Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1900-08-24
RECLAIM ARID LANDS.
In ,rr,rating Every Acre Lies the Great
est Possibilities for Nati"'l".
Success.

v vrr,unting Every Acre Lies ''e >.s u
e.t Possibilities for Nati"hal v
Success.
The Anaconda Standard in recent
;ssue publishes the text ora lecture on =
Jrr;,at;on for the west, delivered ~
George II. Maxwell, executive chairman
of The National Irrigation Association
in which is set forth q very clear state- q
ment of this important question. 4
.lrripation," Mr.. Maxwell says. us {
.,,r 20 d.v the greatest question be- Z
fore the people.
..rho fac. that about all the land
whore irrigation is not needed has been
taken up and converted into tarms IS
not !, cnnse for alarm. There are mil
lions of acres of rich and fertii laha
in the United States which awaits ouc
..,,ch Of water to make it blossom ana
t,oor, oven as does the richest land
of the Mississippi valley.
.rho Government land alone in the
xvostern territory is enough to support
.nonu,ation greater than the entire
a,,,,,,tion of the United States at TINS
fine if All it's resources we're fully dev-
e,anoa and all the irrigable land lrrl-
Mr. Maxwell compared the prospect
i've peopling of the arid West with ohe
s.ttiomant of the Great Middle West.
In fine Mississippi and the Ohio valleys
the opportunities we're at naha lor
every man. who had only his slaoor ior
h;s canitol. to go .out upon the rich
,,u.,;es and take up farm and oulid
homa with his own labor. "But, he
s,,+;,naa ..it is not so in the west TO
day The individual man is poweriess
;n.tbe great desert. He is hopeless'
alone.
GOVERNMENT AID.
..rbe fundamental proposition is that
.,,o Uoaaral Government must furnish
the capital necessary to reclaim .liese
a.sorts and open up these arid lands
En- settlers and homebuilders. Ihe
Lodaral Government must buiid these
oroot reservoirs and irrigation works; IL
must bring the water on the iano' SO
that when the homebuilder puts MS
n,ow in the ground the water Will tol-
low the furrow
CINE federal Governments spending
,,;,,;ons upon millions every year TOT
the construction of great ievees Oh 'no
M;ss;ppi. If this money were spent IN
building dams in the mountains anu
foothills and in great depreslons ana
hos;ns ON the benchlands where natnr
al opportunities are presented .or 'n. n.
construction of dams. the vast 1000 .. ..
watars would be held back and couie
h.,saa latter for irrigation upon pros
porous farms.
@ro talk of private construction o
these great irrigation works Is 1usllt
It simply cannot be done. me .as ,.,,
is too great flor private capital. IN
Government; must do it and the waite
mnst for ever be held free for tn
benet;t of the user and the ownershi
of water for irrigation unlteo W VI
land that it irrigates.'
LABoR's CHANCE.
The speaker paid Il high tribute
labor organizations and said IL lay VIII
i'm their power to accomplish 'h
,re.t ,nrpose. "The labor unions
tho west. he said. .'must carry I'll
doctrine into the cities OF the has
They must point out to their brethre
in the over crowded sections tha'' VIII
the reclamation of arid lands would
;nastimable benefit to the West,
would be more beneficial to the Eas
The population of this country Is II
creasing so rapidly that the labor o.
panizations will before many years d
confronted With the desperate situate
in tha east of two men for every Jot
VALUE OF IRRIGATION.
The speaker quoted statistics to sho
that when the census OF io9o was oah'
? with ONLY l.ol per cent OF the area
California irrigated. that portion pr
duced more in farm products than u
entire value of the mineral output.
Colorado the situation was the san
In that State only l3o per cent OF
area was irrigated and its produt
exceeded in value the sum total OF
whole mineral output.
WATER ''TRUsTs."
MIR. Maxwell sounded note OF war
ing against the danger of water mo
onolies. He said that it was the
perience of the whole West that co
panies that sold water rights we're 1
successful; but that farmers car
companies, where the men who own
the land they irrigated also owned
water system, had been every whe
successful. He deprecated any syst
nnder which water could be owned
speculative commodity by canal co
NAMES to be sold to farmers and 81