The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-04-13
Comparing Plains
Here With India
Continued from page one

Continued from page one
man against nature and the boys
had to leave the farms or starye.
"The saline lands of northeastern
California, Nevada, parts Of Colo
RADIO. Utah, New Mexico and Arizona
represent the other extreme where
the alkaline qualities of the soil are
such that plants cannot survive. You
have all seen these alkali lands, and
nothing which man can do at any
thing like q reasonable cost can
make these soils productive.
There are two great areas On the
face of the globe where nature out
did herself in producing from her
laboratories soil of the ideal quality
for the uses of man. The Deccan
Plains of India by far the greater
in extent, but the chemical compost
ton of the land is the same as the
Snake river valley. The Deccan
Plains have been producing food for
man for thousands Of years and the
volume does not decrease; but the
farms of New England finally con-
uuered man in less than 800 years.
"In India there are several irriga-
ton projects each of which supplies
water to a larger acreage than all OF
the irrigated lands of Idaho. There
were dry years when crops failed
and famines ensued and, in the
course of time, millions have died.
Storage reservoirs have largely
solved this problem. The govern
ment has spent hundreds of millions
of dollars and other hundreds OF
millions have been appropriated for
expenditure in future years confident
that these great sums will be re-
turned many fold by future genera
tions.
Official authority vested in con-
gress fails to recognize the value to
the country at large of great recla-
nation projects. Most of the mem
bers of congress know nothing what
ever of irrigation, and care less
about reclamation, so that 1t has
been a continual fight to secure any
appropriations whatever forss the
reclamation service of our govern
ment. Appropriations proposed by
the reclamation service become in
volved with pork barrel fights oF the
theory that every congressional dis
trict should have some public money
to spend. In other words, every con-
gressional district hopes to dipi into
the pork barrel. Notwithstanding
the difficulties of securing money
from the federal government, the
United States reclamation service
has accomplished some great things,
Building for Future
1.-THE character of the soil COM
posing the Snake river plains being
the same as the Deccan Plains OF
India, and the water which irrigates
both areas carrying similr qualities
makes soil and irrigation experts
confident that what we build today
will exist for the benefit of man
thruout thousands of years to come
The soil of this great valley VIII
never be exhausted. The fertility II
renewed each year thru the applica
ton of water, and where fertilizer
is necessary, there are certain forage
and food crops which can be planted
to supply in a large measure thu
chemicals extracted by the produc
ton of other food crops. We WHIT
are living and building today mus
realize that we are not building TO-
the present or for ten ora Thousand
years hence, but we must lay ou
foundations broadly and deeply will
the idea in mind that what we buil'
today will be utilized by posterity II
this valley thousands of years in tn
: future.
1.-THE reclamation service ha
something of this vision when year
ago it proposed the construction of
. great storage reservoir at America
Falls. Here appeared an ideal sit
for gathering of the waters whic
annually run from the great Snak
river water shed. The project wa
J enormous in extent compared t
anything which had ever bee
} undertaken before, SO that not niue
7 progress was made in connection
with it until the drought Of the yea
1919 came to this valley. Prior t
. that time every possible reservol
: site on the Snake river had been e1
r amined by the reclamation seryic'
r and in connection with supplyin
: water for the Minidoka project tn
! Jackson Lake reservoir had bee
Q constructed. We remember our e.
: perience of 1919 when some of tn
very old rights to take water frol
Snake river ran out, and we had tn
unique experience Of the early Sc
3 tiers in the valley sitting by watcl
ing crops perish for want Of wate
= when a great stream was passing b
9 our doors for the use of later Sc
Q tiers at points further down til
Q river. This experience demonstrate
d that the old water right is not tt
/. best water right. The best right
} the flow which can be controlle
!, which can be shut off or turned {
s, at the will or necessity of the use
- Water Demand Increases d.
h During 1919 many of the farm
J. ers of this upper valley accused tt
Nj l.. 80 rk4 Is,npr hA