Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-08-27

Brigham Young Chose For tho Corner
stone Of State tho Sound Principle of
Observation-Disclosures He Did with the
ProbIom Of Irrigation.
On July IA, 1s47, President Young
and his fellow pioneers passed through
the picturesque outlet of Emigration
canyon into the vallos Of tho Great Salt
lake. Utah vas then .hexican soil, and
the leader believed he could found what
ever character Of institution should suit
him and his people In tho bitter anti
Mormon orusades Of the pnst It has been
alleged that Brigham Young had chains
ON mems souls " There Is no doubt that
religious superstition, rendered effective
by the marvellous machinery Of the
church, was partly the source Of tho
leaders irresistible power with his own
people, but back Of the religious super
stition and the church organization
stood tho brain Of great and masterful
man. he knew that his power, to DO
enduring, must rest upon something
material and tangible, and this some
thing he discerned to DO the prosperity
of tho people themselves.
Brigham Young was an organizer Of
prosperity. This was the real source OF
his strength. He did not aim at mere
temporary prosperity. On the contrary,
he fought everything that tended to that
end, going to the length of actually for
bidding the opening Of the rich mines in
the mountains near at hand, because he
abhorred the spirit Of speculation. He
chose for the cornerstone Of his state tho
principle Of industrialism, and that prin-
ciplo lies there yet, at the base Of no
bio edifce Of economic fact, reared by
human toll and held firmly in place by
the average prosperity Of all who had
part in its building If the great archi-
tect and the superintendonts and fore
man who surrounded him enjoyed a
larger share Of tho profits than tho work
men, it is also true that the humblest
newer of stone and carrier Of mortar was
paid in proportion TO the Importance of
his lnbors And what fair mind can OBJ
ject to an industrial system that yiolds
these results?
So far as can be harmed, Brigham
Young had no previous knowledge of ir-
rigation when he entered Salt Lake val
ley. He quickly realized that he had
come to en- arid country, which would
be hopeless for agriculture unless arti-
hoially watered With marvellous percep-
tion, he saw that irrigation was not a
drawback, but an advantage Of tho most
important sort He realized that II
meant freedom alike from the dangers Of
the drought and of the food. He discov-
cred that, having a rich soil and ample
sunshine, and adding moisture by the
construction Of bitches, 1t was actually
an improvement upon nature to be able
to turn the rain" either on or Off with
equal facility. And therefore he rightly
concluded that he had found in these
conditions the basis Of the most certain
worldly prosperity aud the most Ecien-
tific agriculture.
II remained for a later genius to re-
mark; Irrigation is not a substitute for
rain. Rain is a substitute for irrigation,
and a mighty poor one. But If the
Mormon leader did not say so he evi-
IDENTIFY felt st. Ho perceived. further
more, that irrigation was much more
than an insurance policy upon tile crops.
It brought all the processes Of agricul-
turo within the realm OF known facts,
and that Is science.
Il even rendered possible the control
of the size Of vegetables, and this be-
came important many years aftorward
when the Mormon people added n great
sugar factory to their industrial system,
for it is important to grow sugar bcetI
Of about q standard size to get the besl
results. Moisture is required to give the
beet a vigorous growth at the beginning
but whom IL is woll started weeks Of un
interrupted sunshine are desirable Ia
! order TO develop the saccharine qualities
Much sunshine at the wrong time driol
up the crop. whilo much moisture at Oh,
wrong time produces a beet pleasing e
look upon, but improbable at the fac
tory.
Brigham Young also realized, almos
ut the first, that the necessity Of careful
irrigation largely increased the labo
upon an aero Of land, but he found tina
this labor was generously rewarded b.
tho Increased yield both ia quantity ans
quality. And from this fact ho drew
the most important principle Of hi
commonwealth, which was the division
Of land into small holdings. Closely re
lated to this is the other twin factor II
Mormon prosperity--the diyersincatiol
Of farm products 10 the last degree.
Natural conditions, even where ther
is the most abundant and we'll distribut
ed rainfall, are often favorable to ia
production Of only few crops. But tn
Mormons realized that the skillful ap
plication Of water just where and whel
needed, and in just the right quantity
and by the very best method, rendere
possible the widest variety Of fruits
vegetables and cereals suited to the tenn
pernte zone Thus Brigham Youn
taught the people that no man shoul
own more land than he could cultivat
TO it's highest point by his own and hi
family's labor, aud that no man shoul
60 to a store for any article Of food q
clothing that could be prohtably pre-
duced on his own small farm. --''Th
Conquest Of Arid America, " by WilliaI
=. Smythe, ia Century.
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