Evening star., 1901-09-07
THE IRRIGATION PROBLEM
ARID LANDS OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY BECOME FRUITFUL.
Rainless Wastes That Have Been Re-
claimed by MormOns, Chinese
and Others.

From Finance.
The problem Of redeeming the arid lands
of the United States is of national impor-
tance. These arid lands comprise one-hai1
of the country. The ninety-seventh meridi-
an divides the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas
Oklahoma and Texas nearly through the
center. West of this line nearly all the
land must be irrigated. Under irrigation
much of it becomes wonderfully productive
The mountain ranges, from the Rockies to
the Sierras and Coast Range. bring forth
waters enough, if properly gathered, stored
and distributed when and where needed, to
make fruitful nearly every tillable acre of
this vast area of now arid lands. The total
area of this arid country is about one
thousand million acres; it extends perhaps
1900 miles from north TO south and 1,300
miles from east to west. 1t is an empire In
extent. To redeem this empire, and make
available the two hundred million of acres
of agricultural lands which it probably con-
tains, and people 1t with prosperous and
happy communities is a work worthy OF
statesmen. Private enterprise cannot do it.
Associate and cooperative effort can do
something.
State aid and control is insufficient.
Nothing short of national control and aid
can accomplish the gigantic task in
manner in any degree comprehensive and
expended through a series of years In
building carefully worked out system Of
storage reservoirs and main canals would
make substantial beginning toward the
solution of this great problem. And why
should not the national government under
take this important work? We spend
billion dollars to acquire the Philippine
Islands. We loaned a hundred millions to
open up these arid regions to bind the At
lantic states to the Pacific states and
we did well. Let the next great task be to
people this great land with a hundred mil
lion prosperous citizens, the larger por-
tiOn of which increase should find room
within the arid belt.
Salt Lake Valley.
In the summer of 1S47 Brigham Young
turned the waters of City creek upon the
arid alkali lands of the Great Salt Lake
valley and the desert burst into bloom and
fruitage He created a state from the
desert.
The financial result Of fifty years work
of the Mormon people given by William E.
Smythe in his excellent work. 1.-THE Con-
quest of Arid America, is a total of $542,-
100000 The figures were furnished him by
A. Milton Musser, historian of the Mormon
Church. The Mormon people at that time
We're In poverty and had little save the
labor of their hands The result is tre-
mendous financial success. The Mormon
people are all prosperous. Their social
system of pOlygamy had nothing to do
with this, and probably their religious be-
liefs, otherwise, had no other influence than
to enable their leader to direct their indus
trial efforts to the advantage Of the COM
munity.
This fifty years experience is sufficient
to establish the fact that irrigation under
taken and carried on for the benefit of the
people tilling the land will pay enormous
returns to the whole community ard to the
nation. We have another example, al
though OF smaller community, not domi-
IN fa6 hyy trt>
community at Greeley, Col, founded in 1871
by N. c. Meeker and Horace Greeley
The people gathered together as the
founders Of this undertaking were mostly
from the cities of the east each contrib
uting $1,000 or more to the stock of the
corporation. The task was not understood;
they were mislead as to the cost Of bring
Ing water to their fields At first they
planted crops not well adapted to the cli-
mate and soil, but after five years strug-
gle they began to prosper, and at all times
since have been and today are successful
and happy community.
These two cases supplemented by the
more recent development of southern Cali
fornia, which was the outcome of business
and speculative efforts, to open UP a coun-
try that had in small way been shown
to be especially adapted to fruit and vine
culture, show that small farms, under irri-
cation, worked by those who own them
will support families in comfort and soon
bring to the workers many of the luXuTies
O1 llle. II concentrates the workers into
villages, enables them to have the modern
comforts Of city life with the advantages
Of schools, theaters, lectures. libraries and
social life. A high state of civilization and
individual culture arises from these favor
able conditions.
History of Irrigation.
The irrigation of arid lands doubtless be-
gan with the early efforts of the human
race to raise food products. Among the
rIJi Of tctn nrio
dences of it's practice, often under condi-
items requiring great engineering skill.
Many Of the earlier historical civilizations
were founded and developed in arid regions
made fruitful by irrigation. Rainless re-
gions seem to have been favorite locations
for the homes of the human race espe-
clally OF those portions of it which made
progress out of barbarism. Along the val
ley OF the Nile, rainless region for $4,000
years wonderful civilization unfolded
which as yet is hardly begun to be COM
pretended. In this case the Nile flooded
the valley in the spring. but enough of the
waters were stored up to nourish and ripen
the crops and to extend cultivable fields
into the adjacent desert not reached by the
Nile overflow. Amenhotep, Pharaoh of
Egypt, LOO BIC, of the dynasty of Moeris
dyked the shallow Lake Moeri above Mem
phls, creating the largest storage basin
ever known to be constructed by human
hands, watering therefrom and making
extent
desert country.
Messapotamia, the region lying along the
Euphrates and the Tigris, where the civil
1zatlons of Babylonta and Asyria were de-
veloped, was a marvellous network of ca
nails connecting the two rivers and extend
Ing into every province and district. maxi
ing of what was before and is now a des
ert, garden of beauty and productive
ness, very garden Of Eden, famed over
the whole known world as a most beautifuI
land Nebuchadnezzar the great king of
Babylon, dug the huge reservoir at Sipira
which was said to be 40 miles in circ,1m
ference and $50 feet deep. He also con-
structed some of the largest canals for
navigation as well as for irrigation one
of which is said to have been 600 feet wide
and LOCO miles long. He reigned 600 years
3. G..
Damascus in Syria is garden in the
midst OF gardens made SO by irrigation in
a rain1ess country and has endured for
ages as one of the important cities of the
ancient as we'll as the modern world.
Ancient India unfolded a wonderful civil
izatlon dating back into a time SO remote
that one Is startled at the possible num-
Der OF years 1t has continued. A large
part Of India is arid, but great systems
OF storage and irrigation have made 1t
what 1t has been and is, able to support
population of 100000. 900. The British gov
ernment when 1t became the ruler of In
Jto f@