Bisbee daily review., 1906-09-04
IRRIGATION CON. GRESS NOW IN
 SESSION
Continued fr-n Page |.

sufficient area to enable the land In each project to be put on revenue producing DasIs. TO bring all pro jeots to this point it will require up. wards of s40.000,000 which it is esti- mated will be available from the re- ports of disposal of public lands for this year 1905-1906.
 We may well congratulate our selves upon the rapid progress al ready made. and rejoice that the in- fancy of the work has been efrectually passed, but We must not forget there
 are dangers and difficulties still ahead and that only unbroken vigilance, ef- ficiency, energy and good sense will suffice to prevent disaster. There is now no question as 10 where the work shall be done; how it shall be done,
 or the precise way in which expendi- lures shall be made. All that is set tied. There remains, however, the
 critical question of how best to utilize
 the reclaimed lands by putting them into the hands of actual cultivators and home-makers, who will return the original outlay in annual instailments. paid back into the reclamation fund and the question of seeing that the lands are used for homes, and not for the purposes of speculation or for building up of large fortunes.
 Speculation in lands reclaimed by the government must be checked at whatever cost The object of recla- nation is not to make money, but 10 make homes, therefore the require ment of the reclamation act that the size Of a farm unit shall be limited | in each region to an area which will comfortably support one family. must | be enforced in letter and in spirit | This does not mean that farm unit i shall be sufficient for the present fam | fly. with its future grown children and grand children, but rather, that during the ten years of payment, the
 area assigned for each family shall pc sufficient to support it. When once | the farms have been fully titled by the | free holder. little danger of land monopoly will result. This great meet ing of practical irrigators should give particular attention to this problem
 and others of the same kind. You should, and doubt not that you will, 1 give your effectual support to the of ! fees of the government in making re- i clamation successful in all respects and particularly in getting back the
 original investment, so that the money
 may be used again in completing of
 other projects and thus, in a general extension of prosperity in the west. Until it has been proved that this great investment of $40000,0O0 in irri- | gation made by the government will be ! returning to the treasury, it is useless to expect that the people of the coun- 1 try will consider direct appropriations | for the work. Let us give the recla | nation service a chance to utilize the present investment second time be- | fore discussing such increase. l look l forward with great confidence to the1 result
 "By the side O. the reclamation service there has grown up another l service of not less interest and value | to you of the West. This is the for
 est service, which was created when the charge of the forest reserves was transferred from the interior to the department of agriculture. If ever | it should come when the westen for
 ests are destroyed, there will disap-
 pear with them that prosperity of the | stockman, miner, lumberman and the
 railroads, and, most important Of all, | the small ranchman, who cultivates his own land. know that they are
 with me in the intention to preserve | timber, water and grass by using them | fully but wisely and conservatively. We propose to do this through free and most cordial cooperation between the government and every man, who is in sympathy with this policy, the wisdom of which no man who knows the facts can for moment doubt.
 i Tt is now less than two years since the Forest service was established. It had a great task before tito create or reorganize the service on forest re-
 serves and to ascertain and meet very
 different local conditions and local
 needs all over the West. This task is
 not finished. and of course it could not
 have been finished in so short time. But the work has been carried forward
 with energy and intelligence and
 enough has been done to show how our forest policy is working out. Ev-
 erything the government has ever
 spent upon it's work is a small price
 to pay for the knowledge that the
 streams. which make your prosperity.
 can be and are being freed from the
 ever present threat of forest fires.
 "The long standing and formerly
 bitter differences between stockmen
 and forest officers are nearly all set
 tied. Those which remain are in process of settlement. Hearty coop
 eration exists almost everywhere be-
 tween the officers of the forest serv-
 ice and the local associations of stock
 men. who are appointed an advisory | f-Tx r-r.-1,
 ally consulted by the forest service
 on ali questions in which they are
 concerned. This most satisfactory
 condition of mutual help will be as
 welcome to you as it is to the admin istration and to the stockmen.
 The sales of forest reserve timber to settlers. miners, lumbermen and other users, are increasing very rapid . Iy, and that in that way the service is a success, meeting a growing need"