The Arizona sentinel., 1901-08-14
Necessity for Further Appropri-
 atiOns Urged.
Conflict Between River end HaEbor Appropriations and Those for lrri- gation Prove to Work to the Det- rirnent of Both.
;pecial Disnatch to the Globe-pemoerat

| mas gwen IlSG to nlucn UIScuSSlOn
 as to the effect of the failure of
 the river and harbor bill at the
 last session of congress. At the
 war department this afternoon
 it was said that the district which
 includes the Mississippi river
 from the mouth of the Ohio to
 the mouth of the Missouri will
 suffer most from the failure of
 the bill.
 A skilled engineer officer of
 the department calls attention to
 the fact that the engineer in charge, Capt. Burr, asks for S100, 900 alone for the purpose of maintaining his plant, He says in the course of his report that without such m hand for the maintenance of the plant it will deteriorate in value constantly, and in the lack of an appropria- ton to continue the work it will be a source of constant loss to the government. For this req son the officers of the depart ment believe that of all parts of the United States the district near St. Louis will suffer most from the lack of appropriation.
 There is a, growing belief among officers of the department who have been closely identified with engineering work of the past that the next river and har- bor bill will have to carry with it some provision for irrigation. In the light of experience dur ing the last session of congress, when such determined efforts were made to secure irrigation legislation, the conclusion is thrust on the engineer officers that this will be a problem which they will soon have to deal with. The officers advise against al lowing navigation problems and the irrigation problem to be con Sidered together. They oppose vesting the two under the same supervision, just as they opposed in the past the levee projects be- ing carried in the river and har- Dor bill. In spite of this oppOsi- tiOn there seems to be realiza tion that 1t will come up proba- bly, at the next session of con- gross.
 It was said at the department this afternoon that the report which was made by Capt. Hiram M. Crittenden, relative toa com prehensive irrigation system, is one of the most comprehensive ever made to the government The captain was located at St. Louis when he conducted his in vestigation, and argued in favor of the government taking up the irrigation question. He pointed out at great length why the states could not take up the sys- tenn as it should be developed.
 When asked as to whether the had ever given off cial attention to irrigation, one of the engineer officers at the de partment turned promptly to the report of Capt. Crittenden and in indicating a part of it, said:
 E'That will be the keynote for the members from the states having arid or semi-arid lands during the next session of con- gress."
 What he indicated in the re- port was the following:
 "Of the very great importance of irrigation, not only to the | West but to the country at large, there would seem to be no room for doubt. To one who has seen the changes wrought in the once desert regions of California, Ari- zona, Utah, Wyoming and Colo radO, in what used to be as fOY- bidding regions as amy still re- maining in that country, there can be no doubt that the destiny of the arid section of America is more dependent upon the waters that flow from it's mountains than upon the minerals that lie concealed within them Already i1A thn Orna tnCt m in nn.n nnr0dno or