Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1909-06-26
DELEGATES BYTHOUSANDS
At SPOKANE CONVENTION
An Estimate of the Attendance at thu
Irrigation Congress.

Spokane, Wash, June 20.-(Special
Correspondence of The Republican,
1--WE shall have between $500 and s.
600 delegates from practically every
state, from our colonies and from
twenty foreign countries, and. besides,
thousands of visitors at the seventeenth
session of the National Irrigation con-
gress 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 cast and even on the Atlantic sea-
board These forces will join with us
in making the coming congress 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 DIR. w. ]. MCGEE, of Washing
ton, d. c., secretary of the Inland
Waterways association and member Of
the board of governors of the congress,
was also guest. Mr.. Barstow dis
cussed principally the ethical and So
Geological side of reclamation work,
while DIR. MCGEE presented an array
of figures, showing the Importance of
irrigation in an industrial way. R
Insinger, chairman of the board of con-
troll, presided.
THE causes of the National Irriga-
ton congress are not alone the irriga-
ton and retaining of arid lands, of
which there are 100000 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 du-
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,OOO acres in the
country. and we are working for weep
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 competence.
but in being good citizens That
means something to the nation.
''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
49,
There should be funds ample to carry
on this work on broad lines There
should be bond issues for which the
coming generations. realizing most of
the benefits, should bear most of the
cost"
DR.. MCGEE said that the nations
richest resources is water. without
which there could be no life nor ex-
pansion, adding:
ut requires three acre feet of water
to produce crop. We all know that
we can quadruple the yield by having
five acre feet of water instead of three,
and that six acre feet win produce
more than five. Five acre feet of
water weighs 5000 tons, which is the
approximate weight of three acre feet
"a SNii' Sho"ihS that dS hiuNH wafer -
used every year in the production OF a
crop as there is soil.
THE average rainfall all over the
country is thirty inches. We use only
per cent of our annual rainfall. and
with all this waste of precious water
we let floods do damage of from S40.-
100000 to $3.50, 100000 a year.
The rainfall we have is not half
enough. There are 100000 square
miles of land in the United States
which receives so much less than the
average rainfall that it is unnhabit-
able. 1t is the work Of the congress to
stop this waste of our resources and to
reclaim our arid lands"