Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-06
ARID LANDS.
One Billion Acres Susceptible
to Irrigation.
THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
Only Six Million Acres Redeemed a
Present-Msjor Powell's Scheme
for Irrigating.

Present-Msj0f P0well's scneme
for Irrigating.
Associated Press Dispatches TO the HERAlD.l
New YORK, December 5.-Major Pow
ell. Chief of the Federal Commission to
report upon the best method ofirrigsting
the arid lands of the country, read a
paper upon the subject before the Cham
Der of Commerce this afternoon. He
began with the statement that about one
half of the lands of the United States,
exclusive of Alaska, are arid. These
lands, he said, SO far as they can be
brought under cultivation by irrigation,
are the best lands in the country, be-
cause crops are certain, not being sub
ject to the chances Of extreme wet and
extreme dry seasons, as in case OF lands
dependent upon rain. OF one thousand
million acres of arid lands in the
United States. about 10000 are now
under cultivation by irrigation, and
about 120, 900 600 altogether can be rem
dered arabic by that method.
Major Powell estimates that the con-
struction of reservoirs, canals and other
works necessary, will cost at the rate OF
$40 per acre. Assuming that 100 ,O00,-
900 acres are to be redeemed in this way, ,
it will aggregate 81 900. 600 600.
For the proper carrying out of the
work, a change in the land laws is nee
essary. Where irrigation is unnecessary,
land is cultivated by private initiative,
each farmer being able to raise his crop
in entire independence of his neighbors.
In arid countries, cooperation for the
distribution of water from it's source is
essential. In humid countries the tend
ency is toward small holdings, while in
arid countries it is toward large holdings.
Many large and small streams run
through the arid belts, but the amount of
water obtainable is not large enough to
irrigate all of the arid lands which they
traverse, and the question arises what
portions of them are entitled to use
the water. Major Powell holds that the
water should DO used at the points where it
will do the most good. This point, he says,
is where q stream turns from rushing
crystal mountain torrent, to q low land
stream which mingles with the soil of
the land through which it flows. If
taken above that point, it would be
where the chilly atmosphere of the high
altitude would make it less useful in the
production of crops. II taken below that
point, the waters would be too much
evaporated and wasted on the way.
Thus taking the Arkansas river as an ex-
ample, water enough to irrigate million
acres in Colorado, would be reduced to
only enough to irrigate one or two hun.
dred thousand acres across the line in
Kansas. The same rule, Major Powell
says, applies to the waters of the upper
Missouri, Colorado, Rio Grande del
Norte and Columbia rivers. He esti.
mates the aggregate value of the waters
of these rivers st So, 600, 100000
The forests at the headwaters of these
rivers serve as catch basins and must be
preserved. Provision also must be made
for controlling and protecting the large
bodies of pasture lands not suitable for
cultivation. In addition to these are
great tracts of mineral lands, which
should be held by the Government until
minerals be discovered, when they
should be parceled out in quantities
only large enough for economic work
ing.
When storage reservoirs and irrigation
canals are com pleted, vast water powers
will be created, suitable for manufactur-
ing purposes. These will exist at points
on the canals higher up than those a.
which the waters are to be taken for irri-
CATION.
The Government. Major Powell says,
should not be allowed to furnish anymoney
for the completion of this great system
of works. For the preservation of the
forests and the parceling out Of the
water, great many thousands Of men
will be necessary, and to put the matter
in the hands of the Government, would
be to build up bureaucracy and an
army of officislism. The only thing the
Government should do, is to furnish wise
laws to control the operations of the
work in hand. The people would netur-
ally combine by photographic basins,
that is in the territory covered by
a single stream and its tributaries within
q single water shed. Courts should be
established to adjudicate upon all ques.
tions arising from this condition of
affairs, though the Government itself
should apportion the water among the
different States in such districts.
Major Powell suggests that the money
for carrying out these great schemes
might be raised by the issuance of COM
.munity bonds, or some similar method.