The St. Johns herald., 1900-12-01

 Matters.

National Irrigation Congress. which is being held this week, one of the most interesting features will be the Geological Survey. MT. Newell spends nearly half the year in the field, and Tn his travels oyer every section of the west has made very fine collection of photo graphs. He will use these and show by stereopticon reproduction what has been accomplished by irrigation. He also has some dia- grams and maps which convey the startling fact that fully one-third of the area ofthe United States, exclusive of Alaska and islands is still vacant public land. There is ample water, he says, to reclaim over 7O,OOO,000 acres of this.
 The National Irrigation Congress is fortunate in holding this session in the east, for as never before, the opportunity is presented to educate the people east of the Missisaippi to the fact that there is a possibili- ty of creating in this western country homes for millions, and that it is the right and duty of the government to carry out the work.
 The lesson is being slowly but certainly taught, says MT. Newell that reclamtion by irrigation on a large scale cannot be made source of profit except under an extra ordinary combination of circum- stances. He likens great storage reservoirs and canals to lighthouse and harbor improvements; they are necessary and are worth far more than they cost, but under existing conditions they cannot be made to contribute exclusively to the welfare of the builders. The indirect gain is so widely diffused that the general public reops the largest benefit.
 Mir. Newell is substantial but conservative advocate of national irrigation and the work of his office has done much to present the mat ter in clear light. The survey: which he has made show that there are large number of sites suitable ] for reservoir storage and also show the amounts of water that run tC waste thru the different rivers When it comes to the construction work on reservoirs, these survey will be found of great value, sihc' the work must be gone at intel ligently, and they should be con tinued systematically. It is prob able that a strong effort will b made this winter to secure al appropriation of at least $250, ,O0 for this important work.
 c. B. Boothe, Vice-President fo California, of the National Irriga tion Association, was a delegate i Chicago to the National Irrigatio Congress. Mir. -Boothe is a Lo Angeles merchant, and he has jus completed a tour among manufac uring houses of east, reaching fror Kansas City to New England. "I attempting to spread the gospel of national irrigation in the easl MT. Boothe said: "I was aimo swept of my feet by the interest
 found among the eastern people , whom 1 buy my goods. Many
 them are we'll informed of the vol which The National Irrigatic
 Association is doing, and are anx ous to see a policy of national
 rigation inaugurated. An easter
 man who sells goods in the we
 can see in an instant what bene
 it would be to him if millions
 acres of western land were tran
 formed from deserts into fertilit
 AS I put it to one man from who i, 1 buy largely If I had on
 500,000 more people to sell 2, I could take the entire product
 your shop. What sort of a develo
 ment would come then from an a dilion of 50,O00,000 people, whi it Is conceded the west would su port if it's arid lands were irrgi
 ed?"
 MT. Boothe believes the Nafior
 Government is the only agent whi
 can properly undertake the woI
 It has gone beyond private capit
 or even state action, he thinks, a
 Congress should approach .t