Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-12-14

The subject of the reclamation and
utilization of the arid public domain
has received more attention during the
last year than at any previous time. A
large correspondence in relation thqhe-
to has arisen in those bureaus of the de-
partment which nave to do with facts
bearing upon the water supply, the To-
cation of reservoir sites, and the meth
DDS and cost of bringing water to the
arid land. The interest of the public has
been manifested in a practical way by
the formation in different parts of the
country of associations designed to pro-
mote the examination of the
Of the country in it's water and forests.
Large sums of money have been sub
scribed for the dissemination of infor-
for cooperating with various bureaus,
notably the geological survey. The APP
preparation for the division of hydro
graphy in this bureau was increased by
the last from $50, 900 to $780,
600. A still further increase, to an
amount commensurate with the impor-
lance of the subject, is being urged by
the citizens who have contributed their
funds to the furtherance of this work.
Developments of irrigation have pro-
ceeded almost wholly along the line of
building small individual or co-opera-
tive bitches. The opportunities for ex-
tn,,,];,r n nd n, ,,1tiY1xyJ ptr tIaca oya how
ever, limited, as the lands most easily
accessible for water supply have al
ready passed into the possession of in
dividuals. There remain large bodies of
public land for which water can be OBJ
tanned only at great expense, although
the cost per acre may not exceed that
of the small systems. Further extern
sion of the irrigable area depends upon
the building of great storage reservoirs
and of canals to take water from the
larger rivers. Progress in the construc-
ton of these large works of reclamation
has come practically to a standstill, as
it has been found by experience ana
shown by statistics that these reclama.
ton works are not a source of indivii-
ual profit. Capital has been induced to
undertake the construction of sun!i
works in different parts of the west, but
almost without exception these have
been financial failures, while the small
cooperative bitches built by the land
owners have, on the other hand, been of
great advantage to the communities
and to the states, as we'll as to the ma
ton; but it is improbable that investors
will continue these as p~hilanthropic en-
terprises. The cause of financial failure
with these large works has been the
fact that the owners cannot secure to
themselves the increase in value which
has accrued directly or Indirectly
through the building of the works. In
some respects the case is comparable
to that Of a city whose harbor has been
improved. The land values are in
creased, but the work, If carried on by
private enterprises. may not be remu-
nerative to the builders.
The Importance Of providing, through
wise administration, the opportunities
for homes for many millions of citizens
is so great that some steps should be
taken toward completing our knowl-
edge of the extent to which the arid
lands may be redeemed, and putting
this knowledge to practical application.
AS a step in this direction the recon-
mendation has been made that the
amount allotted for work of this char
acter under the geological survey be in
creased considerably. AS a further step
commission, composed Of experts now
engaged in various lines of examination
Of water and forest resources, should
be formed, to assemble and digest the
data acquired by the various bureaus,