Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-20

of dry prairie have been converted into
veritable garden spots and the desert
| has been made to blossom as the rose.
An example of the latter is found in
| the Imperial valley of California, where
the setting is laid for Harold Bell
| Wright's charming story, The Win
ming of Barbara Worth Only a few
years ago. relatively speaking. the I'M
perial valley was a haunt OF death,
| where no human being could live. and
| which could be trave-sed only through
great danger. Today it is one OF the
most fertile portions of the United
States. Engineers have conserved the
waters of the great Colorado river n
in the summer time they bring them
down to the valley through an intricate
network of canals and bitches. II 1t
were not for the far-sightedness of
these reclamation fanatics" the I'M
perial valley would still be a desolate,
valueless waste.
Irrigated Land Produces Much
Some people may say, Il know that
irrigation makes barren lands fertile,
but So much money must be expended
in construction that | should think it
would not pay financially. or at least
not for a number of years" That,
perhaps, is a rational statement for
those to make who have not investi-
gated the matter. but statistics prove
them to be wrong Although the cost
of construction is large, about 800
per acre, the total cost being $780,
100000, figures compiled by the United
States government and other sources
show that on the 15,0OO.0 600 acres now
creased from 500 to 5000 per acre,
and more than s., 900, OOO. 900 has been
added to the total land wealth of the
country.
Last year, the production of prof.
ects constructed and owned by the
government amounted to more than
SSO,OOO.OOO, or about two-thirds of the
entire capital invested in irrigation
works. On some projects the annual
yield is much greater than the initial
cost of construction, and on nearly
all projects the construction can be
paid for by the crops in three years at
least.
1t is a proven fact that irrigated
areas in the west are producing much
greater crops than areas in humid
regions. Lands which were once des-
ert now produce twice as much as non-
irrigated lands. In 1919 the average
value per acre of farm products in the
Allu- "tSltTH states was SOZ, while on
irrigated land it was 500.
In the Yakima valley in Washington,
which is another project that was. but
a short time ago, desert. S45, 900, 900
worth of crops is being produced an
nually. Although the chief products of
the valley are honey and fruit. With
very little grain, the last crop report
taken by the federal government shows
that 1t ranks as the third county in
the United States in the wealth pro-
duced per acre. The Yakima valley is
only one among many such areas from
which astonishing reports are taken.
From the foregoing statement it will
De seen that reclamation is not a spec
ulatlve expense. but a sound invest
ment with big dividends. At first, as |
IS the way with any promoter of big
enterprises the men who have backed
irrigation and reclaimed our arid re-
gions, were hailed as wild cat specu-
iators' who were squandering the ma
mons money. They are no longer
designated by such titles, but some
uitra-conservative people are still a
little dubious as to the value of irri-
cation. If they would take time to
study the matter, in an unprejudiced
way, they would see that. financially,
reclamation is a decided success.
A Force In Americanization
But, can there he any other way
IN which irrigation is successful? Yes.
One of the great problems of the
United States is that of assimilating
Americanizing the foreigners.
Nearly all of the immigrants who come
TO this country settle in large cities
where they work in the factories.
When they are living thus in colonies,
and under such adverse labor cond
tons, it is impossible to make them
drop their national customs, their
native speech and their European
These congested masses be-
come hotbeds of sedition and from
then, arise bOlshevistic revoIutinos.
The way to prevent these revolu-