Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-10-26
Irrigation in
North Dakota
CONTINUED from Page ~

showed that the reclamation service
vas prejudiced IN favor OF other sec.
lions In the arid West.
The Senators attitude toward the
government irrigation service Is
neither calculated 70 help the state
OF Northe Dakota In securing the ex'
penditure Of Uncle Sans money with
IN its borders, nor to stimulate the
reclamation service 10 increase its
activities In finding feasible projects
for such expenditures, unless the
Senator's attitude is recognized as
one not representing the sense Of the
people Of the state who desire It's IT.
yigation development.
Watched BY its Enemies.
AZ both Congressman Stevens and
M. Maxwell urged In their addresses,
the irrigation act is now on trial be-
fore the whole people Of the country.
II Is being watched closely by It's
enemies AZ well as It's friends. and
those projects must be selected which
will. beyond question, prove succesa-
full, not only from an engineering
standpoint but from one Of colonial
ton as well. where the land when IT.
ricated will be settled upon and the
o q OF It's reclamation paid back In
full to the government.
As q matter Of fact, but little In
terest has been manifested by North
Dakota In the irrigation question up
to the present time. and none what
ever prior to the holding OF the Bis
mark state Irrigation Congress, a
year ago No call was made upon
the government by the congresslo-
nal delegation. Immediately after the
passage OF the act, when all other
western states were clamoring for
recognition upon a survey or investi-
cation Of the irrigation resources Of
the state, no statewide movement
for such work wal agitated by Sena-
tor McCumber or others. and 1t Is
not to be expected that the progress
should be found to-day as has occur
red In other Western state where
large local and state appropriations
had been made for preliminary sur
veys and cooperation with the Geo
logical Survey. and for local organi.
sations sven prior to the passage OF
the national irrigation act. two and a
half years ago.
F~iickertalls Need Education.
First OF all. the people OF North
Dakota must be awakened to a
thorough realization Of the benefits
or Irrigation and must evlnce such
IN interest In and desire for the re.
ciamation OF their lands as will In
sure the government Of the fact that
when II has found and constructed
IN irrigation work, the people will
DO willing to take the land and pay
back the cost. The fact In the very
part ~ the state which 1t X believed
can be best irrigated. several fair So
called wet weather crops in success.
sion can be raised without irrigation,
and that when immigrants come In
to the country the people keep rather
quiet about the dry and lean year,
makes an extensive campaign OF edu'
cation an imperative c~oincident fea-
ture Of irrigation development. II
Il moreover entirely In advance OF
the times to promise the people OF
any state a Federal appropriation for
q twenty million dollar dam, beside
additional millions necessary fol
great canals, however promising
Federal irrigation. as has been said
Is on trial before the country and
while its friends believe that The
working out of the policy will show
1t To be a great national one. as
bread, beneficent and truly national
as any internal improvement ever
undertaken by any government In
any age. yet the plan Is. to the penI IL
of the East. a new and untriea one
and they will certainly insist upon
rse'ng several large projects worke
tut to their erti-e s~atisfa-tca. be
fore Congress can be expected to
think OF appropriations such as are
now made for the big river and har
Dor work.
me great water supply OF the Mis-
sour and It's tributaries. which flow
Through North Dakota. Ia an lnes.i
mahle resource OF a state. hlanketed
with a deep and inky loan. hu,
North Dakota has yet much to learn
OF practical irrigation before he,
farmers will realize this worth or car
expect to stand on a par. so far as
irrigation Is concerned. with othe,
Western states where irrigation ha.
been carried on for years and 10