The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-24
SUBDUING THE DESERT
PRELIMINARY STEPS TOWARD IRRI-
CATION UNDER GOVERNMENT.
Engineers Examining Conditions I'm
Different States-WOrks Must Serve
as Object Lessons.


Correspondence OF the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 23-Any project
where man successfully undertakes 10
duplicate nature is interesting. This is
what the irrigation engineers are doing In
the West. BY throwing great dams across
canyons they can form lakes which in
few years viii look as natural as though
their waters were impoUnded by the hand
of Nature herself. And the waters Of these
artificial lakes are In general by far more
useful than those Of natural lakes, because
during the growing season they can be let
down into the thirsty plains below to make
green and golden fields. laden. orchards and
TO support thrifty villages.
An enormous impetus has been given to
the storage reservoir propositions by the re-
Gent act Of Congress by which some $6,00O,-
90 is made available for expenditure by
the secretary Of the interior, and the chief
photographer Of his department has his
men over all parts of the West making sur
veys and Investigations of supposed eligible
ard economical sites While every State
and Territory which has a good storage
reservoir proposition is, OF course, putting
forward it's especial claim and is anxious
10 secure the initial work, ii is known that
the government will proceed very carefully,
slowly and with judgment. The question
has been in no sense a partisan one, and the
expenditure of this appropriation is entirely
out of the pale Of politics, yet the admins
tration realizes that il IS a very important
problem and that a great responsibility
attaches to its successful carrying out. Not
only has S6,OO0,OOO been made Immediately
available for the work. but the act OF Con-
gress carries with it an annual appropr1a-
ton Of the amount realized by the govern
ment from the of public lands in the
West. which will be between 2,0OOOO and
g. 100000 year, and it is proposed that the
first few works constructed under the ma
tional irrigation law shall be successes in
every respect.
EXPERT INVESTIGATORS.
The geological survey has put out dozen
different eHt. lGeers recently to examine as
many projects in nearly as many States
and in each Sc the local newspapers have
Jumped sOrle lat hastily at the conclusion
that their PARTICULAR locality stood the best
chance of selection for the first government
construction work.
The government is not, however, ignorant
on the subject. The geological survey has
been investigating the water supply and
some of the storage possibilities Of the
West for the last fifteen years, and now
feels thoroughly at home on its more ex-
tended work
The friends Of the irrigation movement
have claimed that this is one Of the great
est internal questions of the country-Pres-
ident Roosevelt states as much In his mes
sage-and they realize that mistakes
must be made In these first works which
ff,a
PIE OF the East who only know what ir-
rigation will do in a very general way
object lessons not only in the more success
full watering of desert land but in the
broader sociological question OF erecting
new homes for American citizens
II the first works constructed will as
their friends insist, reclaim from worthless
desert large tracts of land which can be
sold Il settlers eager 10 go upon them, thus
Teimbursing the government for all its
money expended, then national irrigation
will have been demonstrated to be a mag
nihcent thing for the country. 1t will Gre
ate homes out OF nothing and add vastly to
the national wealth while at the same time
settling UP that portion of the country now
so sparsely inhabited and thus more evenly
balance the East and the West.
GUY +. MITCHELL.