Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1906-09-14
AN IRRIGATION CONGRESS.
A Great Gathering of Those Who are
Helping Develop the West.


Congress convened at Boise, Idaho,
last week, and was attended by 1915
delegates, representing 30 different
states. 1t was said to have been one
of the best representative bodies of
the west-principally the arid and
semi-arid west-that has ever congre-
gated to discuss irrigation and kind
red interests Without making COM
parisons it was indeed a decidedly in
teresting and important gathering, and
to one who attended for the first time
as did the delegates from South Dako-
ia, it was something of revelation.
The topics discussed by some of the
bestspeakers obtainable, by practical
men, covered great range, from the
minutest methods of irrigation to the
gigantic undertakings now under way
by the government. together with i'm
portant legel problems.
The STAR cannot undertake to give
but faint suggestion of the doings
position to demand ''a hundred thou
sand for irrigation" from the next
session of congress did not meet with
much favor and was killed. 1t is gen.
orally thought that congress has dealt
generously with the west and that it
would not be good policy to make con-
s. J,.sS
thereby possibly incur the opposition
and antagonism of many who have be-
friended the arid west aud are still
willing to be reasonable and just-and
we of the west have to remember that
the vest is very very much in the
minority in congress- that all irriga-
ficn congress may request and even
"deman9." but that the real congress
of these United States will consult it's
own constituency when it comes to
appropirating money. Therefore. the
funds that must be depended upon TO
complete and carry ON further govern
ment irrigation projects must come
from the regular source as provided
in the national irri cation act. That is
from the sale and disposal of public
lands, and from the disposition of the
lands that are being placed under irri-
cation by the various projects. This
money that is being expended in re-
claiming lands must all be repaid by
those who secure the land. 1t thus
becomes a 'srevolving fund.-" but it re.
wolves slowly in some instances. and
has no chance to revolve in some To-
calities at all.
In ascertaining all that we could re-
garding the Cheyenne River project
we could get no satisfaction from the
government representatives there eS
| ceptlng that the funds were low and
that the projects already started must
be completed, or nearly So before new
ones could be begun. There are many
projects that have been favorably re
ported, like the Cheyenne river pro
ject, which must waig awbile-no tell
Ing how loas IA year or years.
In the meantime we find that under
what is known as the Carey act" many
very extensive irrigation projects are
being undertaken. one notably the
Twin Falls tract in Idaho, where
100000 acres ere being placed uhder
irrigation. 1t is a giganic piece of en-.
terprise the largest private irrigation
scheme in the United States 1t is not
strictly private" enterprise. but
corporate. 1t is wonderful success,
and a veritable empire is being popu-
lated and irrigated, which will some,
day be one of the garden spots OF Ida
ho-and the state has many,
The "Carey Act is "a national law
under which state may acquire
government land. We believe that
about every state within the arid belt
has passed law accepting the proyis-
ions of this national law, which pro
vides for the reclamation of arid and
semi arid lands by the construction
of irrigation works under the authority
of the Secretary of the Interior and in
conformity with the laws of the states
in which reclamation is undertaken.
This law contains many'tof the pro-
visions of the government irrigation
law under which the Belle Fourche
project is being built, but enables pri-
vate enterprise and capital to under
take to irrigate the country. South
Dakota has.never passed:a..law accept
ing the provisions of the "Carey Act''
and it seems to us that it would be
wise to do so. It requires no appro-
priation upon the part of the state,
but enables the state to encourage the
irrigation of many tracts that might
otherwise forever remain arid. A
state board, usually consisting of the
state engineer, secretary of state and
commissioner of school and public
lands, has charge of the matter of se-