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Show THE ARID WEST. Congress Inclined to do Something Some-thing to Reclaim it. What it means to the Country. Congiess seems pretty thoroughly convcited to tho Idea of doing something some-thing towaids reclaiming tho lands of of the ai Id West and It is very piob-able piob-able that additional appioprlatlou w 111 be made for this purpose. It Is Interesting to note in this connection con-nection how much It will mean to the country at largo to have the arid lands of the West leclalmcd. According to the census of 1900 the total Improved farm a lea of the United States was 411,800,000 acics. It Is conservatively estimated that the reclalmablc area Is not less than 50,000,000 acres. Its reclamation, re-clamation, thcrcfoic, will add nearly one-eight to the actual crop-producing men of the countiy, and will exceed ex-ceed by a liberal margin tho tillable land of all the States, excepting New Yoik, on the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida. Allowing forty acres, the average sl?e of Irrigated farms, this area will make 1,250,000 farms, or a little less than one-fourth the number In the United States In 1000. The occupants of these farms I w 111 add dhcctly to the population 0,-250,000, 0,-250,000, and Indirectly In the aecom-I aecom-I panjing mercantile, professional, manufacturing man-ufacturing and industrial classes at least 3,125,000 more, a total increase in tho population of the Uulted States of 0,375,000, or nearly 124 per cent. The total value of all the farms In 1000, Including all hnpiovements except ex-cept buildings, was $13,115,000,000. At $42.50 per acre, the avciagc valueof lulgatcd land, the 50,000,000 acres to be reclaimed will add to the value of farmland $125,000,000. If buildings ate Included, the value will bo increased increas-ed $775,000,000, wliile the augmented wealth through railroads, cities, mills and factories is beyond estimation. The annual value of all tho farm products pro-ducts in 1000 was $4,379,000,000. The average v alue per acre of products of irrigated lands was 314.81. At this rate the area to be reclaimed will add products worth $740,500,000, addition of neatly one-sixth of the life-sustaining powers of tho country. Tho. number of Irrigating ditches and canals In operation In tho "United State-, exceeds 20,000, and their combined com-bined length is not less than 50,000 miles. If joined end to end they would reach tvvieo around the world. Formed Into one they would constitute constit-ute a navigable canal, such as the Erie, thirty feet wido and five feet deep, extending from San Francisco to New Yoik, a distance of over 30,000 miles. Tho figures of the last census show that the works required to irrigate 7,-203,273 7,-203,273 acres cost $04,280,001, an average aver-age of $8.85 per acre. At this rate the cxpendltuto tcqulred to reclaim the area proposed would be at least $450,-000,000. $450,-000,000. After the Government has performed Its part there will be no delay de-lay by the farmers In carrying on the work. While the Initial expense Is enotmous, it is not comparable with the value of the ctops which will be grow n on the lands reclaimed. The total cost of all the Irrigation w orks in use In tho countiy is only three-fourths the value of tho crops ptoduced each j ear on litigated lands. |