The Springfield herald., 1904-09-02
Theodore Roosevelt Strongly Urges National Aid
to Transform the Desert.
REPUBLICANlSM FATHER OF HOMESTEADs
Grand Old Partys Record a Home Builder
Extent Of the Arid Regions
and Their Enormous
possibilities.

death to lie. say within ten years. could
easily he made to sustain population
equal To that of the United States ut
J present
The present President. aud the next
! President of the United Slntcs-rheo-
dore Rooscvelt-is ahead of his genera
] tion ON this. as ON many other subjects
! of national Importance. His prescient
| vision of the great destiny of the rcpub-
| lie Is pregnant with taliSmHnic achieve
mcnts for this future garden-spot of
| the world. Here he sees the old miracle
| of changing water into wine done over
and over again Not only this: He
sees as n result of applying the living
| stream to the parch@l earth. myriad
form, Of agricultural and horticultural
products which shall meet The necessities
and satisfy the luxurious tastcs of mil
/ lions vet unborn. This and more will
the precious %aters accomplish they
go from their great natural reservoirs,
| high zip the mountains and from the
artificial forced mpoundur prisons.
lower down the mountain sides. on their
journey of fructiIicatiou laughing. To
/ the sea.
| Presidents Message 10 Congress.
Indeed the efforts of those Interested
| i'll the west may be said To have found
| fitting culminato in the first meSsa ge
! Of President Roosevelt in December.
| 1901. The portions of this message
which relate To irrigation have peculiar
| interest in connection with the recama-
tiou law. sine" the latter is somewhat
general and the working out of details
| is left largely 10 executive action. In
considering the possible application of
the law. light may be thrown upon the
| future by weighing carefully the opin-
l -
| us follows:
The forests are natural reservoirs.
Ey restraining the streams in flood and
replcnishing them in drought they make
| possible the use of waters otherwise
| wasted. They prevent the soil from
| washing and SO protect the storage reser-
voirs from filling mp with silt. Forest
| conservation is therefore an essential
| condition of water conservation.
The forests alone cannot. however.
| fully regulate and conserve the waters
| of the arid region. Great storage works
are necessary to equaiZe the flow of
| streams and To save the flood waters.
| Their constructo ion has been conclusvcly
shown to he nm undertaking too vast for
p"ivai effort. Nor can it be best ac-
complslIcd hv the individual States act
ing alone Far-rcnchins interstate prob
single States w"ud often he inadequate.
1t is properly a national function. Mt
least in some OF its features 1t is as
right for the National Government to
make the streams and rivers of the arid
| region useful by engineering works for
water storage AS to make useful the riv-
crs and larbors of the humid region by
engineering works of another kind. The
storing of the floods in reservoirs at the
headwatcrs of our rivers is but an en-
lnrgemcnt of our Present policy of river
control. under which lcvces are built on
the lower reaches of the same streams.
Duty of Our Government.
"'rhe Government should construct
and maintain these reservoirs it does
other public works. Where their pur-
pose is TO regulate the flow of streams
the water should he turned freely into
the channels in the dry season to take
the same course under the same laws as
| the natural flow.
"rhc reclamation of the unsettled arid
| public lands presents different prob
| LEM. Here it is not enough to regulate
| the aow of streams. The object of the
Government is to dispose of the land to
settlers who will build homes upon it.
| To accomplish this object water must
! he brought within their reach
The pioneer settlers on the arid pub
| lie domain chose their homes along
streams from which they could them
| selves divert the water to reclaim their
holdings. Such opportunities are prac-
| tically gone. There remain, however.
vast areas of public land which can
be made available for homestead settle
ment. but only by reservoirs and main
| line canals impra cticnble for private en-
| IL.
| be built by the National Government.
The lands reclaimed by them should be
reserved by the Government for actual
| settlers, and the cost of construction
| should. so far as possible. be repaid by.
| the land reclaimed. The distribution of
| the water. the division of the streams
| among irriGators. should be left to the
settlers themselves. in conformity with
| State laws and without Interference
with those laws or with vested rights.
| The policy of the National Government
| should be to aid irrigation in the sew
ernl States and Territories in such man
ner as will enable the people in the To-
cal communities to help themselves and
as will stimulate needed reforms in the
| State laws and regulations governing ir-
| rigation.
Will Enrich Whole Nation.
The reclamation and settlement of
the arid lands will enrich every portion
of our country, just as the settlement
/ of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys
| brought prosperity to the Atlantic
| States The increased demand for
manufactured articles will stimulate in
dustrial production while wider home
markets and the trade of Asia will con-
sumo the larger food supplies and e.
| fectunlly prevent Western competition
with Eastern agriculture. Indeed, the
products of irrigation will be consumed
chiefly in upbuiding local centers of
mining and other industries, which would
otherwise not come into existence Mt
all. Our people as whole will profit.