People pay for the use of land for the same reason that they pay for other things; namely, because of the utility and scarcity of the thing for which payment is made. If land were not useful, of course, no one would pay a rent for it, and even though it were useful if it were not scarce, that is, if any one could have as much as he wanted of it, it would not command a rent. There are still many places in our western states where land is so plentiful, or, to state it in another way, where the workers of land are so scarce that the owners of the land cannot get any appreciable rent for it. Often this practically no-rent land is very fertile and if it were located in some of our populous states, it would yield its owner a large yearly rental. As our western states increase in population this land will undoubtedly command a considerable rent.