The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1903-12-05

=. WI
special to The Journal by WV. Jer,
name says: 1t may be said with full
authority that North Dakota will accom-.
.plish nothing through the irrigation
delegation which it proposes to send tc
Washington in the near future. That
delegation is the ottgrowth of the Bis
marck irrigation congress, and it will
consult, while here, with officials of the
reclamation service with view to as
certain what, if anything, can be done
to widen the plans of the service SO far
as work in North Dakota is con-
cerned
The engineers of the geological sur
yey are thoroughly familiar with con-
ditions i'll all the, irrigation states, and
their numerous reports, covering a
dozen years or more, have led to the
conclusion that there are no projects
of Importance in North Dakota and
that to undertake to expend any large
sum there would be grossly extrava-
giant and contrary to the spirit of the
reclamation act, which regards the
country as whole, independently of
state lines. In order to be entirely
certain of its ground, however, the
reclamation service proposes to con-
time its investigations in the state by
way of supplementing those made in
previous years, and to give the state the
benefit of every doubt.
The topography of North Dakota
renders that state an unfavorable field
for irrigation projects as compared
with those states which have mountains
and valleys and deep streams. A wide
belt running through the state from
north to south, just east of the Mis-
souri, river, is part of belt which cx-
tends from the Canadian line to Texas
III which irrigation has always been a
failure. owing to occasional seasons of
rainfall, during which irrigation bitches
are neglected land permitted to deter
lorate Farmers, during rainy seasons,
cannot be induced to keep their irriga-
ton systems in repair There is no ex-
ception to this statement. Irrigation
in India has been more or less a failure
Tor scores of years because of this very
condition and the facts, just stated,
growing out of it.
2 1t has been the plan of the reclama-
ton service to use large part of the
funds which North Dakota has con-
tributed to the reclamation fund, some
thing more than $2,225,ooo, for the es-
tablishment of reservoirs, ETC., in Mon
tana, and the claim is made that such a
programme would be of decidedly more
benefit to North Dakota than the ex-
penditure Of like sum within its own
borders AS explained to me , BY an
oftlcial OF the reclamation service, the de-
velopmenf Of irrigation works in Mon
tana would greatly enhance the stock
raising industry of western North Da-
kota, by providing winter feed for cattle
In the cold season cattle could be driven
into corrals. and there fed on alfalfa
grown on the Montana irrigated fields,
thus preventing the heavy death loss oc-
CURING each severe winter. Montana
fields would be very near the North
Dakota ranges, and those ranges would
increase in yalue, and everybody con-
cerned would prosper. This arrange
ment, i'll addition to being more profit
able for North Dakota, would make
the government funds 60 farther. So.
in the interest of economy, the reclama-
ton service thinks that the plan to ex-
Dend in Montana a large portion of the
funds raised in North Dakota would
be highly desirable.
& Last summer engineers from the
reclamation service made extensive in
vestigations of North Dakota streams.
They examined carefully the Missouri,
the Little Missouri, the Knife, the
Hear, the Cannon ball and other streams
with reference to RAINFALL decliyity.
quantity Of water, etc, and their reports
will soon be available. I shall take