Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-21
THE MOST sTUPENDoUS OF OUR IN.
TERESTS.

The irrigation state convention, now
in session in this city, has mass of
important work before it. The repre-
sentation from the northern part of the
state is meager in numbers but strong
in the knowledge, character and special
fitness of its delegates. Mr.. VIII S.
Green, the editor of the Colusa Sun,
has been atower of strength in the Sacra-
mento valley to advance the great project
of carrying a canal from the Sacramento
river to irrigate the lands that lie be-
tween that stream and the coast range.
But it is, of course, in this section OF
the state where great irrigation enter
prises have developed into works OF
colossal magnitude. The convention
therefore is mainly composed of dele
gates from districts in Southern Cali
fornia. 1t is evident from the intelli-
gent way in which subjects coming
before the convention are handled, that
whatever is done will be the right thing.
1t would be well to take measures to
prevent the legislature from tinkering
with the Wright law. No changes should
be permitted to be made in that act un-
less they have first been thor
oughly canvassed and endorsed by
the irrigators. That act affords
a splendid basis for all laws
that will naturally and gradually grow
up around it to govern the subject.
There is more danger from premature
and redundant legislation that NAV
prove hurtful than there is from leaving
we'll enough alone. The tendency to
tinker with laws is inseparable from the
average modern legislature. Now that
we have scheme of laws embraced in
the Wright act which has 80 far proved
efficient and practical, we cannot be too
careful about amending it. 1t should
only be touched in one particular, and
that would be only after the point had
been thoroughly and carefully consid-
cred. If there is any way in which the
act can be made more acceptable to
finAnciers who are willing to invest in
irrigation bonds it might be done, al
though it seems to have already COM
llcuuCQ tbcOll " EuCn Sac lldNC
carefully studied it.
But as to other details connected with
the practical subject OF irrigation, a code
of perfect laws will build themselves up
in time. Such laws are the outcome of
time and experience. As the need for
new legislation arises it will manifest
itself clearly, and when it does then
will be the time to enact it. We have
now safe measure upon which to build
any new rule or code that time will de-
termine to be necessary.
The period is not far distant when
every acre below the foothills in this
section of the state will be provided
with irrigation, and it is among
the possibilities-ind we may
say probabilities-that the bene
fits OF irrigation will be extended
to all, or nearly all, our desert lands be-
fore many years. With the actualities
and probabilities OF the future scope of
irrigation, we are confronted with an
interest of colossal magnitude, and one
which will do more to add to the wealth
and advancement of Southern Callfor-
mia in all its vast extent than any other
character of development yet evolved.
When we come to consider that it is
only a decade ago since irrigation
jumped out of its primitive open bitches
and zanjas and became the subject of
great engineering enterprises, with i'm
mense dams of masonry and stupendous
canals carrying vast volumes of water
over hundreds of square miles of land,
we may family conceive what these
works will be twenty-five or thirty years
from now. Let us not for moment
forget that the present measure of ap
parently available water for irrigation in
Southern California is merely small
portion OF that which will be ultimately
developed, and then we shall realize
that we are merely standing on the first
step to the magnificent height which
this splendid interest is destined to
reach. We are now skimming the sur
face OF the water on top.
When we have erected immense stor-
age reservoirs in our mountains and in
tercepted and held in harness, SO to
speak, the winter rains and the melting
of the summer SHOWS, and drawn up
from their subterranean depths the
flows of countless artesan springs, and
directed the whole into distributing
channels upon every acre of land that
lies below the mountains to the sea and
back across the deserts, then we shall
be in position to say that we have really
contaminated the task that now lies be-
fore US. Countless millions of people
are to be sustained by the yet to be de-
veloped possibilities of this unapproach-
able interest, and it is for us to pioneer
the way to that grand achievement by
careful legislation and sagacious scru-
tiny as we proceed.
Our Temescal tin mine friends are
| inundated with dianatchas from Ohio