The morning call., 1893-10-12

enterprise. The prices asked or the cost
of condemnation is by no means low. In
short, the National Government as land
owner has far less direct interest in the
matter than is generally supposed.
John P Irish read a paper prepared by
Charles w. Irish, chief of the division of
irrigation of the Agricultural Department.
which advocated the necessity for CON-
pilation and the publishing of methods of
irrigation and cultivation Of crops raised
In the arid regions.
lib this paper Mr. Irish fired the first
big gun against the district irrigation law
that now prevails in this State. 1t re-
mains to be seen whether the congress
will indorse his view of the question,
which was substan tally as follows:
'There is one great principle to be es-
tablished by law and honestly applied,
and that is that he who irrigates land for
the purpose of raising crops upon it must
have as clear right and title to the water
he uses as to the land upon which he uses
it. There should be no State ownership
in the waters any more than in the air !;
but if the State does anything in the
matter it should be by vesting in the
owners of the land right to water suffi-
cient to successfully irrigate it. and the
title to the water should be merged in the
title to the land. and forever thereafter
the two should become inseparable. Such
ownership OF water should be exempt from
taxation. either individually or collec-
lively. The practice in some States to
tax the owners of an irrigation canal,
the waters of which are used in common
by an association of farmers, is mani
testify unjust 1t is too large a tax upon
such associations to keep in order and re-
pair such canals. The laws should pro-
vide ready means for acquiring the right
of way for all irrigation works, and where
1t is manifest that the construction of such
works will prove advantageous to the
lands upon which they are constructed
the value of that advantage should be de-
Quoted from the damages which may be
assessed against such works. The law
should fix the minimum amount of water
to be allotted to each piece Of land.
1.-THE experience of the irrigated regions
of the world goes to show that. accounting
for porosity of soil, leakage, evaporation.
friction and all other causes which 90 to
diminish the supply below the point where
the water is diverted, it requires that the
canal should be able to carry one cubic
foot per second for each fifty-six acres to
be irrigated, or say three cubic feet for
each quarter section, or twelve cubic feet
per second per square mile. The meas
urement of water should be settled by
law. There are a few contrivances for
this purpose which will measure out or
divide flowing water with all the accuracy
hof Ia iaIl,
are none which will mathematically meas
ure flowing water. We should be content
with the simplest contrivance which will
do this work within reasonable bounds
and then the law should set the matter at
rest by providing that all measurements
shall be made by the one contriyanee.
''It Is popular mistake that one must be
wealthy in order to undertake farming by
irrigation. know that the great mass of
the work done so far in reclaiming the
arid regions has come from the single
handed efforts, and the most prosperous
communities OF irrigation farmers that
know of began almost without means and
siDgle-handed: and now where they found
barren sands and sage-brush plains are
seen in their stead widespread fields of
grain and magnificent orchards.
''In view of these examples 1t is plain
that we do not need aid from Congress. nor
do we need millions of money wherewith
to people the available areas of the arid
regions with a population Of progressive
and prosperous farmers. But we do need
an intimate knowledge Of what has been
done in irrigation science. It should be
made clear that to make home in the arid
West will cost those who intelligently
make the effort about the same amount
per acre as it did the pioneers of
the Mississippi Valley to take its
land and make their home there,
which. on the average, was not
more than Sc an acre. a colony cannot
acquire the right to enter upon the Gov
ernment lands under existing land laws,
nor can a man, with or without family, go
upon such lands and make his home and
support upon them at once, as was the
case with the lands east of the Missouri
River. In that region the settler found at
hand timber. water and soil so easily
subdued that be could in the first year
raise enough on his land to support him.
self and his cattle. In the arid regions it
will require from one to three years to do
conform to the present land laws, which
require Immediate settlement and con-
tlnued occupation of them to acquire a
valid title.
cit remains now but to point out how
these arid regions may be expeditiously
settled. It is found in a complete organi-
Zation Of the farmers now occupying them
into State associations and county socie-
ties, on the plan of the present agricul-
tural associations of the older States. The
organization of these agricultural societies
has led not only to the rapid and very
successful occupancy and tillage of the
vast area between the Atlantic Coast and
the Rocky Mountains, but has led to a
most perfect knowledge of the best meth
DDS of tillage suited TO its vast variety of
soils. Out of this perfect organization has
come an interchange of knowledge be-
tween the farmers of this great region,
upon which knowledge has been founded
the Department of Agriculture. As this is
true Of our Eastern comm unities l can
trust it will be true for the irrigation farm
ers of the arid regions. Such an organiza-
tion will give them all the needed reforms
I have pointed out"
j. W. Gregory of Kansas gave some