Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-08
TALKS
OF IRRIGATION
GOVERNOR OPPOSES SWAMP
LAND SCHEME
Declares That Money ls Needed for
Reclamation of Arid Lands-Re-
forestization Of Southern CALI
fornia Is Urged

II do not believe people generally
begin to realize the Importance of thu
movement for the reclamation or ariC
lands, not only to those sections imme
diatey affected but to the country as 9
whole" said Governor Pardee at the
| Angelus yesterday.
The governor was referring to the re.
port that at the coming meeting of the
National Irrigation congress Senator
| Hansbrough of North Dakota and
members of congress from some of the
southern states would seek to put
| through a resolution calling upon the
irrigation congress to divert q portion
| of the funds set aside for reclamation
to the drainage of swamp lands in
southern and middle western states.
Expected to Continue Efforts
"This effort on the part of Senator
Hansbrough and other members of the
irrigation congress to secure diver
sion of part of the funds for the re-
clamation of lands was started two or
three years ago." continued the gov
ernor, "and 1 would not be surprised
If the subject were brought up again at
the next meeting. l believe, however,
that the advocates of this movement
will not succeed. The Pacific coast
delegates will oppose resolution of
that kind on the ground that the re-
clamation fund, now amounting to $685.
100000, and the receipts for the next
three years, estimated at $9,000,0O0
more, have been judiciously distributed
by the secretary of the interior in pro-
viding for the construction of twenty
five great national irrigation projects,
the completion of which will require
several years and involve many mil
lionslons more than are now avail
able.
"The Importance of the work which
Senator Hansbrough and his friends
wish to have done is not underesti-
mated by anybody, but 1 believe the
people generally are convinced that
the work already mapped out is of so
much more importance that they would
not be willing that It should be delayed
or hampered in any way
Entire Nation Interested
1.-THE reclamation of arid lands means
a great deal to the people of the whole
United States just now. 1t means new
opportunities for the poor man to Sc
cure home and tract of land where
he can make living and bring up his
family where they will be surrounded
with some of the comforts of civiliza-
tion. 1t means, also, long step in the
direction of checking the present rush
of young men from the agricultural
communities to the great centers Of
population and the consequent over
crowding of the cities.
"a good many people seem to forget
that the day has gone by when 100
acres of good land were to be had al
most for the asking. And yet the de-
mand for land is as great as ever.
Many a young man who would be will
ing to take up farming as an occupation
is being forced into the large cities
simply because of lack of opportunities
to secure a farm. The reclamation
of the vast stretches of arid lands in
the west would provide him with just
such an opportunity, and these lands,
once brought under cultivation, are
among the most fertile to be found
anywhere in the world.
Small Farms the Best
"The amount of land in California
which is required to support family
comfortable is surprisingly small. In
many parts of the state farm of
twenty acres, we'll titled, will provideNa
good income, and for many reasons a
small farm is much better than large
one. Next to the lack of opportunities
d
districts, the most important factor in
driving the young men from the coun-
try into the great cities is the absence
of the social element On the large
farm of the middle west the houses are
of necessity widely scattered, and the
young people are to a certain extent
isolated. On the Atlantic coast the con-
dtions are somewhat different. The
farms there are much smaller and the
social feature enters more largely into
the life of the farmer.
Stop Rush 20 Cities
"In the Pacific coast states, where
the land is fertile and yields abundant
ly, it is possible to carry out this neigh
borhood idea to a much greater extent
than anywhere else in the Unied States,
and have not the slightest doubt that
these reclamation projects that are now
under way will be of immense value to
the country in stopping the present
rush of young men to the city, where
all the avenues of trade already are
oVercrowded.
"I think, however, that the people of
California should take up an important
branch of this work without further
delay. 1 refer to the reforestation of
the southern mountains. Some efforts
along this line already have been made,
it is true, but the work should be
undertaken on a wholesale and syste
matte scale and pushed to an early
completion. The one great need of
Southern California is admittedly
water, and yet an immense volume of
water is allowed to flow into the ocean
every year simply because no efforts
have been made to conserve 1t. The re =
forestration of these mountains would
result in saving this water which every
spring flows down from the hills and is
wasted.
Appropriations Are Needed
II am surprised that the people of the
south have not taken hold of this ques-
ton with more vigor. The railroads
alone should put half a million dollars
into a reforestration fund at once, and
the various cities and counties of this
part of the state also should make suit
able appropriations for carrying on the
work. OF course it will take a good
deal of money to complete a work of
this kind, but there can be no question
whatever that the benefits which will
accrue as a result of a reforestation of
the mountains will be so great that the
cost will hardly be worth considering
Governor Pardee is president Of the
National Irrigation congress, which
will hold its fourteenth annual meeting
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