Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1897-09-29
WATER SUPPLY DISCUSSED
Officers of National Irrigation Con-
gress ted-Committee on Per-
manent Organization.
SECRETARY HElNTZ' PAPER In FULL
National or State Aid Needed to Sue
cessfully Irrigate Arid Regions
Capital Invested in Irrigation
Systems Must be Protected.
SECRETARY HEINTZ' PAPER In FULL

today. The attendance was fair. Th
committee on credentials made it's repor
after which the following officers wsr
elected by acclamation:
President-Joseph M. Carey, Cheyenn.
Wyo.
First Vice President-S. A. Cochran,
8. d.
Second Vice President--L. W. Shurt
life, Ogden, Utah.
Third Vice President--S. M. Knox
Princeton, Ill.
Secretary-Thos. E. Frost, Minneepo
lis.
Reading Clerk Colonel Fl. d. Maxson
Reno, New.
File Clerk-P. q. Ericsson, Nebraska.
Press Reporter-R. j. Colver, Los An
geles, Gal.
| Selection of the treasurer will be left tt
the executive committee.
SENATOR oAREY's REMARKS.
Senator Carey was introduced. He ao
cepted the gavel in short speech, aud
said his purpose was not to dictate what
the convention should do, but simply to
aid in arriving at the various deoisio6s
He spoke of the purposes and aims of the
irrigation interests and of the resources
of the west "There is room in the west
for at least 75,000,000 population" he
said. "Many people are to be agricul-
turists. There is need of scientific and
practical men to aid in developing this
territory" Senator Carey said the first
thing necessary to more perfect develop
ment was to take care of the water from
the Rocky mountain streams, to prevent
floods, and conserve the excess of water
for dry seasons. People want legislation
that will insure the protection of capital
invested in irrigation. This will insure
further Investment. In ten or l5 years
people will not be moved by a recital of
their ills. They will be appealed to by
mention of their desire for advancement,
and their enthusiasm tor new projects.
PROGRESS OF IRRIGATION.
F.H. Newell, of IS. geological survey,
read paper on "The progress of irriga-
tion." He said: During the past few
years there have been comparatively few
large irrigation systems constructed.
Principal developments have been along
the line to increase the area cultivated,
under bitches already built and con
structed. Small irrigation works are de-
pendent for the supply of water upon
storage reservoirs and wells. Nearly all
individual partnership bitches have been
successful and yielded large returns,
while the reverse is generally the case in
corporate enterprises. The ideal method
cooperating these large works would be to
carry out on larger scale the principles
through which smaller ditches have been
made successful-that is each irrigator
should be proportional owner in the
whole system and personally concerned
in its management and economical ad-
and payment of each per
sons share of the expense" If great
works necessary to provide homes for
people are to be built 30 as to furnish the
best opportunities to the largest number,
it must be done by state or national aid.
A state, if ultimately it receives back it's
can we'll afford to neglect the
question of interest on the investment, or
be content with return far less than
that demanded by investors. If we are
to see the water supply in arid regions
fully employed on vast fertile tracts, and
these utilized to their full extent, it will
be only when question of immediate pro-
fits is left out of account"
Professor Blount of Las Cruces, N. NJ,
read thorough paper on "History of
irrigation" kilograms of congratula-
lions we're received by the convention from
Colonel W. F. Cody Buffalo BiD pa
per by Secretary Heintz of California,
vas presented and read, as follows:
low SHALL WE BUILD MORE IRRIGATION
WORKS?
How to build irrigation works 80 that |
hey shall pay profit from the date the
water is ready for delivery has probably
oeen great problem in all ages. In cal
,ulating the revenue from city supply |
you can calculate 90 many people who
must have water every day, leaving out,
perhaps, q small percentage for wells. But
IN supplying water for irrigation, you
IAN quite as safely figure the reverse OF
The proposition-that is, in no case will
here be enough consumers the first year
'r two to pay anything above expense
IN plant of any considerable size. If
he land is wild, the most rapid rate of
ettlement that experience entities Us to
'xpect will not overtake the interest on
he investment, which works nights and
sundays, and cannot be switched off on
ome other section as fine colony can
ust about the time the leader thinks he
las it located in certain country or
tate. Moreover, when it comes to de-
ivery of the goods the colony is the most
mythical of ell earthly help. Many are
alked abont but few are seen. Most of
he few people that have actually been
orraled and herded up in this shape are
ranks and could not have been handled
xcept for the common bond of notions
0 peculiar that they are liable to think
# nothing else. The good colonies of
he country are those in which the set
lers came slowly.
On the other hand, If the tract is we'll
ettled before the ditch is built, then it
aust be on account of consider
BILE rainfall. In such case there
'ould be large percentage of "no
irrigation required" crsnks who will
eed from three to ten years to learn
hat they are fooled, and another large
ercentage who will use the possibilities
fforded by the ditch to raise--not al
slfa or oranges, but tenderfoot. They
ant high price for dry land because it
an be irrigated and do not propose to be
othered with any annual payments in I
he meantime. 1t is the business of the
oming tenderfoot to do that. The con- ,
squence is that nowhere IN this country
r elsewhere has financial success been ,
,ached by building ditch and waiting
,r consumers to buy the water after ward. I
apital 10 now fully aware OF this, and &
10 list of failures is so very long that it |
i'll be impossible any more to raise 9
loney on any such proposition. II has 4
cen said on the floor of this Irrigation I
ongress at two different sessions, and I
ublished repeatedly, that there was OF ,
single irrigation project in the west /
lat was really paying. II comes too i