Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-09-03
TALKED IRRIGATION.
Congress at Cheyenne Listens to
an Interesting Paper on
the Subject.
WORK Is IN NO SENSE A FAILURE.
Land in Colorado Which Was Worth s1I.-
100000 Before Irrigation Enterprises
Were Begun Are Now Worth $4,000
ooo-Million and q Half Acres Ben
Gifted by the System-Net Increase OF
Wealth to the state S45,OOO,OoO.


oOo-SIilIion and Half Acres Ben
Gifted by the System-Net Increase OF
Wealth to the state S45,OOO,OoO.
Cheyenne, wyo.. Sept 3.-The Ma
tional Irrigation congress opened
promptly at 10 O'Clock yesterday morn
ing with an increased attendance, a
number of additional delegation from
Colorado. Montana. Wyoming and
Kansas having arrived. Before proceed
ing with the regular programme, roll
call of states before adjournment was
ordered to name members of national
committee, and the matter of selecting
a place for the next annual meeting
was made a specia order for O'Clock.
The report of Colonel II. B. MaXson,
member of the committee appointed by
the Lincoln congress. to go TO Washing
ton, was the first order.
House Committee VIII support It.
Colonel MaXson's report was impor-
tant. in that the committee had sue
ceeded in framing a bill which secured
the united support OF the house com
mittee on arid lands, this bill providing
that states taking advantage of the
Carey law shall have ten years from
the date or final segregation to reclaim.
The state may file through a local land
Office for temporary segregation for a
period of four months. Failure to file
maps and plans within this period works
q forfeiture of the effort. Upon final Sc
EreGation the desert character of the
land viii be held to be finally settled.
Both Congressman Shafroth and Jenkins
waved the right To push their individual
bills in support of the committee bill.
but since the war with Spain the whole
matter has lain in allegiance.
Il. =. NettIeton Introduced.
The report was applauded and the
committee received the thanks of the
congress. The report caused some dis
cussion which was not completed. but
Will ne taken up later. Z. s. Nettleton.
of Colorado. read a very interesting sta
tistical paper upon the subject of THE
Successes and Failures in Canal Build
ing and the Causes Thereof" Presi
dent Carey introduced Nettleton by say
ing he was the most highly esteemed
among the pioneers of irrigation be-
cause of the great work he had done
during many years. Colonel Nettleton
divided irrigation enterprises into three
heads: Corporation. Cooperation and
Colony" and exhaustively described the
methods and motive of each.
Irrigation Is Not "A Failure.
In support of his statement that irri-
cation works were not failures. he told
of actual conditions in Colorado. Large
Enterprises undertaken during the past
twenty-five years had returned no rev.
enue to the investors, but beneficient
results were nevertheless evident. In
1898 Colorado had 1.500 coo acres irri-
gated. a value of so. 600, 600 The value
of the land of Colorado before irrigation
enterprises were begun estimated at the
double minimum rate was S17,OOO,0O0.
Their present value under irrigation is
SS7 900, goo, an increase Of 512 per cent
The net increase of wealth to the state
was S45,000,000.