Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-09-16

the advantages Of irrigation from child
hood, The movement OF population mas
here been automatic, and has required
but little guidance or ENCOURAGEMENT on
the part OF the government.
"Our case Is somewhat different and the
fact that this congress Is bcstoWlng care
ful consideration upon the kindred subject
OF colonization, is to me fun OF encourage
ment.
TO IRRIGATE is TO POPULATE
"To irrgate Is to populate, 10 populate
Is to colOnize. 1nis congress cannot, |
believe, too strongly emphasize the TACT
mat irrigation is depenaent Tor ls sue
cess upon population. Colonization may
be defined as the pOpulatlng OF hitherto
unoccupled tracts OF lands. Systematic
scientific colonization * TO naphazard
colonization what the railroad Is TO the
prairie schooner, or what ltrlsaUon is 10
me mountain torrent, or Nnat the rel
Indian tepee is TO the modern city nall,
or what the galley OF COLUMBUS is to the
Atlantic Inner.
Trhe lack OF systematic colonization has
caused the failure of not few excellent
and thoroughly practicable irrigation
schemes The reason for this Is not far
10 seek. canal which VIII lrrigate say
10000 acres of land Is necessarily a cost
~ enterprise The interest ana upkeep can
easily be met II the whole tract be QUICK
ly occupid, But II a small portion only be
settled. either the colonists Will be dis
hoartened and driven away by the heavy
charges made In the effort 10 meet ex-
penses and pay dividends, or the invest
Ors will become discouraged az the long
delay and non-reeeipt oil a tair return
tor their investment, In either case the
enterprise Will he killed In It's initial
stage.
scientific colonization can secure the
rapid and immediate enjoyment OF the
fruits OF irrigation, Eacn Is a necessity
to the other. An ill-digested and hap
hazard scheme OF irrigation VIII inJure,
II not ruin, colonization. Similarly an
unsystcmatic plan OF colonization VIII re-
tard (as IL has already done) and FREE
quently RUIN the best laid ana most teasl-
BILE plans for irrigation.
scientific colonization will not wait for
the farmer with capital, any more than
manufacture Will wait for the laborer
with capital. Imagine the captain OF IN
dustry who would employ no laborer VINO
did not possess few thousand dollars!
And yet this is the course which colonial
"'rhe most that the capitalist. or land
owner or lrrlgationist has been willing to
do In the past has been 20 bring the water
TO the land, and accept time payments for
the latter from the settler Further than
this they have been unwilling to venture.
And hence the colonization OF irrigated
lands has been almost entirely limited to
farmers possessing capital.
WASTE LABOR AND WASTE LAND.
Now scientific colonization uses the
worthy family that has no cash. II says
in brief. Place this waste labor upon the
waste land by means OF waste capital,
and thereby convert this trinity OF waste
into a unity OF production II has been
argued on the other hand that. first they
would not CO. second they would not stay,
third they would not work, and last, but
by no means least, they would not pay,
We set 10 work some six years ago 20
nut our theories into practise, and are
now able TO say positively after more thon
i've years experience that they have gone
and stayed, they have worked and paid.
Even the comparatively few failures we
Continued on page two)