The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-08-10
HO.HES ARE Provided
(By r. n. Neweli.)

The present situation in national
irrigation lis that homes are being pro
vided for thousands NJ self supporting
citizens at no cost II :he taxpayer
Seven years have elapsed since the
passage Of the reclamation act. Under
it's operation irrigation works have
been built in the thirteen western
states and two territories by which
waters are conserved and distributed.
and nearly 100000 acres already
brought under irrigation. with returns
To the fund amounting already to over
a million dollars. The success oh
tanned may be said to justify the
hopes of the most enthusiastic of the
early advocates of the reclamation act.
The law signed by President Roose-
Welt on June Il. 1909, known as the
reclamation act, is perhaps the most
prominent of the statutes dealing di-
rectly with the conservation of nat
ural resources and with the utiliZa-
tion Of these in creating opportunities
for large body Of citizens to own
land in small quantities sufficient for
the support of a family. To quote a
well-worn phrase. its object is to put
the iandless man on the manless
land" and To enable his family to
prosper by the use Of waters which
otherwise flow to waste or are de
structive of human life and property.
Very Productive.
The land which otherwise is value
less becomes highly productive
through the intelligent application of
the water thus conserved. and through
the labor of the man who otherwise
might be unable to employ his ener
gies for the best good of his family
and of the commonwealth.
The nation Is concerneS in this work
not only because Of the resulting in
ternll development, but also becaus"
of the improvement in citizenship and
i'm stability of American institutions.
The nomadic herdsman, the restless
miner and the wandering laborer add
little to the strength or safety of the
community. but let one of these men
become attached to the soil, let him
own a small farm which is sufficiently
productive to furnish his family with
needed subsistence and comforts. and
pended upon. in season and out Of
season. to preserve those institutions
which we most highly prize.
This result of adding In the produc-
tive area of the country and the
building up of the highest type Of citi-
zenship is brought about 10y the "N-
penditure of fund not created by di-
rect taxation nor ta-,,n from the
pockets of other farmers. The fund Is
derived from the proceeds of the dis
posa1 of public lands acquired IA cen
turv or less ago and which have been
considered almost Vaiucicss. These
funds are expended I'm the cnnstruc-
ton of reservoirs and canals. the
water from which is not given away,
but is sold at rate sufficient To re
pay the cost and to maintain the fund
undiminished
Private Capital.
IL must not he supposed that the
use of this fund alone has brought
about Il transformation OF many parts
of the arid region. While the govern
ment has utilized this fund in making
homes in localities where otherwise
waite capital has also made great adj
Vances. and possibly at present five
or ten times as large an investment In
the aggregate is being made by cor
poratioHs in building irrigation works
as is being invested by the govern
ment Much of this Investment, how
ever. has been made possible. or at
least has been stimulated. by the gov
eminent work The fact that the ma
tional government has deemed il Mise
to take up the matter has been one III
the strongest arguments appealing Ia
capitalists to do likewise.
Therr is no competition as between
national and private funds, but rather
an attempt AT all times On the part Of
the government - stimulate legitimate
enterprise through obtaining facts upon
which investments might b. safely
made. and To avoid taking up such
work as could be handled successfully
by others Looking back. il noW seems
probable that If the government had
not begun work in each of tht west
crn states, many af the enterprises
now successful under private auspices
would not have been taken up; hut.
on the other hand, some Of the enter
prises ON which the government is
now engaged. if left dormant for sev-
eraI years. would have been entered
upon by private capital
The reclamation fund has beea
larger thar was expected. upwards of
fifty-two millions of dollars beiag
available To December. 1909. this being
twice as much As was fnreseen. Their"
have been laid out systems which in
volve the ultimate reclamation of sev-
eral million acres. Large works. whose
magnitude is such that they have been
passed over by private and corporate
enterprise. have been built. In all IL
may be stated that i'm round numbers
there were ready for irrigation at the
beginning of the irrigation season "f
the present year over 5000 farms. with
AN aggregate acreage AT 100000 acres
Flood Waters.
Storage Of flood waters had been
created and in actual use Ia ths eSteat