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Show SMOOT'S RURAL HOME I BILL IS BOON TO WEST I i Reclamation Service Experts Regard it as a Great Constructive Con-structive Measure. By WILLIAM E. 8MYTHE, Reclamation Engineer, U. S. Depart ment of Interior. Washington. D. O., July 8. In plt of all wo hear about tho desertion of country llfo In favor of city employment employ-ment and attractions, or rather bc-cfuiso bc-cfuiso of it, moro thought Is being given today than ever beforo In our hlHtory to tho problem of rurul life. When n stnto llko Massachusetts' wnkes up to tho startling truth that 02.0 per cent of Its entire population now lives In cities; and New England manufacturers discover thnt they aro hopelessly handicapped, In competition competi-tion with manufacturers moro favorably fav-orably situated with reaped to the center of tho nation's population and the Hourco of food-supply, It Is not strange that those lending citizens begin be-gin Herlously to consider how rnral life can be restored and thn stnto modo measurably self-sustaining. There Is cnpltal enough In Massachusetts Massa-chusetts and In all of our states to flnnnco nny necessary development. What Is lacking Is confidence on the part of capital; and confidence on the part of thoso who would gladly make homes upon the land. This confidence con-fidence can rest only on knowledge, experience, and sound planning by those who know. . What could be more nnturaL, Umn thnt the nation should turn for leadership lead-ership In a matter of this kind to Utah, whoso claim of pre-eminence In "colonization and the establishment of successful homes on the land is beyond dlsputo? From the hour when Drlghnm Young led tho first party of settlers into Halt Lake valley 73 years ngo on tiro 2-ith of July next, the people have enjoyed a quality of leadership not clscwhero available. The humblest humb-lest settler has worked In the light of the best Intelligence tho community commun-ity could command; men have worked under direction, avoiding mistakes that havo often brought bitter disappointment disap-pointment elsewhere. No ono familiar fam-iliar with Utah history and Interested Interest-ed In reclamation and settlement can help wishing that the same quality of leadership could be available' for homeseakers In every part of j the United States. :.,; Open Door of Opportunity. The Smoot Rural Ilomo bill, which passed tho senate In April, failed In the housu only by a fluko at the last moment, and seems surely destined to become a law In December, meets this great national need. It enables Uncle Sam to show tho way to every ambitious settler, but does not ask him to curry anybody on his back. It opens the door of opportunity, but nsks each man to work out his own destiny. It puts at tho disposal of every Btato and locality tho Invaluable Invalu-able nervlccs of tho government's reclamation re-clamation engineers, not only for Investigation, In-vestigation, but for the actual construction con-struction of works and subdivisions and settlement of land. All of this Is accomplished without calling for a single dollar of federal funds, and consequently without Incurring tho delay de-lay of years In an effort to obtain national appropriations. Updur tho Smoot hill, projects will be Initiated by private fond owners, and often these will be organized In. to districts under state laws. The sphere of the reclamation service ser-vice will bo nationalized, and will Include In-clude the draining of tavamp lands, clearing of cut ovor lands, and the rcfertlllzatlon of abandoned farming districts, according to varying local needs. Tho landowners, or districts, inak- U. 8. Senator Reed Smoot, chair- man of the Senate Public Lands Committee and father of the Smoot I Rural Homes Measure. I Iff . 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The landowners land-owners enter Into a contract with the secretary of thu Interior, who fixes the selling price of the land upon a basis that will bo reasonably attractive to cupltal and nt the snme time protect tho Interests of the settler us to price, as well as In respect to other essential conditions. Ily this means, a national system of dvelopment and colonization coloniza-tion quite similar to methods in vogue In Utuh during tho past seven years, will be brought Into being. Plan Is Attractive. Senator Smoot has repeatedly as. Hiired his colleagues that the strongest strong-est financial Interests In the United States would lnvost in reclamation securities se-curities under these favorable condi tions. It Is equally certain that settlers set-tlers will gladly "follow tho flag.1! Director Arthur P. Davis states that the Ail-American canal In Imperial valluy, cstliaatod to cost $:i2,000,0(K), can nnd will be built under the provisions pro-visions of this law. Congressman Nlcholns J. Slnott told the house that contracts In the amount of $15,000,000 would ho promptly entered en-tered Into by the landowners of eastern east-ern Oregon. Applications and Inquiries nro com. Ing Into the department of the Interior In-terior fr.mi all sections, notably Now England and thu south. It is expected that Utah and Idaho will be among the foremost beneficiaries of the law. The popularity of the measure grew constantly during thu debate In congress. con-gress. The bill was hailed as a stroke of genius In the first Instance, because It "tempered the wind to the shorn lamb"- the national treasury. The more it was studied tho greater Its Importance beeumc not only urt a practical measuro for reclamation and settlement, but also as embodying new principles of conservative statesmanship states-manship which might In time be np-pllod np-pllod to many phases of the nation's economic life. Senator Smoot, who championed the bill with grent energy and enthusiasm, expects to see It ready fur tho president's presi-dent's blgmiture beforo the close of this present year. |