Evening star., 1901-08-06
TO SAVE THE CROPS
Growth of the Movement for Western
/ Irrigation.
CONTEST TO:s:BE MADE IN CONGRESS-
People of Missouri Favor National
. Appropriation.
UTILIZING STATE RESOURCES

Special Dispatch to The Evening Star
| ST. LOUIS, Mo-, August 6.-The people
o. Missouri have openly and unreservedly
enlisted under the banners OF the irriga-
ton forces. This state has suffered Sc
verely from the recent drouth, and not only
is irrigation being talked of in a general
way, but it is now proposed to utilize the
magnificent water supply of this Mississippi
valley state as an insurance against a re-
currence of a rainless season. Practical
men have taken hold of the matter, and
1t would be no surprise to see within
very few years several large irrigation
bitches carrying and distributing water to
some of the fertile valleys in the western
part of the state Missouri is in the So
called humid region. but the experience of
the present summer has made some re-
markable changes in the position of that
imaginary line which has heretofore been
drawn with considerable fixity between
the humid and the semi-arid portion of the
middle west
Whether the people of Missouri ever be-
come very generally interested in local ir-
rlgatiOn not, they are indeed enthuslas-
TIC converts to the proposed government
aid to the reclamation OF the ARID west
They now believe that great areas OF lrrl-
gated ground in the west and southwest,
throughout the region where are born the
destructive hot winds which have paraiyzed
industry for the last six weeks, would nave
marked and beneficial effect upon all
vegetation in the country lying to the east.
The Coming Fight in Congress.
Insurance against drouth and hot winds
is what 1t is called, and when the irriga-
ton forces go to Washington next winter
they will receive the active support of
representatives of people who have been
lukewarm if not even hostile in the past
toward the proposition to appropriate fed
eral money for the reclamation of federal
lands. In view of the previous attitude of
many of the newspapers and nearly all of
the people in the humid section of the Mis-
SlSSlppi valley toward federal aid for the
arid west the present eagerness with which
the matter is taken up indicates almost
revolution in the public mind. A few days
ago the ST. Louis Globe-Democrat said
editorially:
Irrigation would be immensely profitable
in this state, and it has magnificent rivers
to back up a comprehensive system. 1t
has also mountain region that would be
of service in conserving the water supply
for agricultural use in summer. Missouri
is ready to be instructed in the whole
range of the subject. This will be an edu-
cational year on the farm. The drouth will
Vitalize the question of irrigation in Mis-
souri,, and the observations that come from
Colorado will he studied valuable, even
though they charge the farmers of the east
with failure to keep up with the march
of scientific agriculture"
Effect of the Summers Drouth.
The people of the Missouri and Missis-
| sippi valleys, they watched their crops
wither inathe furnace blast during the past
two weeks, haye had plenty of time to con-
slider the causes and the remedy. 1t has
always been their experience that these hot
winds came from the western deserts,
| though III few instances have they pene-
! trated so1far into the humid region. Mid
die Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska gen
| orally bear the brunt of the hot winds.
| The luxurious vegetation of the eastern
| part of these two states and territory has
| generally before yielded up sufficient mois-
| ture and GOODNESS to change the chara cter of
| these winds before they reached Missouri
| and Iowa. This year, however, the hot
| winds persisted for so long a time that
| they withered the crops and absorbed all
of the moisture in the Missouri valley and
! then continued to blow, reaching the states
| to the east as untamed and fiery as when
| they entered western Kansas.
| Developing Water Possibilities.
! The people of these states which have
| suffered from the hot winds and who are
| now talking irrigation for the country to
the westward are not only in favor of car
| rying out the government plans in the arid
! states, but would rejoice to see the water
| possibilities developed in western Nebraska,
| western Kansas and Oklahoma. 1t is
| known that there are vast possibilities for
! water development in the Platte and Ar
! kansas valleys, but these things are no
| longer experimental Kansas has made a
! good start, and green alfalfa patches sup
| piled with water by wind mills now dot the
! short-grass country clear to the Colorado
| line. The government surveys have long
| ago shown the existence of vast UNDER
| ground sheets of water inthis section, lying
| at such a depth to be of practical use
! for the practical farmers, and the people of
| Missouri Iowa and southern Illinois now
! look with friendly eyes upon this develop
ment, for the old and erroneous idea of
| competitive area has been abandond 1t is
| realized more strongly than ever that the
| prosperity of one section adds to the pros
| perity of another, and that the building of
| new communities adds to the growth
strength and industries of older communi-