OCR Text |
Show ARID LAND VALUATIONS. The Department of Commerce and Labor has recently sent out a census bulletin upou the valuation of public lands iu the arid regions of the United States. When the Irrigation Cougrcss was formed, twenty years ago, the idea of redeeming the arid lauds of all this region as a widespread and general proposition was commonly supposed' to be absolutely out of the question, aud those lauds were held for the most part to be valueless. But the cougrcss kept steadily at work; the National reclamation recla-mation law was passed; work has been prosecuted under it to brilliant success; suc-cess; aud that congress has secured the adoption of a National movement which now incorporates a National policy. This census .bulletin gives the value of farms iu the arid and semi-arid regions re-gions in the United States at the mag-nificcnt mag-nificcnt total of $IU,ISS,000,000; being be-ing au increase of about .'!0U per cent 011 the value of the farms iu the same region in 1P00. In that year the figures fig-ures were $!l,2 19,000.000. These totals arc taken from the reports of the Federal Fed-eral census of lust year and of ten years before. The area of the arid aud semi-arid regions of the L'uitcd States is approximately approx-imately half thnt of the whole country, coun-try, comprising a billion acre. There is, therefore, a great deal yet to do iu order to make the conquest complete. Hut, what with the utilization of all the water flowing iu the arid rpgious and the better development of dry funning, undoubtedly tbc greater pnrt of this immense area will be made available for tillagp as the years go by. And in the meantime those who projoetcd the Irrigation Cougrcss and were instrumental in its organization, and especially those who have labored iu thnt Congress constantly lu season and out of season, are to be most heartily heart-ily congratulated upon the brilliant suc-o6:s suc-o6:s which has atteudud their efforts. Kcdi.mntion lias done wonders for the valuation of lauds in all the arid regions, re-gions, aud if will et do more mm ler-i tu the nnc direction |