East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-06-15
PURPOSES OF THE
IRRIGATION CONGRESS
SPOKANE MAN SPEAKS
AT CHICAGO BANQUET
X. Insinger, Chairman of Board OF
Governors, Discusses Intentions OF
Organization Toward Building up
the Country.


the purposes of the National Irriga.
ton Congress in an address following
a luncheon in his honor at the Ham
ilton Club here today II. Insinger Of
Spokane, chairman of the board Of
governors, said that in addition to
saving the forests, storing the floods
reclaiming the deserts and swamps
and making homes on the land. the
organization also aims bringing a bet
ter and more intelligent class of set
tiers to the country, with view to
the utilization of every opportunity
offered by intensive farming to in
crease production and decrease the
cost of living. He added among other
things:
"The National Reclamation Act ad-
opted by the United States congress
in 1902. is the outgrowth of years of
work by this organization to obtain
the enactment of such a law. This
has given the country 25 projections,
representing the reclamation of g.
$4,000 acres of land at a cost OF
more than s50.0O0,000, while 13 pro-
jects held in abeyance until the COM
pletion of the foregoing, will add g.
270,000 acres more to the crop-pro-
ducing area of the United States
This total of 6.46S. 900 acres will fur
nish homes for 100000 persons and
add several hundred millions Of dol
lars to the taxable property of the
various states.
"The congress, which gained such
widespread recognition at the Spo-
kane convention, last summer. viii
have its 18th session at Pueblo Colo.
September &c to 80, under the presi-
dency of B. A. Fowler, OF Proenix
Ariz., who has been actively identi'
fled with the organization for years
1t is promised there will be severa
thousand delegates, including practic
al agriculturists and irrgationists
| from all parts of the United States
Canada and Mexico. also from 80 tC
40 foreign representatives and diplo
mats, heads of national and state de
partments, capitalists and engineers
There will also be an exposition
| of apparatus for raising and putting
water on the land and representative,
| exhibits of products of irrigated tracts
! thus bringing together in the hear
! Of the Arkansas valley the most com
| prehensive demonstration OF the valu
| of irrigation in the history of tn
movement Colorado has a large
acreage under bitches than any of th'
western states and. as PRACTICAL.
every approved method Of distribut
, ing water is in use in that state, ther,
? N,r-ft - q, H. >;
Gus plans Of supplying moisture b,
artificial means to the land.
an the states from the Missour
river to the Pacific ocean there ar
fully 100000 acres under irrigation
or to be watered i'm the near future
Allowing an average Of 90 acres to
family and five persons to n family
this acreage will support 100000 per
sons. To this number might he ad
ded 100000 more, representing tn
number of persons needed to suppl
the wants Of these tillers of the sol
and to transport their products. Ir
rigationists claim that an averag
10 acres to the family is high enough
but, to be conservative, an averag
of 90 is used on that basis thes
100000 acres would furnish liz
ing, directly or indirectly to at leas
100000 people.
planted to wheat, producing n
average of so bushels an acre thi
irrigated area would yield 10000. 90
bushels; or 100000 tons Of hay
II planted to alfalfa. while II In ap
pies. as grown in the northwestern
states. the yield would be 10000. 90
tons. This enormous tonnage woul
call for more railroads from tn
great lakes to the Pacific coast, mil
lions of dollars worth of new equip
ment and the employment of hun
dreds Of thousands Of skilled mechan
les and laborers in mills and factor
les all over the country. 1t would al
SO mean more business for the banke
land merchant.
lone hundred and fifty million dol
lars has been invested in irrigatio
canals in 16 arid states and territol
les and n harvest valued at $3.50
600 900 is the former deserts re
sponse annually to the intelligent an
plication Of water to the sun-scorch
ed valleys. The possibilities Of re
clamation and its bearing on the III
turc welfare Of the nation can he bet
ter realized when we consider tha
fully 35.000.000 acres OF arid or sem
arid land can he reclaimed nv irriga
ton, in addition to the acreage nor
irrigated, and approximately $4,000
900 acres of swamp land by drainag,
Between 100000 and II 1000. 90
persons are now engaged in agricu
ture in the United states. and prac
tically all of the arabic land in tn
humid regions is embraced in the 6
100000 farms under cultivation. Th
average size of these farms is IA
acres.
France Is a country of only 207
O54 square miles and has popula
tion Of nearly 10000. 900 vet It, Is tn
banker nation OF the world and SUI
ports its people comfortably TIL
: German empire has 20S,000 squar
miles and a population of 5000, 00'
Austria Hungary has 261o0O suuar
miles and population of 1900, 00v
: Washington. oregon, idaho and Nor
I tana have 396,700 square miles an
. not more than 5000. 900 populatio,
l How many happy and prosperor
men. women and children will thes
four great commonwealths suppo