OCR Text |
Show ELWDQQ MEAD TELLS OF AUSTRALIA! FARM LAIS Salt Lake, April 15 Elwood Mead, irrigation expert ot the Australian government and one of the world's best authorities on reclamation matters, mat-ters, spoke to a large audionce in the main dining room of the Commercial club yesterday noon. Professor Mead was formerly of Wyoming, and was Intimately associated with- Senator Warren and Senator Carey in the development de-velopment of the arid lands of that state. Professor Mead gave some very interesting in-teresting information regarding the irrigation ir-rigation practices of Australia, one of the most advanced countries of the world In this respect Concerning the irrigation practices there he said In part: "I have been for several years in Australia working out an agricultural and sociological problem. Australia-has Australia-has always had land and water, but there wore no settlers. The great problem was how to get settlers'to come from distant lands. A study was made of colonization methods. This has never been done in the United Uni-ted States. They studied how to make the settler Independent in tho shortest time. It was known that his capital would be limited. Of course money was no bar to a settler, but the plans were made especially for those with little money. Each settler Is allowed at least ten and not more than eighty acres of land. The government gov-ernment builds fourteen different kinds of houses to suit the tastes of the settlers. The state then develops one-fourth of the land the settler acquires, ac-quires, ho paying one-fifth of the cost in cash, the balance in long-time loans. Experts are provided for ail farmers thus the fruitgrower does not get located on a dairy farm, and so on. To the man with industry these aids are sufficient. "The indolent are looked after by placing In each community a tactful, careful farmor, who prepares reports to the state on what every farmer In his district is doing. The state will loan to farmers 60 per cent of the valuo of all improvements made by the farmer, and he knows that unless his work is dono well a loan will not be forthcoming. The reports prepared by the supervisor are open to inspection inspec-tion of all. As a result of this system sys-tem nine out of every ten farmers In Australia are on their feet financially. As a result of this success the government govern-ment is now preparing to go ahead on a greater scale than has yet been attempted. at-tempted. Money for Irrigation work in Australia Aus-tralia comes from savings banks, and it seems to me that In this country, instead of the government lending money to banks, a better plan would be to use It for irrigation work. The United States should study the meth- ods of Australia, as present methods tK-H arc driving settlers from this country i to Canada and Australia.." fl |