That the Carey Act will, within the next decade, have proven the most beneficent of all legislative measures for the reclamation and peopling of America's arid lands, is generally conceded by all qualified to judge. The provisions of the Act are so well adapted to these ends that, granted a continuance of honest and efficient control by the States, it can hardly result otherwise. Great as the results already achieved, they will be vastly outstripped by those of the near future, and the ultimate measure of growth will be limited only by the availability of land and water resources. As far as the land may be concerned, Congress has wisely conserved the interests of the future by permitting segregations in advance of the necessary surveys, and by delegating to the President the power to withdraw from entry "irrigable lands." The weak point in the administration of the Act and the greatest stumbling block in the path of the homeseeker has been the lack of a compilation of authentic information and data regarding the—often varying details of administration upon the part of the States. This is easily explained. The individual States are interested in attracting settlers within their borders and the "construction companies" are as a matter of course-vitally interested in selling their own "water rights." Otherwise there would be no incentive to reclamation enterprises. The Federal Government, so far as the settler is concerned, has no direct interest in promulgating such data, this being left to the States; and, hence, it follows, logically, that, notwithstanding the tons of literature distributed by the various "Carey Act Companies," in extolment of their various enterprises, there has been a lamentable lack of the kind of data that this work seeks to supply. The situation is such that it has been left to private enterprise to fill the gap, and the labor of collecting and editing, from a hundred sources, the information needed, is of such proportions as to have deterred any prior effort in this direction. M757633 It is not alone to the steadily-increasing number of eastern homeseekers, to whom the word "irrigation" is a more or less meaningless phrase, that this work is addressed. It is believed that the experienced "irrigator" of the West is fully as much in need of advice as to the niceties of legal interpretation and of State Regulation—not to speak of extraneous matters of equally vital importance to the settler, such as: Taxation, Right of Suffrage, etc., which are herein discussed. It has not been attempted to present a legal or scientific discussion, in the technical sense. The object in mind has been to present the required data in such form as to be easily comprehensible by all. On the other hand, the discussion has not been permitted to deteriorate into anything savoring of "kindergarten" methods. It is believed that this compilation will prove of interest to all concerned, whether state official, engineer, lawyer, "Carey Act" manager or bond purchaser, or entryman, and in this belief it is respectfully tendered. January 1, 1911. THE AUTHOR. STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA Office of State Engineer Pierre Mr. E. F. Bohm, Dear Sir: I desire to congratulate you upon the success of your work dealing with the "Carey Act," which has been of much interest to me. I feel that same has given a full and comprehensive idea of this law and its benefits to all those who are interested in irrigation and the building up of those portions of the country where the Carey Act is in effect. This subject is one which, I believe, has never been handled in such a manner as you have done in this series of articles, and I wish to add my word of appreciation of same to those of others to which you are duly entitled. Yours very truly, Mr. E. F. Bohm, THE STATE OF WYOMING Office of Commissioner of Public Lands I have carefully read your articles in regard to the ccndition of the Carey Act in the several Western states and feel that you have covered the ground in a manner which will make the articles valuable to all prospective settlers and investors in Carey Act securities. Yours truly, R. P. FULLER, Commissioner. Mr. E. F. Bohm, STATE BOARD LAND COMMISSIONERS Replying to your letter of the 13th inst., and referring to your "Carey Act" articles, will say that the information there given regarding the grant of arid land to certain States and Territories under said act is presented in a way to be of interest and value to persons desiring information on that subject. The many inquiries received by this office on the subject appear to me to be indicative of a desire of the people to own irrigable land. Very truly yours, Secretary. We have read your treatise upon the Carey Act with a great deal of interest. We have given the Carey Act a great deal of attention during the last four years, both from a legal standpoint and from the standpoint of sales agents for that class of land. We have found that there has been little or no printed information regarding the various rules and regulations which have been adopted by the land boards of the different states. Your treatise has covered this subject most admirably, and we have no hesitation whatever in saying that these articles will confer a great benefit upon the legal profession, as well as to the layman who is interested in Carey Act Lands. We would recommend it most highly to anyone seeking information relative to this subject. Yours very truly, PAUL S. HADDOCK, Attorney. |