The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1890-05-16
PUBLIC IRRIGATION.

| Report of the Senate Irrigation Com
mittee on the Subject of Reclamation ot
the Arid Lands of the West-Millions of
Acres Might be Brought Under CuItiva.
tion-Charses Against the Director oi
the Geological Survey-Minority Views.
WASHINGTON, May THE irrigation
committee of the Senate will make a
! report to-day to the Senate on the sub
ject of irrigation of the arid lands OF
the West, which it has had under con-
sideration for several months. The re-
port prepared by the committee (for the
committee is divided in its report on
party lines) says that more than two
fifths of the area of the United States,
excluding Alaska, requires irrigation
toinsure regular crops. In at least four
fifths of the arid region irrigation is
necessary. This region comprises l.
100000 to 10000 square miles. With
dams and reservoirs, at suitable places,
a large extent of this land could be
made productive and the floods of tho
Lower Mississippi could be alleviated.
The process of irrigation could be aided
by boring artesian wells. All the coun-
try west of the eastern base of tho
Rocky mountains requires irrigation,
except the part of Washington, Oregon
and Northern California west of tho
Cascade mountains, and small areas in
Eastern Oregon, Washington and North
ern Idaho.
The report charges the director of the
Geological Survey with diverting $780,
900 of the money appropriated for irri-
cation surveys to typographical sur
vey, which the majority regard as a
plain violation of the statue and mis-
appropriation of the money.
The committee, in the bill heretofore
reported to the Senate, have recon-
mended the transfer of the subject to
the jurisdiction of the Department OF
Agriculture, and the establishment of
an irrigation bureau in that depart
ment.
The committee submit in conclusion
an estimate of areas under cultivation.
From this it seems that the area under
ditch is 13, sol, 900 acres, of which 4, ,000,-
600 is in California and 5000, 900 in Col
orado. The amount cultivated by irri.
cation is 1868, 900, of which 3, 800, 900 is
in California and 1,6OO 600 in Colorado.
Projects under way last year and par
TALLY completed will bring the acreage
under ditch up to Is, 900, 900 acres The
total value of the reclaimed land is
nearly 500, 900. 600. Allowing for the
reclaimability of 100, 600, 900 acres out Of
the 1000, 600, 900 of arid land, and we
have as a result a total real-estate
value of 81, 500, 900, 900. Seven-tenths of
this whole area is now the property Of
the United States.
Mr.. Reagan, on behalf of the minor
ity, submitted a report in which he
says the minority find themselves una
BILE to agree with the majority in many
of it's statements of fact and with some
of its reasons, and they wholly disagree
with most of its important conclusions,
and recommend Congressional action
diane trically opposite to that recon-
mended by she majority. The minority
says that the arid lands embrace an
area of /, $40, 600 square miles, of which
100, 900, 900 acres can be redeemed for
agriculture by using the total supply of
the perennial streams. The minority
recommend the adoption of system of
measuring the waters used for
irrigation to prevent waste. They
the forests which are being rapidly
burned, also the pasture lands. The
irrigable lands should be segregated
and declared such, and the right to use
water on them established, and prohi-
bition put to the use of water on other
lands. Irrigation districts should be
established, composed of bodies of lands
and the farmers on these lands should
control the catchment areas with all
other values. These districts should be
laid out by Government survey and nec-
essary State legislation, and the
problem of irrigation should be turned
over to the districts.
The minority believes the recommen-
1ation to discontinue the topographic
work of the survey unwise, and they
think it would be unwise to turn over
the photographic branch to the Signal
Service. The minority believe expert
mental boring for artesian waters un-
wise.