The Springfield herald., 1904-09-16
Telegram to National Irrigation
Congress at Ogden, Utah,
Last Year.
STEP FORWARD"
Such Is the Presidents Opinion Of
Irrigation Message Shows Vast Fund
of Information on Reclamation
of Arid Lands.

President Roosevelt sent the following
message to the National Irrigation Con.
gress in session at Ogden. Utah, Sept.
15, 1903. 1t is characteristic of tha
man. 1t shows broad, deep, patriotic
interest in both irrigation and forestry.
1t also shows his mastery intellectual
grasp of any and all topics concerning
the public welfare:
oyster Bay. n. T.. Sept. Is. 1903.
The passnge OF the National Irrigation
Law wns one Of the greatest steps. not only
In the forward progress OF the states, put
to that OF all mankind.
1t was the beginning of an arhievement
so great that we hesitate to predict the
Now that the law is an accomplished taft,
that must be given effect. To that end the
reclamation service organized under the
National Irrigation Law OF June IL. 1902,
has been pushing Its surveys and examina-
tiou of possible irrigation projects ener.
getically In each of the thirteen States and
three Territories named In the act. Some
of the projects which promised well Mt first
nre found oil careful study to be imprac-
ticnble either because OF schnty water sup.
higher values In land, while still others
stand the test and are ready for immediate
construction.
Necessity of National Aid.
The feasible projects are always large
and costly because private enterprise hns
already seized upon the smaller and less
expensive ones. leaving to the government
the grent works which are to be SO essen
tial a part In bringing the nation TO Its
full development. Great care and the nigh
est engineering skill are required to plan
and build such works, which are among the
most dIfflcult undertakingso Of mankind. They
must be built for permnnence and safety,
for they are to last and spread b,1s prosperity
works body Of engineers OF the highest
character have been. brought together In
partially selected for capacity alone are
capable OF creating these great structures.
Merit must govern. not only In the selec-
tion Of men, but still more III tne selection
of the projects.
Every reclamation project selected for
construction must possess the qualities
ing, certain to reclaim large tracts OF arid
lnnd and to support In well being dense
md vigorous population; Vast though the
benefits OF the reclamation law, there Will
be many disappointmcnts, which necessarily
await both the advocate OF special projects
and the men whose desire OF accomplished
results outruns the slow and steady deyel-
opment OF these great undertakings. 1t
should be borne In mind that brond sur
vey of all possible projects gives the con.
ception OF their relative value, and that
work of prime Importance to one group of
men may seem less desirable In the light Of
wider knowledge.
Caution Urged.
Nor Is 1t wise In large affairs to begin
construction first, and elaborate details nf-
terwards Each important point must be
carefully studied In advance, and the whole
plan tested and approved before WORK can
begin. Yet II we proceed both cautiously
and pcrsistently under this benehcent law,
we may confidently expect the largest pos.
sible development Of our arid lands and
their settlement by industrious, prosperous.
self respecting men and women, who will
exchange the products OF Irrigated agricul-
ture for the products of mills and factories
throughout the United States. Communi-
ties tourishins In what Is now the desert
will finally take their places among the
The irrigation development of the arid
West cannot stand alone. Forestry 10 the
companion and support of irrigation. With
out forestry, irrigation must fall Permnn-
ent irrigation development and forest de-
struction cannot exist together. Never for
national at nal government @ means the % use Of ali
the resources of the forest reserves. There
is little profit In destruction compared with
use.
Home Making Chief Object.
The settlement of the great arid West by
the makers OF homes is the central object,
both Of the irrigation aud the forest policy
Of the United states In forestry as in
of some individual must occasionally yield
to their permanent advantage. which Is the
public good. The benefits of forestry are
not only for the future, but for the present
The forest reserves are for all the people.
but first for the people In the immediate
ncighborhood, for whom supplies of wood
and water are among the first necessures of
life. With the wiser and more skiliful
management of the reserve by trained men,
the greater obviously Will their usefulness
be to the public.
Ultimate Success Sure.
We must never allow our chagrin at tenn
porary defeat and difficulties In the man
ngement of the forest reserves to blind us
to the absolute necessity of these reserves
to the people OF the West.
Support OF the forest-rescrve policy has
grown with wonderful rapidity In the West
during the last few years. 1t will continue
to grow TIL the last vestlge of opposition,
now almost gone. has wholly disappeared
before the understanding OF the object and
the effect OF the reservation. Tie greater
the support Of the forest reserve by the peo
pie OF the West, the greater the assurance
that the national irrigation policy will not
fail, for the preservation OF the forests Is
vital to the success Of this policy
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.