The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-09-15

Inc entire arid and Semi-arid re-
gion of the United States is embraced
within the boundaries OF fourteen
states and three territories-namely,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Ne
braska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana,
Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Ida
no, Utah, Arizona, California, Nevada,
Oregon, Washington and Texas. The
reclamation fund, to be used for irri-
cation purposes, however, does not in
| clude Texas and any irrigation under
taken there must be at private or state
expense. This is because Texas, when
admitted to the union, retained con
troll of all vacant land within her boun-
diaries.
The arid and semi-arid regions in
clude about two-tifths OF the area OF
the country, extending from the Mis-
souri, river to the Pacific coast, and
the interest of the general government
in it's reclamation is, therefore, appar-
ent. The semi-arid region includes
a strip running north and south over
the Dakotas, western Nebraska, west
ern Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas
panhandle. In years OF excessive mois-
ture the sub-humid region creeps west
to the foothills of the Rocky noun
tains, while in dry yeads it sometimes
reaches to within a comparatively
short distance of the Missouri. The
into Canada and south into Mexico,
into Canada and south itno Mexico,
both Of which countries are deeply in
terested in irrigation, and preceded the
United States in officially recognizing
the necessity for it.
Not all of the arid and semi-arid
lands in the United States are vacant.
Many of them have passed, in whole
or in part, into the hands OF private
owners. Large grants have been made
to railways for the construction OF
transcontinental lines. Other grants
have been made in accordance with
the Spanish land grants recognized in
our treaty with Mexico. States have
received liberal allowances Of public
land for state institutions and many
homesteads have been located around
springs, along rivers and other nat
ural water sources. The government
in embarking in the bushes of irri-
.1A;~,, ~, - In ,~ro cao1o. fhnrnfOr0 finds,
that it must deal not simply with
| the public land, but with Vulnerable
| complications growing out of private
| ownership.
Why the Government Dips In.
Why, then, has the government
taken up the work of reclamation when
! private enterprise has already done
so much, and when the problem is rem
dered exceedingly difficult because of
that fact? The question is answered
by F. H. Newell, chief engineer of
the geological survey. He notes that
while private enterprise has done a
great deal in the way of scientific
and successful irrigation, the results
have not been wholly satisfactory from
the broad viewpoint of the country as
a whole. Choice spots have been de
veloped and the easily available wa
tiers utilized, but the larger public in
terests have not been guarded, and the
making of homes has not been carried
on as vigorously as public policy re-
quires. In the smaller projects pri-
vate enterprise has been highly sue
= c~essful, but in the larger and more
difficult undertakings it has not been
uniformly successful, owing to the en-
ormous sums of money required, and
therefore public lands have no been
utilized for the greatest good of the
: people as a whole.
Mr.. Newell also makes an interest
ing explanation of the cause OF the
lack of rainfall west of the Missouri
river. The general atmospheric move
ment in this country as a whole, he
says, is from west to east. Moisture
laden winds from the Pacific ocean,
encountering the mountains near the
coast, are forced upward and cooled.
In the winter much of this moisture is
deposited on the mountains and the
winds pass over them to the east per-
fectly dry. In the summer time, when
the mountains are relatively warm,
winds from the Pacific pass over them
without depositing their moisture,
bringing on the summer drouth OF the
Pacific coast. Passing eastward, these
winds, retaining their humidity, bring
rains to the interior. These summer