Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-07-10
NATIONAL IRRIGATION
CONGRESS.

eve shall have between 4,500 and
5000 delegates from practically every
state, from our colonies and from 20
foreign countries, and, besides, thou
sands of visitors at the 18th session
of the National Irrigation congress in
Spokane, August 9 to IA. The work of
retaining arid and swamp sands is
southwest or the far west, but there
is a 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 complimentary banquet by
the board of control in Spokane, at
which Dr. W. J. MCGEE 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 DIR.
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-
tion congress are not alone the irriga-
ton and retaining of arid lands, of
which there are 60,000,000 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 s0,000,0O0 acres in the coun-
try, and we are working for deep
waterways, and are doing all we can
to make the path of the home builder
smoother.
"Some say that we now have the
reclamation work under way and our
work is about over. That is not true;
we have just begun. We have not
done enough until we have accomplish
ed 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 a competence,
but in being good citizens. That means
something to the nation.
"Our great cities are the maelstrom
of society Getting people on the land
is our salvation. Left alone any great
city would soon meet its fate. Its
safety lies in its citizenship being re-
juvenated by the men who come from
the land.
"Since this great work is being done
chiefly for the benefit of generations to
come, it is right and proper that the
government should provide ample funds
to reclaim waste lands, improve water
ways and carry on similar work. There
should be funds ample to. carry on this
work on broad lines. There should be
bond issues for which the coming gen.
erations, realizing most of the benefits
should bear most of the cost
DR.. MCGEE said that the nation Is
richest resource is water, without which
there could be no life nor expansion
adding:
cit requires three acre feet of water
to produce a crop. We all know that
we can quadruple the yield by having
five acre feet of water instead Oh
three, and that six acre feet will pro
duce more than five. Five acre feet
of water weighs 5000 tons, which is
the approximate weight of three acre
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 the
country is 80 inches. We use only
per cent, of our annual rainfall, ant
with all this waste of precious wate-
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.''