Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-01-15

I'm tho disposition of the domnl,
already granted. many water po,yo
sites have come under absolute own
efship u may drift into one owner
ship SO that All the water power nna.,
private ownership shall Doe q monop
oily. II, however, the water power
sites now owned by the government-
and therc arc enough OF thom-shaI
he disposed ot 10 private persons foi
the investment OF their capital I'm sucl
a way az TO prevent their union TO
purposes of monopoly with other wat.
er power sites. aud under condition,
that shall limit The right ~ use to no
exceeding so years with proper moan,
for determiniag 4 reasonable eradu.
ated rental ana With some cuuitahl,
provision FOR fixing terms and re.
neWal, it would seem entirely possibl,
to prevent the absorption Of these
most useful lands ny a power monop-
oily. As long ms the government re-
tails control and can prevent their i'm
proper union with other plans, compe-
tition must be maintained ANA prices
Kept reasonable.
In considering the conservation Of
natural of the country the
feature that transcends al others. IN
Guiding woods, water. minerals. is the
soil. II is incumbent upon the gov
ernment to foster. by all available
means the OF the euuntr, To
produce the food OF the people. no
this end the conservation of the soils
should De cared for With All means al
the governments disposal.
Their productive pcwor should
have the attention of Our scientists
that We may conserve the new soils,
improve the old soils. drain wet soils,
ditch swamp soils, levee river over
flow soils, grow trees on thin soils.
pasture hillside soils. rotate crops on
MI soils, discover methods tor crop
ping dry land soils. find grasses ana
.leguncs for all soils. feed. grain ana
mill feeds on the farms where they
originate. that the soils from which
they came may he enriched.
"a work of the utmost Importance
10 inform n instruct the public on
this CHIEF branch of the conservation
Of our is being carried on
successfully in the department Of aeri-
culture, but It ought not to escape
public attention that state action. IN
addition 10 that Of the department of
agriculture CAS- for Instances, in the
drainage of swamp landsl is essential
to the best treatment Of soils il the
manner above indicated.
The act by which, in semi-arid
parts Of the public domain the area
IF the homestead has been enlarged
100 to $50 acres has resulted
most beneficially In the extension Of
Try farming ana the demonstration
which has been made OF the possihil-
ty, through a variation in the char
lcter and mode of culture. or raising,
substantial crops without the presence
If such "A supply of water as has been,
heretofore thought to he necessary for
agriculture.
but there are millions of acres Of
completely arid land in the public do
main which, by the establishment Of
reservoirs for the storing Of water ana
he Irrigation OF lands may be made
more fruitful and productive
han The best lands in a climate where
hc moisture comes from the clouds. '
Congress recognized the import
nee Of this method Of artificial dis
ribution of water on the arid lands by
he passage of the reclamation act.
Proceeds of the public lands sales
reate a fund to build The works
lceded to store ana furnish necessary
water ana il was left to. the secretary J.
II the interior to determine what pro-
ects should be selected among those
ueg"sted, ana 10 direct the rcclama-
ion service with the funds at hand,
nd through the engineers IN It's cm-
10y Ia construct the works.
no one can visit the far west and {
he country of arid ana stmi-arid
tnds without being convinced that
his is one OF the most important ,
iethods OF conservation OF our nat
resources that the government I
entered upon. II would appear
about thirty projects have been
ndcrtaken and that a 1ew Of these l
re- likely to bc unsuccessful because :
the lack of water 81 for other rea- +
but generally tho work which .
as been done has been wei done aud /
lany important engineering problems $
been met and solved. =
cone difficulty which has arisen rs :
rat too many projects In view Of the
yailabic funds have been set IN foot
funds available under the recla-
statute are inadequate TO con-
these projects within q reason
bic Time. And yet the projects have
begun, settlers have been invited
take up ma In many Instances
taken up the laud within the
relying upon their prompt
impletion Tho failure 20 complete
ie projects tor their benefit is. ia cf-
at. a breach of faith and leaves them
% most distressing condition.
II urge that the nation ought 70
ford means 10 lift them out OF the
.ry desperate condition Ia which they
%. rms condition does not indi-
re any excessive waste, nor any cor
Iption on the part OF n reclama-
N service 1t only indicates an over
al0us desire to extend the benefit
reclamation to as many acres and
many states as possible IL is rec
umendcd. therefore. that authority
given 10 issue not exceeding $40
%. 900 OF bonds from time 70 time,