The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1909-07-09
NATIONAL IRRIGATION
CONGRESS.

5000 delegates from practically every
state, from our colonies and from &C
foreign countries, and, besides, thou
sands of visitors at the 18th session
of the National Irrigation congress in
Spokane, August to IA. The work of
retaining arid and swamp lands is
not Limited to the northwest, to the
southwest or the far west, but there
is great work to do in the central
west, in the south, in the east and even
on the Atlantic seaboard. These forces
will join with us in making the coming
congress a big success.
George Eames Barstow of Barstow
Texas, said this in the course of an ad
dress at a complimentary banquet by
the board of control in Spokane, at
which DR.. w. J. Niece of Washington
D. c., secretary of the Inland Water
ways association and member of the
board Of governors of the congress, was
also a guest. Mr.. Barstow discussed
principally the ethical and sociological
side of reclamation work, while DR.
| MCGEE presented an array of figures
showing the Importance of irrigation in
an industrial way. R. Insinger, chair
man Of the board Of control, presided
"The causes of the National Irriga
ton congress are not alone the irriga
ton and retaining of arid lands, OF
which there are 6O,OOO,OOO acres,' said
Mr.. Barstow, "but other vital interests
are concerned; so one by one we have
taken them up and presented them to
the people. We have helped to edu
cate the people to the Importance Of
forestry. We have started the drain
age of swamp lands, of which there are
more than SO,00O,O00 acres in the coun
try, and we are working for deeI
waterways, and are doing all we car
to make the path of the home builder
smoother.
"Some say that we now have the
reclamation work under way and oul
work is about over. That is not true
we have just begun. We have mo-
done enough until we have accomplish
cd getting the people in the great con
gested cities located on the lands
where they can be men, free men in
deed, not only in having competence
but in being good citizens. That mean
something to the nation.
"Our great cities are the maelstron
of society. Getting people on the lane
is our salvation. Left alone any grea
city would soon meet it's fate. It.
safety lies in it's citizenship being re
juvenated by the men who come from
the land.
"Since this great work is being don,
chiefly for the benefit of generations t.
come, it is right and proper that tn
government should provide ample fund
to reclaim waste lands, improve water
ways and carry on similar work. Their
should be funds ample to carry on thi
work on broad lines. There should b.
bond issues for which the coming gen
erations, realizing most of the benefits
should bear most of the COST
DR.. Niece said that the nation ,
richest resource is water, without which
there could be no life nor expansion
adding:
cit requires three acre feet Of waite
to produce a crop. We all know tina
we can quadruple the yield by having
five acre feet of water instead o
three, and that six acre feet will pro
duce more than five. Five acre fee
of water weighs 5000 tons, which i
the approximate weight of three acr
feet of soil, showing that as mucl
water is used every year in the pro
duction of a crop as there is soil.
"The average rainfall all over tn
country is 80 inches. We use only
per cent of our annual rainfall, an,
with all this waste of precious waite
we let floods do damage of from $40
100000 to $25O,OOO,OOO year.
"The rainfall we have is not hal
enough. There are 100000 squar
miles of land in the United State
which receives so much less than tn
average rainfall that it is uninhabit
able. 1t is the work of the congress t
stop this waste of our resources an
to reclaim our arid lands"