The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-11-24
Papers Read By Several Noted
Experts.
Election of Officers Fol-
lowed Papers.
A Dispute as to Place OF Hold
ing Next Meeting.

Chicago, November % To-day s session
OF the National Irrigation congress was
devoted to papers and addresses pertain
ing exclusively to the question OF pracii-
cal watering and reolaiming OF arid
lands and arid plant life. The session
was called to order at eleven O'Clock,
Judge K. +. Best of Washington, ID. o.,
presiding. wcsley A. stuart of Sturgis,
s. d., spoke on "What the National Irri-
CATION Association stands for.
s. NJ. Emery, president of the Montana
horticultural society of Bozeman, Mont,
followed with q paper on "Practi,al irri-
CATION and increased production. was
discussed ty Prof. +. IL, King, OF the
Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment sta
| ton.
NEwELL-S ADDRESS.
f. Ii. Newell, photographer of the
United States Geological Survey. spoke
about Irrigation resources. He said
In part.
The resources of the West have often
been dilated upon, but the fact has not
been clearly recognized that the full util-
ization OF these 10 dependent upon wise
treatment by Congress. Tbs questions
stili.unsettled concerning the public lands
are so Tar reaching as to rise ID national
| Importance.
| 1t is impossible to conceive, without
some form of graphic presentation, the
| great areas of unocoupied land, much OF
| IL capable, under businesslike treatment,
OF supporting great population. Sucn
| treatment can only come wnen tne men
OF affairs of the country appreciate not
only these possibilities, but realize that
/ hnU as
great national domain. The gre attest
enemy TO progress in this direction lies
not in opposition, but in Ignorance or
| Indifference.
! One-third OF the whole country, ex-
elusive OF Alaska and outlying posses
sions, is vacant and at the disposal OF
Congress. For the most part 1t is open
TO homestead entry and settlement, and
much of it consists or land OF great fer
| tility, except for the lack OF water. AT
Intervals are to be found mountain masses
| from which come perennial streams
| whose waters are now used 10 small
| extent to moisten the parcned lands. On
the plains occasionally there occur local
storms or floods, inundating large tracts.
| There is ample water for the reolama-
ton OF a considerable portion OF the arid
land, il It could all be saved and put to
use Attempts have been made by indi'
| viduals ana by corporations to construct
bitches, canals and reservoirs to supply
the lack of moisture. AS rule the
smaller works, taking water from its per-
ennial streams, have not only been suo-
4 cessful, but sources OF great profit to the
owners; the larger works, however, al
| most equally without exception, have
proven financial failures, and their own
| ers have become bankrupt. The great
/ works OF reclamation built In the hope OF
securing certain and permanent revenue
drawn from the farmers, have impoyer-
| ished the investors, and the latter, I'M
willingly, have become benefaotors OF the
public.
The lesson is being slowly but certainly
| taught that reclamation on large scale
cannot be made II source OF speculation
Except under extraordinary combinations
| of circumstances
The great storage reservoirs and canals
are comparable, in one sense, 20 light
houses and harbor improvements; they
are necessary and worth far more than
they cost, but under the existing state of
| civilization they cannot be made to con-
| tribute exclusively to the welfare or the
builders The indirect gain, or unearned
increment OF value, is SO widely difused
that the general public reaps the largest
| reward.
| We are thus confronted with situa-
/ tion where there is practically an I'M
| limited amount OF fertile land to be re-
claimed and considerable bodies of water
| TO be conserved and brought to this land.
| BY such action, millions OF homes can
| be created and the commonwealth enor-
mously strengthened, by the addition OF
q producing population, where each head
of family owns and lives upon his farm.
10 bring abont this happy result 1t is
impossible TO trust to speculative enter
prise, because of the fact that profits can
| not be made In the construction OF work
unless the population become tenants OF
| a great land-owning monopoly.
| IL Is necessary that public finds be
Aa.~aa
| OF reclamation. This must come about
when the people OF the country are fully
| oonversant with the facts. These facts
are being obtained by the Investigations
OF the United States Geological Survey
| into tine water resources OF the country,
| ana thesextent TO which the arid lands
can be redeemed by irrigation.
-..Ihe total area reclaimable ia dependent
upon q large number OF conditions, some
| of which are within the control or legis-
| latlon, while others ara Indirectly Affect
ed by 1t II all the land belonging TO the
| United States and the title to various
i tracts was not already vested in individ-
uals and corporations, IL would be COM
| paratively simple matter to lay out irri-
| CATION canals and to design reservoirs In
| which water could be held for future use.
| The conditions are complicated, however.
by the fact that spectators as well AS
| home seekers have taken up lands Wher-
| ever water is easily obtainable, and have
MADE filings upon all Of tine reservoir sites
they could discover,
In any system OF reclamation of the
| land now vacant, IL will probably be
necessary to provide for the condemnation
and taking OF tracts OF land which other
| wise block the enterprise. More than
this, the canals already built in certain
localities, although small and relatively
| insufficient, may make IL inadyisabie to
attempt to reclaim other lands immedi
| ateiy adjacent. At the outsst it would
| have been possible, at slightly greater
expenditure, to irrigate all OF the lands
/ in these localities instead OF only por-
tion: but even with existing disadvant-
ages much can be accomplished by prompt