US Presidency
1926

RECLAMATION It is increasingly evident that the Federal Government must in the future take a leading part in the impounding of water for conservation with incidental power for the development of the irrigable lands of the and region. The unused waters of the West are found mainly in large rivers. Works to store and distribute these have such magnitude and cost that they are not attractive to private enterprise. Water is the irreplaceable natural resource. Its precipitation can not be increased. Its storage on the higher reaches of streams, to meet growing needs, to be used repeatedly as it flows toward the seas, is a practical and prudent business policy. The United States promises to follow the course of older irrigation countries, where recent important irrigation developments have been carried out as national undertakings. It is gratifying, therefore, that conditions on Federal reclamation projects have become satisfactory. The gross value of crop,, grown with water from project works increased from $ 110,000,000 in 1924 to $ 131,000,000 in 1925.