Cañon City record., 1904-09-01

death to life, say within ten years, could
easily be made to sustain n population
| equal to that of the United States at
| present.
The present President. and the next
| President of the United States-Theo-
dore Roosevelt-is ahead of his genera
tion this, as on many other subjects
| of national Importance. His prescient
| vision of the great destiny of the repub-
| lie is pregnant with talismanic achieve
ments 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 a result of applying the living
stream to the parched earth, myriad
| forms of agricultural and horticultural
| products which shall meet the necessities
| and satisfy the luxurious tastes of mil
| lions yet unborn. This and more will
| the precious waters accomplish as they
go from their great natural reservoirs,
high up the mountains, and from the
| artificial, forced impounding prisons,
lower down the mountain sides. on their
journey of fructiication, laughing, to
the sea.
| President's Message to Congress-.
Indeed the efforts of those interested
in the west may be said to have found
fitting elimination in the first message
| of President Roosevelt in December,
| 1901. The portions of this message
| which relate to irrigation have peculiar
| interest in connection with the reclama-
| tion law, since the latter is somewhat
general, and the working out of details
is left largely to executive action In
considering the possible application of
| the law, light may be thrown upon the
future by weighing carefully the opin-
ions of the Chief Executive. which are
as follows:
"The forests are natural reservoirs.
By restraining the streams in food and
replenishing 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 up 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 equalize the flow of
streams and to save the flood waters.
Their construction has been conclusiveiy
shown to be an undertaking too vast for
private effort Nor can it he best ac-
complished by the individual States act
ing alone. Far-reaching interstate prob
lens are involved, and the resources of
single States would often be inadequate.
| 1t is properly national function, at
| least in some of it's 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-
ers and harbors of the humid region by
engineering works of another kind. The
storing of the foods in reservoirs at the
L.. 4 - IL t., tx,,N
largement of our present policy of river
| control, under which levees are built on
| the lower reaches of the same streams.
Duty of Our Government.
1.-THE Government should construct
| and maintain these reservoirs ms it does
other public works. Where their pur-
| pose is to regulate the flow of streams
| the water should be turned freely into
| the channels in the dry season to take
| the same course under the same laws as
| the natural flow.
1.-THE reclama ton of the unsettled arid
| public lands presents a different prob
| lem. Here it is not enough to regulate
| the flow 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
! be brought within their reach.
| lie domain chose their homes along
| streams from which they could them
selves divert the wnter to reclaim their
| holdings. Such opportunities nre prnc-
| 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 impracticable for private en-
terprise. These irrigation works should
| 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
eral States and Territories in such man
ner as will enable the people In the To-
cal communities to help themselves and
ms will stimulate needed reforms in the
Stnte laws and regulations governing ir-
rigation. s
Will Enrich Whole Nation.
1.-THE reclamation and settlement of
the arid lands will enrich every portion
of our country, just ms 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 ef-
fectually prevent Western competition
with Eastern agriculture. Indeed, the
products Of irrigation will be consumed