The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-01-09
THE IRRIGATION CONVENTION

l 'ul men in and out of congress. They
entertain no two opinions concerning
the fertility of these lands MOI of the
, practicability Of supplying them with
an abundance OF water. Both these
points are removed from the domain OF
probabilities to chat of certainties 10y
experiments %antcdating the present
generation of men. Indeed the irriga-
ton OF arid lands is cop al with man
himself and has been and is still prac-
ticcd 10y the husbandmen of some of the
European and Asiatic countries. Nci-
Their is there any question as to the
among those who have rcsortcd to if.
The climatic conditions in arid land
regions are all in favor Of the farmer Il
favorable seed time. Il quick growing
season and an uninterrupted harvest.
These conditions do not exist in coun-
tries OF rainfall.
The irrigation convention which viii
meet at Helena today will not feel called
upon to discuss these matters. 1t is
conceded that the irrigation of our arid
lands is feasible; that their settlement
and utilization depend upon it and that
the future prosperity OF the state will be
measured by the uses to which our vast
domain of irrigable land be put. The
convention is not a body brought into
existence by any law save that of self
preservation. No statutory enactment
calls for it. 1t is Simply a body of intel
ligent men who voluntarily come to a..
gether to devise ways and means 10y
which the great west and northwest
may furnish comfortable homes for the
hundreds of thousands in the over
crowded east who are looking toward
the setting sun for lands upon which
they may find that support denied them
in their present surroundings. The con-
vention will not be without its influence
upon congress. 1t will represent the
views of the whole people of the west
upon this most important subject and
its opinions are entitled to and will re-
ccivc the attention and respect of that
body.
As stated in the beginning of this ar
ticle the question which will come more
prominently before the conventions is
whether the general government or the
states and territories containing the arid
lands cbnI1 ipn,u,r,tn md ,n,,,l,t, ,,,,
tens of irrigation and dispose of the
lands. That is really the question which
is now being discussed by interested par
ties east and west. There is a powerful
influence at work in Washington to in
vest the general government with full
power not only to survey and locate res
e~rvoirs, but to construct the same, dis
pose of tn irrigable lands. and exercise
a general and particular supervision over
the sale of the water. The vastness of
such an undertaking upon the part of
the general government may be approx
mately estimated when it is considered
that at least one third of the area of the
United States is composed of irritable
lands. Their control by the government
would not only involve an expenditure
of immense sums of money. but it would
mean the planting of an army of govern.
ment retainers, dependents, and en-
p!oyes in the west whose presence, from
a political standpoint, would be as dan
gerous to the liberties of the people as
their red tape and circumlocution offices
would be annoying and distastcful.
But these are not among the greatest
objections to government control of arid
land irrigation. They are found in its
proverbial hardness in prosecuting great
enterprises and in its indifference to the
details Of a work, which in matters per
tanning to irrigation are vitality essential
to success. The child is not born who
will live to see a complete system of arid
land irrigation inaugurated and com
pleted by the government. The surveys
may properly be made by it. Owing to
the fact that the irrigation system of
n state would necessarily be taken up
and continued by the contiguous ones,
and that the present subdivisions of sec
tons may be maintained no objections
may be raised against the government
perfecting the surveys which it has al
ready initiated.
After the surveys shall be made state
supervision of irrigation systems, proceed
ed by the cession of all irrigable lands
contained within it's limits to the state
itself, should be insisted upon. 1t re-
quires ne argument to prove the sound
ness Of the proposition that-for instance
Montana can and would complete a
system of irrigation for her arid lands
before the general government, working
at arms length, could make itself ac-
quainted with the necessary preliminary
work. The state possesses the advant-
age OF an intimate knowledge of it's