The requirement that each project must be 

 worth what it costs is a safeguard both in public and in private 

 luidertakinps. 



