The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-08
ADDS TO WEALTH
OF THE NATION
MondeIl Describes The Hans
brough.NewIands Irrigation Bill.
HIS REPORT ON MEASURE
FMBoDIEs MANY STATISTICS
PROVING BENEF. rs TO BE HAD.
CspsciaI to The aerald)


IVY WASHINGTON March Repre-
w sentative Mondeu of the com nit
W tee on irrigation If arid lands to-
day submitted his report on the HAMS
brough- Newlands bill. The report CON-
tains much valuable information re-
earding irrigation describing the char
acter Of the country To- be benehte1
by IN. bin and the estimated amount Of
land which may be irrigated. IT also
details the manner I'm which further
irrigation developments may be accom-
pIishcd. showing why the states cannot
undertake the work and why the ma
tional government should do so.
Ii reviews the provisions of the oil
and contends that It does not COntem-
-,iate o. pledge the national govern
ment to any appropriations directly
from the treasury at any time in the
future for the purpose Of aiding in the
reclamation Of arid land. IL Tecites that
it5 provisions relating 70 the entry Oh
public land are calculated to prevent
the possibility of speculative holdings
or the accumulation Of large tracts
in single ownershirs.
A feature Of the bill providing for the
state control Of waters, the report con-
tends viii undoubtedly tend to the
uniformity and perfection Of water
laws throughout she west. The report
disposes of tie objections made TO the
bin bv those who maintain its uncOn-
stitutionality and by those who charge
that it is not eXDedieuJ at just to the
present owners of agricultural lands
for the federal government to extend
aid towards the development of aCiS
LANDS.
The report predicts that under the
measure 2 fund of from 81 O00, 900 to 81
500.0 900 per annum win be produced,
which viii gradually increase by the
sales of lands under various projects
undertaken, and that the fund viii be
sufficient to construct such enterprises
necessary 10 insure reasonable. sys-
tematic and harmonious development
of irrigation possibilities of the arid
land regions. The report closes as fol
lows:
''The plan presented by the bill Tor
the prosecution Of tile work Of land
reclamation is q simple one, imposing
not ST. of taxation upon any
American citizen. 1t recognizes the
dual character Of the government and
provides a businesslike method for tbs
accomplishment of great undertakings
Tt also maintains the American pTin-
ciple Of small farms under ample and
secure water rights. The fulfllment Of
no other national duty promises to add
so much ir Improvement and genera
benefit Ia the public Of the nation as
this measure does"
The report says that the territory
affected BIZ the bin is nearly One-hal
the area of the United States and thai
in sixteen arid land states there ar,
over 535, 00G, 600 acres or more than one
-,s.xtecnth OF the area of the cOuntr!
public land subject to entry. Of thi.
vast tract. only 10.00G.1OO acres viii pro
duce crops without irrigation, shown.
the extent Of the arid districts. Mr.
Mondel pointed out that with such
wide domain. no agency other thar
the government can deal adequatel,
with the problem of irrigation. He ais
showed that irrigation long ago passe,
the experimental stage and that it
great advantages have been estab
lished in this country and abroad.