Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-12-05

petition with eastern agriculture. Indeed
the products of irrigation will be con-
sumed chiefly in upbuilding local centers
OF mining and other industries which
would otherwise not come into existence
I at ALL our people as q whole will profit.
for successful homemaking is but another
name for the upbuildng of the nation.
The necessary foundation has already
been laid for the Inauguration of the poll
| cy just described. 1t would be unwise to
begin by doing too much. for a great deal
/ will doubtless be learned, both as 10 what
can and what cannot be safely attempted,
| by the early efforts, which must of neces-
sity be partly experimental in character.
AT the very beginning the government
should make clear, beyond shadow of
doubt. Its intention to pursue this policy
on lines of the broadcast public interest.
| No reservoir or canal should ever be built
| to satisfy selfish personal or local inter-
ests, but only in accordance with the ad-
| vice of trained experts after long investi-
| CATION has shown the locality where all
the conditions combine to make the work
most needed and fraught with the great
est usefulness to the community as
whole. There should be no extravaganza.
! and the believers in the need of irriga-
ton will most benefit their cause by see
| ing to 1t that 1t is free from the least
faint Of excessive or reckless expenditure
of the public moneys.
Irrigation Laws.
| Whatever the nation does for the extern
| sion of Irrigation should harmonize with
and tend to improve the condition of
those now living on irrigated land. We
are not at the starting point of this de-
velopment. Over two hundred millions of
/ private capital has already been expended
in the construction of irrigation works
| and many million acres of arid land re-
| claimed. A high degree of enterprise and
ha han oh,
but as much cannot be said in reference
to the laws relating thereto. The securi-
! ty and value of the homes created depend
largely on the stability of titles to water
| but the majority of these rest on the I'M
| certain foundation of court decisions rem
| dered In ordinary suits at law With q
! lew creditable exceptions the arid states
have failed to provide for the certain and
| just division of streams in times of search
| ty. Lax and uncertain laws have made It
! possible to establish rights to water in
\ excess OF actual uses or necessities, and
many streams have already passed into
| private ownership or a control equivalent
to ownership.
| Whoever controls a stream practically
controls the land 1t renders productive,
and the doctrine of private ownership OF
/ water apart from land cannot prevail
without causing enduring wrong. The rec
ignition of such ownership, which has
been permitted to grow up in the arid
regions. should give way to more en-
lightened and larger recognition of the
rights of the public in the control and
disposal Of the public water supplies
Laws founded upon conditions obtaining
In humid regions. where water is too
abundant to justify boarding 1t, have no
proper application In dry country.
The Only Right to Water.
In the arid states the only right to wa
ter which should be recognized is that of
use. In irriga ton this right should attach
to the land reclaimed and be inseparable
therefrom. Granting perpetual water
4 rights to others than users without COM
pensation to the public Is open to all the
objections which apply to giving away
perpetual franchises to the public utilities
of cities few of the western states
have already recognized this and have in
corporated in their constitutions the doc
trine OF perpetual state ownership of wa
| ter.
The benefits which have followed the
unaided development OF the past justify
the nations aid and cooperation in the
more difficult and important work yet to
be accomplished. Laws so vitality affect
ing homes as those which control the wa
ter supply will only be effective when
they have the sanction Of the irrigators:
reforms can only be final and satisfactory
when they come through the enlighten-
ment OF the people most concerned. The
4 larger development which national aid in
sures should. however. awaken in every
arid state the determination to make its
Irrigation system equal in Justice and eff
fectiveness that of any country in the civ
tlized world. Nothing could be more un-
wise than for isolated communities to
continue to learn everything experiment
tally instead of profiting by what is al
ready known elsewhere. We are dealing
with new and momentous question In
the pregnant years while institutions are
forming. and what we do will affect not
only the present but future generations.
Our aim should be not simply to reclaim
the largest area of land and provide
homes for the largest number of people,
but to create for this new industry the
best possible social and Industrial condi-
tons. and this requires that we not only
understand the existing situation but
avail ourselves of the best experience o!
the time In the solution of its problems
A careful study should be made both by
the nation and the states of the irrigation
laws and conditions here and abroad
Ultimately 1t will probably be necessary
Tor the nation to cooperate with the sew
eral arid states In proportion as these
states by their legislation and administra-
ton show themselves fit to receive it.
Hawaii and Porto Rico.
In Hawaii our aim must be to develop
the territory on the traditional American
|
estates titled by cheap labor. We wish a
healthy American community of men
who themselves till the farms they own.
All our legislation for the islands should
be shaped with this end in view. The well
being of the average homemaker must
afford the true test of the healthy devel-
opment of the islands. The land policy
should as nearly as possible be modelled
on our homestead system.
1t is a pleasure to say that 1t is hardly
more necessary to report as to Porto Rico
than as to any state or territory within
our continental limits. The island is
thriving as never before, and 1t is being
administered efficiently and honestly. Its
people are now enjoying liberty and order
under the protection of the United States,
and upon this fact we congratulate them
and ourselves. Their material welfare
must be as carefully and jealousy consid-
cred as the welfare of any other portion
of our country. We have given them the
great gift of free access for their products
to the markets Of the United States. / ask
the attention of the congress to the need
Of legislation concerning the public lands
of Porto Rico.
Cuba and the Philippines.
In Cuba such progress has been made
toward putting the independent govern
ment of the island upon a firm footing