Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-09-18
IRRIGATION.
WHAT THE SENATE COMMITTEE
Has ACCOMPLISHED.
Mountain Storage the Final Solution of
the Problem.

I'll L ASO, Lex, ctpt. v.-IHc CHitSu
States senate committee on irrigation
and reclamation of arid lands now here,
after journey Of forty days has, it is
believed by experts, accomplished more
in the way of economic investigation
than any similar body ever appointed by
either branch Of congress, unless indeed
the famous committee of several years
since on transportation routes to the sea-
| board, presided over by Mr.. Window,
then senator from Minnesota, be the
| exception, The full irrigation commit
| tee consists of the following senators:
Stewart, of Nevada, chairman; Plumb,
of Kansas; Allison, of Iowa; Hiscock, of
! New York; Regain, of Texas; German, of
Maryland, and j. K. Jones, of Arkansas
the last three being.tbe Democratic
members. The date and place Of meet
ing for field inquiry were set for st.
for st. Paul on August l. On that day,
however, the only senators present were
Messrs. Stewart and RegaE, the latter of
whom had already served sixty days on
an exhaustive inquiry into lnter-Cana-
dian railroad affairs under the chairman
ship, of Senator Cullom, of Illinois. Mr..
Allison was engaged, it was suggested,
in mending his Iowa fences. Mr.. His
cock had SICK wife. Mr.. German only
said he could not come. Mr.. Jones was
on his way back from Alaska, and Mr..
Plumb would join in Montana. The two
senators, however, faced the music and
commenced their laborious, yet most
interesting investigation. They had, as
the committees guest and adviser, Major
John w. Powell, director of the United
States geological survey, gentleman
who may be almost regarded as the
legitimate successor of Prof. Henry
in all matters wherein science, econo-
mics and the government are called and
related. In the forty days that have
passed 1t may not be without interest to
state the physical as well as the mental
labor endured and undertaken by this
committee and its staff.
THE COMMITTEE's LABoRS GREAT.
The first session was held at ST. Paul
and the thirteen witnesses examined
were from South Dakota. Since that
date, August l, the irrigation committee
has travelled nearly 5000 miles, about 25O
of which has been done in carriages, etc,
visiting different irrigation districts con-
tiguous TO lines of railroad over which
the chief travel has been made. Sessions
have been held in South and North
Dakota, Montana, North and South
Idaho, eastern Washington and Oregon,
Utah, Nevada, California in ten places
in that state), Arizona and New Mexico
thirty-six in all; and scarcely day has
passed that testimony has not been taken
on the train, and it has sometimes been,
as at Yuma, that the session was held at
6 in the morning or at III and even later
at night, as has elsewhere occurred. The
number of witnesses examined SO lar
exceeds 400. 1t includes governors,
legislators, engineers, farmers aud OWN
ers, ranchmen and scores Of men in all
the practical ways Of life connected
with this great problem OF land
reclamation. 1t is probable that the teS-
timony when printed will fill many hun
dred pages. Gathered as it is from SO
many well informed sources it is of ne
ceSsiUy bound TO be of value Ia present
ing the remarkably varied resources of a
region largely esteemed by perhaps a
majority Of our fellow citizens east of
the Mississippi as, comparatively speak
ing, worthless, 1t is difficult to sum up
readable vet concise way that is de-
manded by newspaper requirements, but
| shall at least make the attempt.
THE PRESENT SITUATION OUTLINED.
In order to fully apprehend what is so
far realized it is necessary to suggest
what is the present situation. The re-
gion under review stretches from the
9Sth to the 126th meridian west of Green
wlch, or as may be fairly said to the Pa
cific ocean. This is in the center. To
the northwest the western line ceases at
the 124th meridian north and south.
Speaking nationally, the lines run from
the British-American border to the Gulf
of Mexico. Within this limit over two
fifths of the United States are embraced,
1t contains at least one-half of our
original public domain, and now its linn
its hold nearly three-fourths of what is
left of our unoccupied lands. This is ex
elusive of Alaska. In area it would
make nearly forty states each as large as
Indiana. About one hundred and thirty
miles of it on the east, from north to
south aud east to west, has rainfall If
properly distributed barely sufficient to
produce crops of grain, grass and roots
This is known as the subhumid region and
contains ulOSl Vi Tue bdkOldS,O III
of Nebraska, Kansas, the Indian territory
and Texas. In this area the rainfall of
the past eight years is shown to have
ranged from twentyeight down to
eighteen inches per anDum. The aver
age has not exceeded twenty-five inches,
which leaves at least deficiency of six
inches Even this rainfall is not dis
tributed in the months when most
needed-that is in July and Augustine
real deficiency is much greater and
amounts, according to the testimony be-
fore the committee, to from ten to
twelve inches per annum. The conse- |
quence of this fact is that there is no
real security for the farmer in the sub /
hubid region west of the Tooth or Powell
meridian. 1t is settled fact that in |
reality crops cannot be raised success |
fully without irrigation, systematically /
applied The rainfall ranges from |
eighteen down to two and half inches
the latter being the rate at Yuma,
Ariz., and on the Mohave desert in
California. This is the arid area proper. |
EXTENT OF THE ARID REGION.
Within this region rises and flows the |
upper Missouri and the great tributaries |
that unite TO make it and the Father of /
Waters" the Columbia with its allies. !
and the Snake, all in the northwest. In /
the center and southwest are the Colo |
RADIO with its upper allies. the Wind and |
Green rivers: the Rio Grande, upper |
Arkansas, the Platte. north and south, |
and the Niobrara. This is practically all |
except that on the Pacific coast, there |