The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-07-28
THE IRRIGATION CONGRESS.
Chairman O'DOnnell Says Much Interest
Is Being Taken in It.

Is Being Taken in It.
I. D. O'Donnell, manager of the
Minnesota & Montana Land & I'm
provement company returned Wednes-
day morning from Helena, where he
and G. A. Dewar had been in the in.
terest of the company in it's suit in the
United States district court against the
city Of Billings to prevent the sale Of
the company's city lots for the improve.
the company's witnesses was taken be.
fore ex.Chief Justice Blake, who had
been appointed examiner, and the testi-
mony of the witnesses for the city will
be taken in about twenty days.
When asked it there were any new
developments about the lawsuit, Mr..
O'Donnell said:
mo, the examination was very
tame, and the lawyers were unusually
courteous, owing probably to their
small audience. I took advantage of
my trip west to do some quiet booming
of the National Irrigation congress,
which meets at Missoula on September
25, and found considerable interest in
the congress among the people I met.
Engineer Fortiner of the arid land COM
mission is taking great interest in the
meeting and will attend'
"What are the prospects for the Mis-.
soula meeting?"
Every favorable, both in regard to
the number of delegates and to the
prominence and influence Of the gentle.
men who have promised to attend. As
the duty has devolved upon me Of writ.
ing great many personal letters to
men Of prominence in both national
and state affairs urging their attend.
anoe and cooperation, and from the re-
plies received I should think the Mis-.
soula meeting will be a good one.
Here is another lot Of letters which I
am just sending off, about eighty, and
they are to agricultural college pro.
fessors, engineers and scientists, and
the addresses run from New Mexico to
as far north as the Canadian north.
west.''
"Do the people Of the east evinoe
much interest in the subjeot?'
mot 80 much as we hope to see
when they become better informed with
regard to the needs and desires Of Arid
America, but it would surprise you to
see some of the letters I have received,
even from Wall street men, who are
popularity supposed to use water only in
connection with stocks. Men connect
ed with the administration are taking
a lively interest in the matter. and sew
eral of the departments will send sew.
eral representatives to Missoula. Irri.
CATION is becoming to be recognized as
an tissue, the same as silver or tariff.
and cabinet officers and representatives
are waking up to the necessity Of study
ing the situation. When once the west
unites in it's demands we will come
pretty near obtaining the concessions
we ask for, and the irrigation congress,
made up as it is largely Of representa-
tive western men, is just the body to
define our wants and bring them
prominently before congress and the
administration.
"What are the principal demands
formulated by the irrigation congress,
so far?''
"The creation of a division of irriga-
tion in the department Of agriculture;
the extension of the work of irrigation
investigation already made by the agri-
cultural experiment stations; federal
storage reservoirs; the leasing of the
public grazing lands, subject to right of
reclamation by irrigation and of settle
lnent Oh lands actually cultivated; in
other words. subject to the United
States land laws, and the public con-
troll of the water supply, or as expressed
at the Lincoln meeting; We believe
that the water of all streams should |
forever remain public property, and
that the right to Its use should inhere.
not in the individual or the ditch, but
In the land reclaimed,
"What kind of a building will the
high school board build?"
"I'll sea you about that later"