The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-10-02
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA.
Great Possibilities in the Develop
Ucnt Of Agricultural Land.


. gated agriculture has been described in
recent bulletin Of the United States De
TITtment Agriculture The investiga-
tons upon which the conclusions and rec
/ concentrations Of the engineers in charge
are based, were made in cooperation with
che California Water and Forest Associa-
. ton during the summer Of 1890. under the
direction Of EIwood Mead. expert in
7. charge Of the irrigation Investigations Of
/. the department, assisted by eight special
! lists In irrigation engineering and irriga-
I tloa economies. In addition 10 a general
/ review Of the agricultural situation in
J California the report covers the local con-
ditioHs Of irrigation and water rights on
| nine typical streams. and brings to light
astonishing facts about California irriga-
ton, the nature and extent Of which have
never been appreciated. II shows that in
many Of the principal portions Of the
State agricultural development is greatly
hindercd because, through the inadequacy
Of California laws, the waters which
could and should make of them highly de
veloped and valuable agricultural dis
tricts are flowing unused u the sea
The report holds the chief obstacle to
agricultural development in California TO
! be an unremitting production Of cereal
crops in the great interior valley and
lack Of more diversified farming. opposi-
ton 10 irrigation in districts which the
census shows TO be mcasurabIy decreas-
| ing in wealth and population; a too great
zeal on the part Of advocates OF the
Wright district law. followed by Unwsie
investments which have led to loss and
disappointment and "a consequent oppOsi-
ton 20 irrigation laws Of whatever ma
ture; over-appropratiOn Of streams, re
sulting in confusing uncertainty as TO the
number and extent Of valid apprOpria-
! TONS the conflicting nature Of the water
laws. and the existence. side by side. of
the two opposing doctrines Of appropria-
ton and riparian rights; absolute pri-
vate ownership Of water in face Of the
fact that all leading countries wherc irTi-
cation is necessary recognize only the
rights Of use and attach them not to the
owner OF land OF TO canal companies. but
I To the land itself, from which they are
| iuseparablC. and finally and most impOr-
taut OF all, the absence Of any State con
troll Of streams or Of any State admins
tration Of rights TO their use.
The conclusions Of the special agents
and experts who made the Investigations
are that the State should ascertain the
volume Of available irrigation water. de-
fine all rights 70 its use. whether already
acquired or 20 DE acquired hereafter. and
provide an efficient system of water ad-
ministration- The definite reCommenda-
tious for attaining these ends are far
reaching, embodyiHg. among other meas
Ures, the creation Of a State board of con-
troll of wat~r~. similar 20 that in exist
euce in WyomI sor the past ten years.
the making of unappropriated waters
State property. the limitation Of all appro-
priatiOus to actual beneficial use. and the
attachment Of tIl rights TO water TO the
;and irrigated. II carried out. they be
Iieve these recommendation would put
an end to the conflicts and controversies
which now harass irrigators in California.
and would place its irrigation law and
development on q sound and permanent
basis
one Of the most striking portions Of this
review deals with the value or irrigation
water and the effect OF irrigation on Cali
fornia land values. Land in southern Cal
fornia. which, without water for irri-
cation. was worth 8 an acre. is shown
90 have sold, When irrigated and planted
Co orange trees. for 81. 800 an acre. and in
stances are given where q water right
of fifty miners inches recently sold for
$4,000. and where $3.50 an inch was paid
last year for a twenty-f0ur hours flow.
Speaking Of the great interior valley OF
California, Nr. Mead declares that the
water supply available there for irriga-
tion without injury 90 navigation ought
TO make Of it the Egypt Of the Western
Hemisphere. Within a radius of five
miles, he says. Il saw every product Of
the temperate and semi-trOpicaI zones
which ] could call 10 mind and. contiu-
uiug, he observed that there are more
acres OF irrigabIe land in the san Joaquin
Valley than are now watered in Egypt
from the Nile, where agriculture alone
supports over 5.0C0.OG0 people The irrigat-
cd lands along the Nile. he says. support
5i3 persons 70 the square mile while on a
thirty-five-mile drive in the Sacramento
Valley. over what is potentially one OF the
most fertile and productive agricultural
districts on this continent. he saw only
two schoOIh5uses, attending which are
only fifteen children Just before taking
this ride he had been for a distance Of
fifteen miles through an irrigated district
in Utah. where there was not "a farm of
over thirty acres. The average popuIa-
ti0u Of the Utah district is over So 10 the
square mile. that OF the California district
10. Every natural advantage is with Cal
ifuruia, ne continues, but the Utah dis
trict is irrigated, the other is not"
The laxity OF the California irrigation
laws could not be shown more forciblv
than by the working OF the law OF appr1-
prIati1u. bv which water may be divert
81 from its natural channel and used for
irrigation on lands away from the
streams. This is fully covered in the re-
port The law places absolutely no limit
upon the amount Of water that any Iudi-
Tluual may claim. ana as a result NOR,
water Is claimed from The nine streams
studied thau could DE found in an the
streams Gf the entire arid West. In Honey
Lake Basin. where the ordinary surluE
flow Of All the streams is only about 10
"n inches the enormous amount Of ZN-
Uh"'1 Inches II claimed. which. on the
present duty o. water in this region. is
enough lrTigat- over 100000 Uru acres OF
flow l5 under 1929 inches in addition 10
one claim or over four billion cubic feet
ana others Tegregating 2upt0Jp uuintel-
IEIDlt units. over 100000 inches are
claimed The filings on san JOAQUIN River
amount 10 over eight times its ur.at..-t
Hood flow and those ON the Sw.,.v-r..r
River call FOR 1000 times the existing sup
ply
Yet. with all this multiplicity Of claims
the law provides no way for their adj
Judlcatou other than appeals % The. orFf-
nary courts OF law, which IA, history If
california irrigation as set forth iu these
reports shows, ends only too often in even
greater chElt Icauun and uncertainty
than existed before the courts We're an
peal'd TO- The whole system is wrong.
declares the report 1T is wrong i'm priu-
clple as wen as faulty u procedure n
assumes that the establishment 0T tit1ls
10 the SHOWS on the mountains and fb..
rams falling on the public lands and fIa
waters collected iu lakes and rivers ON
m U.s. "a M----lI IIe development of the
state must IN great measure dep.ud is
a private matter il ignores public. inter
tSis Ia a resource upon which the sudur-
I.a PROSPERITY oi communities must rest