Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-10-19
WORST TALKS ON IRRIGATION
Residents of the State Should Begin Cam.
paign of Education and Prepare For
the Future.

President Worst of the state agricul-
sure college breaches this sound doc
trine:
With over $3,500,000 to North Da-
aota's credit in the irrigation fund,
there should be active interest taken
by our people in making surveys to
determine the feasibility of applying
water to land, either by gravity or by
the establishment of pumping stations.
Active and earnest measures also
should be instituted for experimental
and educational purposes, that an in
tel1igent sentiment may be created on
the subject of irrigation. This will
require time, patience and money. A
good beginning has been made but |
much difficult work remains yet to be
done.
Two important questions must be
decided, viz: the probable feasibility,
and the probable profits that would
arise from expanding money for the
purpose of surface irrigation. If irri-
CATION is practicable, what will be the
probable expense? Will farmers own
ing land where irrigation is possible
foot the bills? Unless farmers are
willing to pay the cost, there will be
no irrigation system established out of
moneys now credited to the reclama-
ton fund To determine whether they
will find it profitable to do so or not,
should not be left to the hazard Of
guess on the part Of each farmer, but
a sub-experiment station should be
established in suitable locality for
experim entail and investigational pur-
poses. The federal government could
we'll afford to, and doubtless would
assist the state to support sub-station
for making irrigation experiments and
investigations. 1t would not require
the annual expenditure of large sum
of money to determine, within a rea-
sonable period, the relation between
the cost of artificially applying water
to the land, and the increased produc-
tiveness of the land. From data thus
obtained, the relative cost and adyan-
tages of irrigation, under different sys-
TENS and under varying difficulties,
could be closely appropriated. 1t
would also aid individual farmers, or
community of farmers, to undertake
irrigation as private enterprise,
should they consider it desirable to do
so.
Too many lose sight of the fact that
should the funds. or any portion of the
funds credited to North Dakota, be
used within the state for the construc-
ton of irrigation plants, those availing
themselves of water privileges would
have to pay the entire expense, within
about ten years. The government is
not donating anything; is not giving
away any money. The beneficiaries
must pay whatever an irrigation plant
costs.
1t is but natural that those in au-
thority should apply the money now in
the reclamation fund, first to the most
feasible propositions, wherever they
may be located. 1t is business to do
so. If $1,000,000, used in Nevada o
New Mexico. will furnish water for u
larger acreage of land, and the crops
grown on such irrigated land shol d
promise to be proportionately me re
| valuable than if the $1,000,000 were
used in Oregon or Montana, the mf1ey
| would naturally be diverted to the
easier, more economical and more pro-
! fitable proposition. What then In
ten years the money must bt paid
back and will then be available for a
more expensive proposition, O. re, for
instance, where more money 'ill be
required to water fewer acres. In this
way the same money. beginnir with
the simpler and easier ir lgation
schemes now projected, will work
back from decade to decade and be
re-expended upon the more difficult
and expensive propositions. until the
time may come when the adv antages
of irrigation would no longer e. nal the
expenditure of money that would have