Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1894-03-31
The IRRIGATION CONGRESS
important Recommendations Made
to Congress.
rhe Meeting Was y Portable One-A Mum
Der Of Interesting Addresses DelIv-
ered During tho Session
Resolutions Adopted.

session OF the inUerstdtt iTriBnti"h 'ou
gress was called to order at Q o'clock
Thursday morning. President Moses
occupied the chair. The convention
went into executive session to take &C
sion upon the following report OF the
committee OH resolutions:
Whereas, The government OF the Uni
ted States has plated and put upon th'
market as agricultural lands the vast ter
ritory known rs the great plains, n
Whereas, American citizens wishing &c
secure homes have moved on these plains
bought and paid the government for LAND
and expended money In improving 1t, ano
Whereas, 1t has been demonstrated by
the experience OF these men and 10y thu
signal stations OF the government that this
amount of rainfall at proper seasons II
insu ficient to make agriculture practt
cable, therefore be it
Resolved. That IL is the sense of thl'
convention that is It the duty OF congress
TO make IN appropriation TO test the prac
,icability OF the following methods OF irri
cation for these plains;
First. That the government should b,
Experiments determine whether thu
underfow water is Of sufficient volume
and can be brought to the surface at 6
cost to make 1t available for general irri
CATION purposes.
Second. That IL should determine tn,
extent to which reservoirs can be con
structed for the purpose OF storing storu
water sufficient in quantity for irrigation
purposes.
Resolved. That we fully indorse the fol
lowing extract from the report OF thu
special committee of the United State,
senate, and the same be made a part oi
the resolutions of this convention.
III anything can be done to encourage
the people OF these great plains It Is i'm
portsnt that il should be done speedily
There are over | 900, 900 people In the ario
and ssmiarid belt who have paid into th,
United States no less than $40, 900 fol
public lands. The government should
demonstrate TO them the practicabilit,
before they can have the courage or cat
command the means To prosecute thu
work on any considerable scale"
other Recommendation.
Ii was also recommended that thu
convention urge the government TO main
tain the meteorological stations on Pike'i
peak and elsewhere and not abandon
them, as contemplated; recommended
the organization and permanent main!
tenance Of irrigation associations in every
county Of the states i'll the arid and semi
arid region, and q united effort to secure
congressional and legislative assistance,
favored the maintenance of agricultural,
experiment stations; the protection oi
forests and the necessity Of farmers en
couraging the planting of trees; extended
thanks to the Commercial club of Omaha
The resolution also favored the Gre
alton of the Office of state engineer in thu
various states and legislation which shall
encourage irrigation construction and de
velopnent; that the executive committe,
of this association be instructed TO co
operate with the executive committee o.
the various state organizations in send
ing able delegates to Washington to urg,
congress TO take immediate action upon
the bills now pending in behalf of the ir
rigation Of the great plains. Thanks
were rendered to the citizens Of Omahs
and all who have freely given of thei.
simo and means TO make the convention
a success.
Two Timely Talks Made.
immediately after the executive SEES
sion terminated Colonel &. S. Chase o
Omaha occupied the attention of tn,
congress with an address on THE Dut,
| of the Cities of the Plains In the Devel
opment of Irrigation"
Charles A. Gregory of New York de
1ivered a splendid address upon the sub
ject of Irrigation and Continental De
velopment." in which he defined tn,
word irrigation in all its phases. Scienti
fc application of water to land was ex
haustively reviewed, in which he re
ferred to it as an art which required pro
ficiency to learn.
Visited the Packing Houses.
An address on Pumping Machinery
by Irrigation" by Ira G. Hubbell Of Kan.
sas City was listened TO with evident in.
terest. Then the convention took a recess
until 2 o'clock, the delegates proceeding
in a body to the depot, where they tool
q train for South Omaha. After an in
teresting inspection of the packing house
industry, they returned to the convention
hall and went into executive session tt
take action on the report of the commit
tee on resolutions which were adopted
with slight changes.