On reading Mr. Blanchard’s account of the work of reclaiming the desert
for the people, the natural question that arises in the reader’s mind
is, “How does one get a government farm and what are the expenses
involved?” Anticipating this question, I obtained information from Mr.
Blanchard in reply to it. Getting a farm is comparatively a simple
proposition. Making good on it is quite another matter. In the first
instance, the Government has made the way easy and inexpensive. Any
citizen of the United States who has not used his homestead right is
qualified to make a filing on any surveyed public lands not withdrawn
from entry.
* * * * *
The procedure is about as follows. After a personal inspection
of the vacant land desired for a home, the homeseeker
makes application to the proper local Land Office or Land
Commissioner and deposits filing fees of $8 for an 80-acre
or $16 for a 160-acre tract. If the entry is made on an
irrigation project, usually he must pay, in addition to the
above, five per cent of the building charge, and, when due, the
annual charge for operation and maintenance. On the projects
containing lands now open to entry, the building charge ranges
from $30 to $75 per acre, and is payable in twenty years
without interest. The charge for operation and maintenance
averages about $1.50 per acre, and is payable annually. This
charge will vary on the different projects and according to
the amount of water used. Summing up the initial cost of
obtaining a Government irrigated farm of 40 acres, the settler
will find it necessary to expend $6.50 for filing fees; if the
construction charge is $50 per acre, he will pay $100 for the
first instalment and, when due, about $60 for the operation and
maintenance assessment--a total of approximately $166.50.
In the second, third, fourth and fifth years following, the
only payments required are the annual charges for operation
and maintenance, about $60. Thus in five years the settler is
obliged to pay to the Government approximately $406.50.
The balance of the unpaid construction charges are payable in
fifteen annual instalments, beginning on December 1 of the
fifth year, the first five of which are each 5 per cent and the
remaining ten 7 per cent of the construction charge, without
interest for the deferred payments.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to require the
reclamation for agricultural purposes and the cultivation of
one-fourth of the irrigable area within three full irrigation
seasons, and of one-half of the irrigable area within five full
seasons. Actual residence, covering a period of three years, is
obligatory.
On the basis of a construction charge of $50 per acre, and an
annual operation and maintenance charge of $1.50 per acre,
the entire investment of the settler at the end of the twenty
years’ term will be as follows:
Filing fees $6.50
Construction charges 2,000.00
Operation assessments 1,700.00
--------
Total $3,706.50
For a farm on public lands outside of an irrigation project the
only payment required is the filing fee at the time of entry.
* * * * *
How much capital should a man have to take up an irrigated farm? It
is extremely difficult to answer this question. Experience has shown
that success depends about 75 per cent on the individual. The chief
requisites for success may be stated as _energy_, _business ability_,
_judgment_, _capital_ and _experience_. Experience has been placed
last for the reason that it has been shown repeatedly that experience
in farming in humid regions is not a particularly valuable asset in
irrigated farming.
It may, therefore, be said that the average man who takes up a
Government irrigated farm of 40 acres should possess a capital of at
least $2,500, and not less than $4,000 if he undertakes to subdue an
80-acre tract.
* * * * *
As we ride on the overland trains across the great desert stretches of
the far West, our eyes are fed full of color. In the midst of the riot
of rich tints, we turn eagerly to occasional green spots that relieve
the blazing beauty of the landscape, and our glances linger there with
a sense of rest. These green spots are desert farms--fresh oases where,
under the spell of water, the soil is wakening from its centuries of
slumber and yielding up its stored wealth. These desert farms make a
strong, human appeal to the passing traveler. They tell an assuring
story of man’s return to the soil and of rich returns from the soil--a
story of well-being and content attained, in substantial, comfortable
homes. In some such modest way as pictured on the preceding page the
settler begins his conquest of the desert. The measure of his success
and prosperity lies in his hands. The wealth is there ready to be
harvested.
[Illustration: W. D. Moffat