The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1921-02-25
Nontana's Biggest Problem
---Irrieation
BY President Cerharz-Joqueth
Engineering Company, Great Falls

ers, lawyers, engineers and merchants
in our larger towns. In the old DAYS
before the dry land farmer came, many
of us who now have a fine business or
were not here, and if we go back to
old conditions and former populations,
many of US will again be elsewhere.
In talking to the manager of a on
Germ which has loaned millions of dol
lars on dry land farm loans in Mon
tana, he said, "We are just beginning
to realize that we are interested in ir-
rigation; we realize that unless an ir-
rlgatlon program is carried out, our
loans IN Montana are not worth much"
The head of another concern said, ave
are not going to buy any more NUM-
cipal bonds in Montana until we are
assured that the farming country sup
porting these communities are in a
position to grow crops"
| have gone into this matter in some
detail because | know there are many
people who have not as yet realized
that u prosperity rests primarily on
u basic MISUNDERSTANDING, and that
unless W. can make a success of farm
ing there are too many people in Mon
tana.
The proposition is simple enough.
1t takes three elements to make the
growing of plants possible, namely,
proper soil, an abundance of sunshine
and an adequate supply of moisture.
We have al abundance of sunshine in
Montana, most sections have soil which
contains sufficient available plant food.
However, most sections of Montana do
not naturally have enough moisture
available during the growing season
ito support the plants that can be used
for human food. Therefore we either
supply the moisture artificially (irri-
gate) or don't grow the plants.
Probably the greatest natural re-
source of the state is it's water sup
ply. Our minerals, gold, silver and
copper when once mined and consumed
are lost to us forever. No so with our
water. 1t reappears year after year
without effort on our part and flows
through the state in a veritable
"stream of liquid gold" And what do
we do with this wealth? Do we use
it? Oh no! We let it flow out of the
state and become a menace to the
states to the east and south of US in
the form of floods. 1t is estimated
that enough water has it's source in
Montana which if properly conserved
would irrigate six million acres, and
in 1919 we sent fifty million dollars out
of the state to buy forage. The spend
ing of this sum Of money in the build
ing of irrigation works would make
it impossible for us ever again to be
confronted with this sort of problem.
Our not having used our water re-
sources heretofore is not all our fault.
For n thing we did not know my
better. We have to learn these things
through experience. Many of our peo-
pie were honestly in the belief that
dry land farming could be made a
success in any part of Montana. Hav-
ing had u experience and having
found that there are large portions
of Montana that can be immensely
benefited by the conservation and APP
plication of this waste water to the
land it is to be hoped that we will
now take proper steps to accomplish
this.
Another obstacle in the way of our
making use of our waters is our ar
chaic and unavoidable water right
laws. These laws were passed to fit
mining and were probably adequate
for this purpose. Usually the mining
was done in the mountains and water
was obtained from a steam a few
miles long, containing only a small
amount of water and where at most
there were only half a dozen users.
When n compares this usage with ir-
rigation on a steam like the Yellow
stone which traverses two states, a
national forest, a forest reserve and
twelve counties, has a possibility of
irrigating a million acres with a hun
dred thousand separate water users.
it becomes apparent that a law which
was amply adequte for the needs of
the miner is entirely inadequate for
irrigation.
Montana is the only western state
where irrigation is practiced, which
does not have adequate laws for this
purpose. Our sister state, Wyoming,
has been operating under an adequate
water right for thirty years. A bill
for a water right law has been intro
duced at this session of the legislature.
1t proposes that the title to
priated waters shall vest in the state
and that the state shall have super
vision over the appropriation, diversion
and use of it's waters. This is the fun
damental principle which obtains in all
the states which have water right
laws. Beneficial use in the new as we'll
as the old laws is the only basis under
which title may be obtained.
1t is surprising how much opposi-
ton is developing against the passage
of this bill. 1t comes from a variety
of sources. A member who in the
early days secured a decree for twice
as much water as he can benefiicially
use is afraid that the state will find
out about it and try to take part of
it away from him, regardless of the
fact that the law says vested rights
shall not be interfered with and re-
CARELESS of the fact that he never has