The Seattle Republican. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1???-1915, 1910-10-07
FRIDAY October z, 1910
THE WEALTH OF THE NORTHWEST

There is only one answer to the question: What is
the greatest single resource of the Northwest?'
Water.
And the same word will answer the question:
What is the least utilized resource?'
When begins talking about the resources of the
Northwest his reputation may we'll be placed the
chopping block-uness he goes cautiously and sits
into his remarks, convincing statistics and Familiarity
sounding names and titles The suspicious reader i'm
mediately recolects all of the booster and boom and
brag and fish stories that he heard from the West
about the West and then the water story
king of them ALL
Nor is the suspicious reader-Who has nineteen to
one, travelled through the great northwestern
of his native land carefully studied map of
the United States much to be blamed Many and
many of the residents and the natives of the North
west do not know appreciate the water wealth and
water possibilities of their home land possibilities
that spell opportunities for capitalists for home build
ers for hydraulic engineers for town makers and city
jewellers.
recent report of the United States Geological
Survey tells that the total water horse power now
utilized in the United States is little more than S.
O000 900. The same report says that it is possible to
develop in the Pacific Northwest 25 0OO 900 water
horse power Nailed down still more closely the gov
eminent statiscian asserts that the Columbia river
alone exclusive of it's tributaries is capable of deve
oping water horse power than is now being used
in the entire United States. Generalizng the water
power possibilities of the Northwest the figures com.
piled from late reports and estimates of all depart
ments of government at Washington, D. c. show
that nearly one-half of the total undeveloped water
power of the United States is found in the Pacific
Northwest Nor is water power without it's use in all
parts of the Northwest Fifteen hundred and ffty-
three water wheels in operation in Washington
Oregon and Idaho developing total of 42 165 water
horse power. Compared with the total power posi-
blities these figures of look almost as small as
rain drop, being something less than one and one
half per cent of the total possible water power of these
three Pacific Coast States.
Egypt and India have boosted in time past-and
possibly do yet-that they the home of the larg
est single irrigated tracts of land in the world Their
claims vocferously disputed by shout from
the Northwest Idaho A few years ago South
ern Idaho broad, undressing desolate. sage
brush growing and coyote breeding plain The onlv
break in the monotony the high rugged cliffs of
the Snake River and the dashing waters far below.
Today the Snake River and it's tributaries are reclaim
ing to wonderful fertility several million acres of the
former desolation of Southern Idaho
The Columbia river and the Snake river are not ex-
ceptonal in the Northwest. Only pinch of their
power and dpperful of their water as it were have
yet been used. The be said of the Deschutes
and the Willamette and the Rogue rivers in Oregon:
and the Yakima, the Pend dOrele and the Snooual-
mic rivers in Washington; and concerning the smaller
streams in Idaho. Some of the most cheaply harm
essed sites nearest the largest cities have been
and are being developed. Also streams have been d.
vepted for irrigation at points where they can be with
the expenditure of reasonable amount of capital.
In many sections this water that has been diverted
for irrigation is very valuable as would he presumed
where water is the difference between ardity or semi
ardity with it's small and uncertain crops and orchards
worth from 81, 900 to 1000 an acre. The early SET
tiers in the inland Northwest naturally followed the
streams and selected homestead with running water
The value of irrigation gradually learned and
bitches were extended to the bench lands which often
proved to be valuable for agriculture than the
bottom lands. Communities of farmers Joined in
building still larger bitches Then the National Recla
nation Service with it's millions and constructed