The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-03-15
MILTON BROWNS IDEA.
Says Irrigation for Western Kansas is
Not Practicable-To Take
Up Cattle.

Kansas City. March 15.-''The scientific
Investigations carried on in western
Kansas by the government representa-
tives have upset one of the best laid
principles of the advocates of irriga-
tiOn," said ex-senator Milton Brown at
the Savoy yesterday.
1T was favorite point with Mr..
Gregory and other advocates of the I'M
derhOW theory that there was an i'm
mense volume of water flowing through
the water bearing sand parallel with the
river and concurrent to it; that it was
only necessary to drive well to tap
this and irrigate the sand hills and the
valleys, and Kansas was to bloom as
the valley of the Nile.
THE government engineers sent there
to test the idea have found out that the
strongest current of the underf1ow is
at right angles to the river, but there is
current found al several points that is
ed.
THE fact of a current of water in
large volume flowing directly across the
course of the river was something for
which the underf1Ow people were not
prepared.
THE legislature has now repealed the
act creating the state board of irriga-
ton in the state This is probably all
could be only unsatisfactory, owing to
the provisions of the law. 1t was en-
tirely inadequate to the needs of the
dry country, and all the work of the
board has been simply to demonstrate
that certain plans were not feasible.
Irrigation can be made successful if
the proper appliances are used, but the
cost of raising the water is far too great
TO make it at all practicable for the
small farmer. Until there can be a
cheaper force secured for raising the
water, the plan for irrigation must Ian
guish, so far as it is applied to the
whole country. There are numerous
small plants operated nicely and made
to support themselves in various por-
Of he ST IA lint 1a 1011 of f1ea
day are wholly out of harmony with the
ability Of the people for an effective and
reliable and economical power
THE practical failure of the plans for
irrigating the whole arid belt has caused
the people of the western portion of the
state to turn their attention to other
matters, and they are now arranging
to irrigate small tracts of land and
Craze cattle on the rest. The bottoms
and low lands furnish space enough for
the growth of the necessary crops, and
the low lands will grow alfalfa for all
the cattle that can be brought here. The
people have found the stockmen at the
Kansas City stock yards willing to
stake them on cattle, and there are now
thousands of cattle being prepared for
market ON the alfalfa and corn that has
been grown in Kansas
1T is quite easy to get a large drove
of cattle during the summer, Craze them
during the season, top them off with 10
cent corn and get them to market at
some convenient time, and our farmers
are adopting that plan.
Last week drove from Garden City
out north along the bluffs with friends
from the east, and as we went for
dozen miles along the hilltops we could
look down into the valley and see thous-
ands of cattle being fed for market and
there were thousands of tons of alfalfa
stacked all along the route ready for
feeding. The range grass will get
the cattle nice and fat during the sum-
mer and fall, and with early feeding in
the fall on alfalfa and little corn, the
cattle are ready for market at a nomi-
nal cost, and assure a cash return for
the farmer.
I'm my opinion the western part OF
Kansas will be devoting its entire at
tention to growing cattle for the next
ten years, and in that way will win
back what was lost in trying to grow
wheat The change of business will
bring back prosperity and business to-
the state, and the people will cease cry
ing hard times and crop failures and
will figure out each winter a nice re-
turn for their labor. Contentment will
come with their net gains, and Kansas
pluck and Kansas push will win the