The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1895-03-01

A0N-AbLiAAk bAAI MAUI a AN1NA- ~ -
western and southwestern Kansas.
All irrigation enterprises, if success
full. must be governed by the laws of
practIcability rather than of POSSIBLE
ity. Common sense: practical demon
stration, and the bus ness rules of
profit and loss must not be disregarded
or receiverships and mortgage fore
closures will have to be considered
later, and some future bill Nye' viii
write sarcastic dissertations upon the
splendid foolishnef- of the founders
and promoters oi irrigation schemes,
like our present humorist of that name
has written concerning South Hutch
inson and the "boom" enterprises Of
Wichita.
1t may be and we believe it is posi-
bic for the owner of an upland farm to
have pumping plant erected which
will elevate the water frem a well of
more than twenty-five feet in depth,
for irrigation purposes, and for all his
neighbors to do the same. We think,
however, that the more practical and
sensible thing to do would be for such
farmers to use their windmill as they
now are for the irrigation of small
garden plats and use the money which
the larger mills and irrigation pumps
would cost and purchase a favOrably-
located tract of land where the water
supply is abundant and can be secured
by an inexpensive method, and that
they develop and operate such tract
on the cooperative or partnership
plan, and at minimum cost as com
pared with individual irrigation
plants.
1t may be possible for a man who
has 100 acres of irrigable land on his
farm to develop and utilize the whole
of such tract successfully and within
his own means, but we think he will
make more money for himself and viii
be more of a benefactor to his commu-
nifty, if he will call upon his less fav-
ored neighbors to assist him in the
construction and maintenance of his
ditch or pumping apparatus. and take
a share of the crops raised as his
rental.
1t may be possible for the farmers
living upon the broad upland plains
of southwestern Kansas to hang on
between hope and despair till some
kind of irrigation is perfected SO as to
bemade a success on lands of that
class, but our advice, in the light OF
present conditions and immediate
prospects, would be, TO such farmers,
that they brealrout all their lands,
then move with their families into the
Arkansas valley, or to some other To-
cality favorable for irrigation, and Sc
cure a small tract OF irrigable land as
a home, and visit their farms only for
the purpose of putting out and harv-
esting such crops as they can best pro-
duce without irrigation, and keep their
surplus live stock in a common herd
or allow them to Craze at free range
in summer and by partnership feeding
in the winter season,
1t may be possible for the owner of
a 5000 acre ranch in southwestern
Kansas to develop and maintain 200
acres or more of irrigabe lands on his
ranch, but in our opinion he will reap
greater profits by only demonstrating
fully the amount of his water supply
and then sell his irrigable lands in
connection with larger tracts of non
irrigable lands to a colony of practi-
cal farmers and depend more largely
upon free range and winter feeding
for his cattle business.
It may be possible foE the land and
mortgage corporations which hold such
large acreages of lands in western
Kansas to devise some plan by which
they will find market, but we think
the encouragement of cooperative
and colony irrigation enterprises Offers
some inducement worthy of their con.
sideratiOn.
1t may lie possible for some scheme
of irrigation whereby it will be posi-
bic to put water on a portion of every
farm in southwestern Kansas, but if
we apply the rules above mentioned, we
think thefuture historian of the indus
trial development o; this region will
have to describe only the irrigable
lands along the river and creek valleys
with the inhabitants living largely in
colonies, who viii utilize the irrigable
lands only for the basis of their sup
port and for rails g vegetables, fruit,
etc.
We would therefore recommend the
cooperative or partnership plan of irri-
cation for thickly settled communities.
/, because it viii tend to con6ne ex-
periments to favorable locations only
and reduce 10 the minimum the l'abil-
tiles of failure. 2, because of the low
cost of securing the same results of
water supply and of maintenance
as compared with individual irrigation
plants: 3, because it will distribute the
benefits of irrigation throughout the
neighb0rbood
We commend it as applicable to
sparsely settled distr cts because of
Inc social advantages it will confer.
and for the reason that by eonfning
irrigation and farming operations to
compact areas it will lea e the remain
der of the country for grs ing and
stock raising.
And, finally, we believe it to be the
most feasible plan for the repopulation
of many O. the counties IN the western
and southwestern part of the state.
Problem OF the Future.
One of the problems Of the future