Weekly journal-miner., 1911-04-19
CHICAGO NATURAL
 IRRIGATION CENTER

CHICAGO, H., April I~-For all
 the clements that combine to make
 an irrigation or drainage project com
 plete-engineers, money, settlers, ma
 ehinery, the necessaries of life; prac-
 tically everything in fact aside from the land and the water-tnere is no
 other source of supply in the United States which can compare with Chi
 eago.
 Chicago, centrally located is logi- cally the distributing center for every thing pertaining to irrigation and
 farm land development in three di- reetions at least, and with its fnan- eial and various other facilities, the city is naturally the great clearing
 house for all the enormous interests involved, North, West and South, and
 East to no small extent.
 With these facts apparent at first glance to the most ordinary observer. it is generally conceded that the Queen City of the Lskes-with two and one-half millions of people of her own and with ten times as many more within the scope of a ten-hour journey on raiiway-is of such i'm portanee as a nation center that the National Irrigation Congress is es- pecially fortunate to be her guest this year. That the nineteenth ses- sions of the congress, which are to be held here in December. will con stitute the greatest gathering of the kind ever witnessed in this country Is no unfounded boast based merely on preliminary enthusiasm.
 The congress already mas been made part of throbbing Chicago because of the interest shown in the work by the Chicago board of control of close to 100 of the eity's foremost business and professional men, and the con gress this year will necessarily be big in exact proportion to Chieago's GUS tomary "I Win' manner of accom- plishment. Of great importance to the congress just at this time and in this connection is the fact that Frank lin MacVesgh. Chicagoan, Secretary of the United States Treasury and a member of President Taft's cab inet, has accepted an appointment to in the Chicago board of control. MT. MacVeagh's son, Eames MaeVeagh, to whom the MacVeagn business interests in Chicago were transferred at the time the president $ hand reached itno Chicago and led the founder of the vast AaeVeagh holdings to the nations capitol, also has shown an interest in the work of the congress. He too is a member of the board of eonerol and also is identified with the Chicago Irrigation Association.
 Right now Chicago's advantages for farm and land development | the entire country are at their best. In 1909 and during part of 1910 the atmosphere in the middle western portion of the country was surcharged with land excitement. , Hundreds of thousands of inquiries for information concerning farm op- in this state or that were , directed to the railways, to banks l md land concerns, to newspaper ofi . .es and to the government. Statistics { compiled later indicated that a large . of these inquirers were more curious than determined. This excitement mas now died out almost . and the rule now is, it is reported generally, that when an in Iuiry appears it usually comes from man of means whose request for if followed in most cases ov an actual purchase of farm home.
 Railway immigration men in Chi ago are jubilant. over the situation md express themselves generally as