The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-02-20
TIE IRRIGATION CONGRESS.


AThis city viii view with satisfaction
tho coming of Secretary Arthur Hooker
or the National. Irrigation Congress TO
! establish headquarters here and mako
preparations for ;he holding of the
twentieth session of that Congress IN
! this city the latter part Of the coming
summer or the carly part of the fail.
Sinre tho dates i'm The latter part at
august arc pretty well filled, the prob
! ability is that the early part Of Sop
iombcr will bc utilized for this scs
sion Of the Congress. as that Is con.
vcnicnt time, and thc dates are open
Salt Lake City. as the originator of
this Congress and the place where its
first session was he'll, Will naturally
take a very lively. warm and intimate
interest in seeing that everything pos
sibe is done 10 make the Congress the
great success which IS predicted for
the coming session by Secretary Hook
cr He can rely upon every ono here
10 second his efforts in the most Wig
orous manner, aud every ono will he
delighted TO see the great attendance
and the important results which arc
iue 70 attend the coming session OF
the Irrigation Congress.
This body has had long and useful
existence. II was undoubtedly due 10
It's earnest efforts that attention was
directed TO the reclamation on an cX-
tcnsiNc scale of arid lands throughout
III a, bo
WAS the passage Of the National lrri-
CATION law, which has done so much
for the reclamation of arid lands In
many of the states. That ii has not
done moro for Utah is due TO the fact
that Utah people could not agree on
what should he done. Director Newell
of this service, with Attorney +. :.
Richards of this city. spent good deal
of time in trying to persuade the canal
companies of this county that their
interests would be subseryed by max
ing great reservoir of Utah lake.
which would serve TO give ample wa.
ter for all purposes, and to increase
very largely the tillable area Of this
valley. But the canal companies would
not agree, and the project had TO be
abandoned; so that the only project now
being pursued IN Utah under this ma
tional irrigation law is the Strawberry
tunnel project, which will probably be
completed next year, and will serve TO
reclaim some 10000 acres of land on
the Springvillc and Spanish Fork
benches and slopes
There are other great reclamation
projects open in this State that might
be pursued under the National Irri.
CATION law, such as the reclamation OF
the great V included between the val
levs OF the Grand and the Green rivers,
south of the Book cliffs Water could
be raised by dams or by pumping to
reclaim that whole great region, and
doubtless some day it will be done. But,
in the meantime, other projects have
the call. and are getting the benefits Of
the reclamation service.
The coming session of this Congress
i'll Salt Lake City will be most in
teresting one IN itself, and will be a
famous anniversary of the original or
eanization The way is open for holding
the most important session ever held,
save Only the first. which organized the
body; and the feeling of the people is
first class toward making this coming
session the great one OF all the sub
sequeut sessions of this body.