Evening star., 1939-10-29
Million Americans
Live on Reclaimed
Desert Land
Three Million Acres
Under Cultivation
Through Irrigation
1y the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Queen Semiramis' big idea has
settled more than a million Amer
leans on Western desert lands.
After 5000 years her feat of con-
straining' the Nile River and water
ing lands that had before been bar
rem and without Inhabitants echoes
In the biggest reclamation program
Of history. with concrete walls dam
ming rushing streams to feed dozens
Of American cities.
Three million acres already have
been brought under cultivation and
settled by 903,879 persons in the
Western United States as the result
OF Federal irrigation programs pat
termed on the pioneer work of the
Assyrian Queen.
Millions of other acres have been
reclaimed by private companies.
When present and authorized Fed
eral reclamation programs are COM
pleted, another 2,500,000 acres will
be brought under the plow. Gov
ernment officials assert the COM
pleted program, as outlined by Con-
gress. will represent Federal ex-
penditure of sl,256 900 900, a large
part Of which is repayable.
Fifty Projects Completed.
Fifty large Federal reclamation
projects have risen since the Gov
ernment entered the fight to wed
long divorced water and fertile but
arid land. Construction is proceed
Ing on other monumental works,
such as the Grand Coulee develop
ment in Central Washington and
the Central Valley project in Cali
fornia.
Private capital has gone largely
Into smaller developments, which,
like the larger Federal projects. have
brought fertile land under cultiva-
ton to provide homes and livelihood
for hundreds of thousands of people
and, according to officials here, have
provided fairly stable economy by
eliminating the threat of drought.
The history of irrigation in the
United States dates back to July "a.
1847, when Mormon followers of
Brigham Young broke desert land
, and diverted, waters from City
Creek. In the 80 years since then
irrigation in Utah has continued to
increase. and farmers still thrive on
irrigated land.
Some historians regard irrigation
farming as the oldest agriculture in
the Nile Basin.
Masterpiece Of Engineering.
The ancient Sabaeans. at the
height Of their civilization in 17O0
B. c., diverted water to stabilize
their agriculture. The civilization
that rose around Bagdad is be-
lieved to have been based on irri-
cation similar to that now being
practiced in the west w. H. Olin
of the University of Idaho regards
the Nahrwan Canal, which divert
ed the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
onto the Plain Of Bagdad as
masterpiece of engineering genius.
It was $50 miles long, had an aver
age depth of from So to so feet
and averaged 400 feet in width.
The only comparable piece of en-
gineering work Of this type in the
United States now is the All-Amer-
lean Canal diverting waters of Colo
RADIO River on rich California farm
lands.
There are remains of great irri-
cation works in Asia. built by
race whose history is unknown. 1r-
rigation works still used in South
ern India are known to have been
built by Hindoo engineers before
Christ. Evidence of extensive ir-
rigation works also have been found
in China. Irrigation in Europe dates
back to the Romans.
Irrigation was old on the Ameri-
can continents before the coming
of Columbus Pueblo builders in
the Southwestern United States.
the Aztecs of Mexico and the an
cient Peruvians were expert irri-
gationists. 1t is said that Pizarro,
conqueror of Peru, was aWed when
he looked down into the Holy City
of the Incas and beheld the irri-
cation canals.
Canals Found in Peru.
In Peru, Pizarro saw "a judicious
6ySlcIIl VI ldIldlo dllu SuOCCl dIiCOuo
aqueducts by which the waste places
on the coast were refreshed by CO.
pious streams clothing them in fer
tility and beauty
When CorteZ invaded Mexico he
found a productive, irrigated en-
pire.
Remains of ancient irrigation
systems in Arizona, New Mexico and
Southwestern Colorado were Aztec.
1t is believed.
Evidence of an irrigation system
centuries old may be seen on the
plain of the San Juan River in
Southwestern Colorado. near the
famed cliff dwellings. Other traces
of systems may be seen along the
Gila River in Arizona, site of a
present-day development. and in
the upper Rio Grande Valley.
Present private investment in ir-
rigation-reclamatio enterprises and
ultimate Federal investment in
projects now in operation or ap-
proved in the Western States fol-
low: Arizona, s42,9O7.941 and SOL
455,4 ,496; California, $444, ,799, $40 and
$2l4,059.O74: Colorado, $75,826,908
and $62953,748 Idaho, S53,150,418
and $7O.484,929; Montana, s22 ,4O3,-
60l and s43991 COL: Nebraska, ST.
782.75l and s16,3O4,734; Nevada,
$7,329,8 1853 and $12,O9O545; New Mex
leo. $7,917 1868 and $3l ,9O5 ,5l3; North
Dakota, $55,09l and $2.29l,723
Oregon. $27.346,25l and S35, ,255.27l
outh Dakota, $434,377 and $685.
613; Texas, 42,783919 and s8,82l,-
O93; Utah, 0,487 ,859 and $29,926,-
1854: Washington, $19,526,454 and
s445, ,153,237; Wyoming, $16,093.560
and $54 4,501,7l8 Boulder Dam (af-
fecting seven States in the Colorado
River Basin, 32,160,0OO.
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