373. THE LAND.—The desire to encourage the home-maker has long been the motive power behind our public land policy, but unfortunately many of our earlier land laws did not prevent peculators and large corporations from fraudulently securing control of land intended for the bona fide or genuine settler. Within the last quarter of a century our land laws have been reorganized, with the double aim of doing justice to this type of settler, and of suppressing speculation and monopoly. As the result of Land Office investigations in 1913, more than 800,000 acres were returned to the public domain, on the ground that they had been secured through fraud.
The Department of Agriculture has steadily extended its scope. Better methods of cultivation, lessons in soil chemistry, and experiments with new and special crops have helped conserve the resources of the land. An elaborate system of experiment stations has been built up since 1887. The Weather Bureau in the Department of Agriculture saves millions of dollars' worth of property annually by sending out warnings of frost, storm, and flood.
Reclamation is increasingly important. New crops are being developed for the semi-arid areas of the West. Swamp lands in the East and South are being drained. Levees and breakwaters along the Mississippi are helping to prevent the loss of arable land through the river's changes in course.
Even more important is the irrigation movement. In 1894 the Carey Act gave Federal encouragement to several western states in irrigation projects, and in 1902 the Reclamation Act provided for the construction of irrigation works under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. The plan provided by the Act of 1902 is self- supporting, the expense of the construction and improvement of the irrigation system being met from the sale of public lands. The administration of the Reclamation Act has already resulted in millions of acres being brought under cultivation.
374. MINERALS.—Until 1873 coal lands were disposed of on practically the same terms as agricultural lands. But after that date laws restricting the purchase of coal lands began to be increasingly severe. In 1910 Congress withdrew from public sale nearly 100,000,000 acres of coal, petroleum, and phosphate lands. At the present time the discovery of coal on land secured by settlers for purely farming purposes entitles the government to dispose of the coal deposits under special conditions. There is also a tendency for the government to demand higher prices of individuals buying public coal lands.
In some quarters there is a demand that all coal lands be leased rather than sold. The Federal government has not yet yielded to this demand, but Colorado and Wyoming now lease rather than sell their coal lands. Under the lease system in these states, the state retains ownership, but allows private individuals a definite commission per ton of coal mined. The lease system is also advocated in the case of lands containing iron, oil, and gas deposits, on the grounds that it safeguards the interests of the public and at the same time allows the mining corporations a fair profit.
375. REASONS FOR OPTIMISM.—In spite of the appalling waste which has been characteristic of our administration of natural resources, the outlook is distinctly encouraging. Resources used by past generations are gone forever, but at last we are making rapid strides in conserving what is left. Not only this, but we are perfecting plans for an increased supply of those resources which can be replenished.
The admirable work of our Forest Service promises not only to reduce the present waste of wood products, but actually to increase the supply of timber. The Service deserves high praise both for its work in saving and replenishing forests, and for its wise handling of forest problems involving other resources. "By reasonable thrift," runs a report of the Forest Service, "we can produce a constant timber supply beyond our present need, and with it conserve the usefulness of our streams for irrigation, water supply, navigation, and power."
We now appear thoroughly awake not only to the necessity of safeguarding what is left of the public domain, but also to the necessity of increasing the productivity of inferior lands. There are still in this country more than 300,000,000 acres of unappropriated and unreserved land. Three fourths of this area is at present fit only for grazing, but the rapid development of kaffir corn, durum wheat, Persian clover, and other crops suitable for dry soils bids fair greatly to increase the productivity of this land.
The irreplaceable character of our mineral deposits, together with the tendency for large industrial interests to monopolize minerals. has greatly stimulated the conservation of these resources. A valuable step forward has been the reclassification of public lands to allow of special treatment of lands containing mineral deposits. Coal is still used lavishly, but nine tenths of our original deposits are still in existence. Furthermore, water power, electricity, and other substitutes for coal are being developed. Our high grade iron ores will be exhausted in a few decades, but an iron shortage may be prevented by more careful mining, the use of low grade ores, and the use of substitutes.