New-York tribune., 1873-12-15
IRRIGATION.


,ors ERRORS In THE PRESIDENTS ESTIMATES
GEARS OF DRAINING THE PLArTE-NoT MORE
c,xAIs BUT MORE WATER NEEDED.
,vpoN An ocC AsIoSAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRiBUNE
GREELEY, Col. Ter, Dec. 4.-The President ad-
yises in his message to Congress. that Colorado oe
admitted as State, for the reason that he believes
il has population sufficient; and recommends that
one-haf Of the arid public lands be granted Tor the
purpose of irrigating the country between the
Rocky Mountains and the Missouri River. Now let
me give you some facts on this subject. Colorado
has population of nearly 100000, some 4oOOO short
of the required number to form Congressional as
trict but inasmuch it would be a great advan-
tage for us to become State, and as in the nature
of the case we never can have large population,
we might be admitted. Society is as fixed, and all
the various industriesare well established as II
our population were 100000.
In regard to the irrigation scheme the farmers
and the industrial classes of Colorado decidedly
opposed to it, and for many One reason is,
because the whole management is in the hands of
speculating persons and every aspect of the move
ment leads to the conclusion that it is land grab
A large quantity of Government land has already
been filed upon and no provision is made in the me-
mortal 10 he presented to Congress for withdrawing
the land from market; and there is no proposition
for having one-half the land-owned by the rail-
roads-contribute cent for the construction OF the
proposed irrigating canals Either OF these reasons
justlfes the opposition of the people.
THE PLAN UTTERLY IaPRACTIcABLE.
But there are other reasons, and they are still
more weighty. In the first place. it is an utter m
possibility to water the lands between the noun
tans and the Missouri for the reason that there is
not sufficient water supply. The specific plan IN
view proposes only to take water out OF the fIatte
L.. hAan alE ri
about, and the whole plan originated in Denver
Besides there are no other rivers except the Arkan-
sas which have water enough to be taken more than
Is miles so that the whole of Northern Colorado is
to be embraced in one plan. that is canal. to be
fed by the Platte The absurdty of this is shown in
the fact that the extent of country which snow
falls supplying the Platte with water, is lnslgnil-
cant in comparison with the amount OF land to be
watered and yet they are proposing to water, say
100000 acres with the snow-water that falls on
10000 acres or IN this proportion. More than this
the amount of snowfall on an acre in the noun
tains will come far short of watering an acre on the
plains for only part finds its way to river, and
another part is lost by soakage and evaporation.
The veins of water struck in digging wells must
have their source of supply in the melted mountain
SHOWS.
The Greeley people and other people III Colorado
have spent vast sums in digging irrigatlng canals,
and they have studied the subject with great dill
gence, they were bound to do and the conclusions
they have reached are definite and without guess
work. We have obtained statistics from Italy,
where irrigation has been practiced from tune i'm
memorial and from Utah, where they have irrigated
for nearly 80 years; and our own experiments de-
monsrate the correctness of conclusions derived from
them. Now, in Italy they have irrigated less than
100000 acres from the following important rivers:
The Po Adda Adige Mincio, Oglo, Trebbia, Taro,
and Others beside several streams rising IN the
Apennines and emptying into the Gulf of Venice,
which, altogether, make water supply five tunes
greater than that the Platte. 1t is to be understood
also that the rainfall of Upper Italy is one-third
greater than that of Colorado and that there is no
other country in the world so arid Colorado ex-
cept Persia. Utah has about eight inches more rain
fall and there with water supply far greater than
the Platte they have only 100000 acres under water
NOT WATER ENOUGH FOR THE PRESIDENTS CANAL.
To irrigate a region, recommended by the Presi-
dent between the Rocky Mountains and only TO the
lO0th meIdan-for ii is folly to to the Missouri
and only 10 miles wide, would require canal 1000
feet wide and 10 feet deep, flowing with current
of three miles an hour. This would reach about
100000 acres and yet there is not water enough in
the Platte TO water than 10000 acres. certainly
not more than 100000 acres. The Platte does not
carry water enough in its highest stage, which is
for three months in the year, to fill such canal.
During eight months of the year it does not carry
SO much by onethirtieth; and il is nOt0rously true
that there have been years when, during the Au-
tumn months this river becomes absolutely inslg.
niticant. larger average supply can be obtained
by reservoirs but in can an extent of cOun-
try be waered equal to the of the country fur
nishng the supply as above shown. 1t Is SUBJ
mItted here, whether the plan does not carry with
ii the proof of its own absurdity Only few years
ago the Italian Government constructed large and
expensive canal, intended TO water a vast number
of acres and ' ct, with all their experience; 1t
sound that the estimates of the engineers based
upon theories, faulty that only fraction OF
the amount could be watered.
The plan recommended by the President pre-
supposes that one-half the Government land or
that Within the railroad limits which is one-tOurth
the land. will pay for constructing the canals Of
all the visionary ideas connected with this scheme
this bears the palm. That is to saw il is expected
that land can be watered for 62s cents
fourth of So So the price of railroad land-when
irrigating land know that SS an acre is low estl-
mate; while il the ground presents obstacles, the
cost is as high as Sl5 an acre. This wild estimate
was one of the chief reasons which induced the
farmers in convention last month, after long dis
cussion. in which both sides were patiently heard,
10 vote almost unanimously against the scheme: and
il is certain that remonstrances Will be sent by them
To Congress for il must be evident that If the
measure becomes law the Territory will be loaded
with an enormous debt not less than S3,0000O0, for
constructing such a canal as Is proposed And then,
after all there would be no water TO I'LL IT, The
truth is the projectors entirely without plan;
for at first they proposed that the canal should be IL
feet wide, but when il was declared that water
never would run to the end, and that If it did it
could water than 1000 acres, they proposed
that il be 100 feet wide Aud this is what is TO
come before Congress!
DANGER OF DRAINING THE PLATTE.
One would think all these reasons amply sufficient
TO stamp the mark of condemnation on this vast and
wild scheme. But there is another reason still, and
Il is more powerful than all the rest combined 1t
will be granted Of course, that definite amount of
land might be watered proposed from the Platte,