The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-10-15
PlTTMAN-EvANS ACT WILL MAKE LAND PRODUCTIVE Will Make Arid Acres Source of Great
 Wealth. WILL MEAN MUCH
 TO UNITED STATES Many Other States In Time Will Seek Extension of
 Measure.

1 land in the West into some of thc most productive garden spots o1 i America never ceases to excite the Wondernlent of those of the East Middle West and South who are bless l ed with large and small rivers in | abundance and a heavy annual rain- 1 fall. Yet they cannot realize that i literally speaking, the opportunities i for transforming aridity into wealth i are today greater than ever because
 of advanced legislation and the me 1 chanical ingenuity of man.
 1 A bill recently passed by both 1 Houses of Congress as the result of ] the work of Senator Key Pittman and i Representative Charles R. Evans. both 1 Of Nevada, is the latest bit of Ieeis
 Iatlon along this line, and it makes i possible the turning of Is million non productive acres in that state into ! sources of the agricultural wealth through one of the most pecuIia- conditions that whimsical Mother Nature has evolved in ftrtiIe America for the tantalizing of those who till the soil
 Although the bill just passed re-
 Iates entirely to Nevada there arc many other contiguous Western States where similar conditions pre- Fdll' ana Wnlch Tn time undOubtedIy Will secure an extension of the act to
 thelr arid lands, involving many mil
 lions of acres. This should be borne
 in mind in apprecfattng the poss,-
 bllities of this Pittman-F Evans. meas
 ure for 1t may mean much in future
 years to the United States in an
 agricultural way
 The late Senator Francis G, New
 lands of Nevada Is known as the
 Iather Of the present irrigation law
 put because at the time of this leg
 lsiatlon he was practically the only
 Democratic Senator from west of the Missouri river he could not extend
 his efforts to the extent he desired
 Senator Pittman, his successor. and
 also Democrat, has battlcd strenu-
 ously ever since, having worked on
 the new law for four years, He
 passed it through the Senate on three
 occasions, only to see the then Re- publican Congressman from Nevada fail utterly to get it through the House.
 MT. Evans, the new Democratic Congressman from Nevada, however succeeded in his first term after five
 nonths' work, without amendment and despite the vigorous opposition Of the Republican floor leader in the House.
 The NewIands act took care of all the surface water and impourdine- Of the flood waters, but it was Tot capable of irrigating more than or three hundred thousand acres, so far as Nevada was concerned. while 1S 0O0,OO0 acres of level, fertile Govern ment land in that state alone remain ed untillable. Senator Pittman pre- diets that irrigation will make the famous Sagebrush state the greatest agricultural comm onwealth in the | Union.
 The Pittrnan act allows any citizen l Of the United States to obtain a per- | init for water development on 2,5Go 1 acres, 3, sufficient area in which to al- | low enough experimentation in the l sinking of wells and the handling | of the water for irrigation purposes. i If in two years the locator has demon l strated the practicability of irrigat- ing the land by flowing wells or pumping water he is given title to one-fourth of his location. or $40 1 acres The remaining three-quarters 1 will be thrown open to location by honestea ders.
 As to the expense of the experi- ment it can be stated in approxi- mate figures that the cost of sinking a well in Nevada is s3 a foot, and that artesian water is discovered at from 150 to 800 feet depth. One such well will irrigate 20 acres These figures indicate the comparative in- and the rich possibilities in the way of returnls from 20 irrigated acres.
 Such wholesale irrigation by pri- yate individuals and corporations would mean much to Nevada and thousands have been clamoring for many years past for the chance the Pullman act gives them. Irrigation would make possible a tremendous increase in the production of alfalfa, md a sufficient production of alfalfa would mean marvellous strides ahead Il dairying, the raising of hogs and he feeding of range cattle for the , market. II
 The curious subterranean rivers of |; Nevada seldom run on the surface Occasionally the stream encounters I ridge, forcing the water to the sur ace for short distance; then the l andy soil woos it back underground {.
 The precipitous mountain streams hat feed the underground rivers are ble of being harnessed and de- ] eloping hydro-electric power to an ( extent. With the sub erranean rivers capable of making t he erstwhile desert blossom as the ose, the mountain streams could fur ish electric power for communities { trough local central stations, and lectricity could pump from the sub urface courses all the water needed ! or Irrigation in that particular To- a1ity. It has been demonstrated that ! with geso1ine at 20 cents gallon, nd where the lift is not more than 0 feet, it is possible to irrigate at Is
 cost of s5 an acre. Mentally com are then the possibilities of electric ower.~
 The passage of the Pullman Evans ct already has stimulated the form ng of co operative and other con erns for the exploitation Of Nevada's u ubterranean rivers. The next few ears will tell the tale, and if Senator predictions come true 1t 7ill be a wondrous one.
 They say the old Greeks and Ro