The Newtown bee., 1907-09-13

Colorado St1te CapItal buiid1n&,
 Denver.
 been flowing in ever increasing vol ume from the mines to the city, so that the total contribution of the mines of Colorado to the upbullding of Denver and the commonwealth has been estimated at more than $90O, GOO, 900. %, it is nevertheless true that the great resources of the state to-day are found in it's mineral development and possi- bilities.
 The true development of agriculture in Colorado began in 1870 and since that year there have been constructed some of the finest and most extensive systems of irrigation that the world has known, for irrigation is the bond of union between the arid climate of Colo rado and it's inexhaustibly rich soil.
 The evidences of popular interest in the development of agriculture by irri- gatlon were never more pronounced than at the present moment. The re- cent decision of the supreme court of the United States in the litigation be- tween the states of Colorado and Kan sas, relative to the right of Colorado to appropriate the waters of the Ar kansas river for irrigation purposes, has confirmed the right of Colorado to the use of such waters. This has stim-
 
 the farmers and townfolk of the mid dle west so that new enterprises for the irrigation, of arid lands are being developed and there is a continual migration of settlers from the eastern and central states to these lands.
 To rightly understand the influence which this new development is des- tined. to have upon the future of Den yer one must appreciate the changed conditions of the country at large brought about by the prosperity of the past ten years. There is now in the United States large proportion of people of ample means who have the desire and are able to live where they can get the most out of life. This tendency on the part, of well-to-do peo- pie has built up Southern California and has made the whole region. for 30 miles around Los Angeles continuous garden filled with beautiful homes.
 The attractions of Colorado's eli mate and the union of city and coun- try life have done much for the devel- opment of Colorado Springs. Thus far, however, the people of Denver have giv- en little attention to this subject. Den yer has been pre-eminently business city. One goes immediately out of Den yer upon arid plains, and the city to- day, on many sides, has fringe of tin cans and cactus. But it is, neverthe- less, unsurpassed by no other city on the continent in the attractions it might offer to those who have the de- sire and the means to enjoy both points 15 to 20 miles from Denver practically as accessible to the business man as any points within the city. It will mean matter of few minutes tr avel only.
 What is now needed is to improve the country traversed by these trolley lines, making it continuous suburban district, where men can have from one to five acres of land each, and where they will have all of the attractions of the country, the cheapness and comfort of country life, and every advantage of the city.
 Such a development requires, as a first requisite, an assured water supply.
 The investment in homes is so large, and the acreage value of crops grown under such conditions so great, that vicissitudes of seasons.
 One reason why this requisite has not been supplied, and why so much of the land immediately adj cent to Denver has never been improved is that land values would not justify the expenditure required to provide the water supply. Those lands which could be irrigated at small cost have long been under irrigation, but the limit of cheap irrigation does not cover half the lands that surround the city.
 The great increase in land values which has taken place all over the IL l.. now made practicable an outlay for water which ten years ago could not have been considered. This enhance ment in land values is shown in Colo rado by the increase from $25 to $2, 900 an acre at Gran d Junction, and from $100 an acre to $1, 900 and $1, 500 an acre at Canyon City.
 No section or city equals Denver in the extent of it's local mark :or in it's facilities for reac hing distant markets, and the time h as now come when the values of the lands around Denver and the DO ossibilities for their extensive cultivation will an ex1 e allure for water in almost any amount.
 At first thought it seems strange in- deed that lands 50 miles or more dis kant from Denver, as are those of the Eongmont, Greeley, Rocky Ford, Can Rn City and other highly cultivated and large income producing districts, should have been developed while those lying close to the heart of the city were left barren and unproductive but one req son for this has been already given The limit of cultivation by irrigation from the streams was reached long ago, and the development of addition a! Irrigated areas must be by means of reservoirs to catch the flood waters of winter and spring so as to hold them in storage for distribution as needed during the dry season, when no rain falls and the streams do not flow
 To Be Continued