434 



CONSERVATION 



water-powers can be, and ought to be, 

 held by the state, developed by the 

 state, and their energy sold to such pri- 

 vate persons as wish to use it. * * * 

 Whatever is to be done with it, the state 

 and the people of the state should keep 

 control forever of these water-powers, 

 which are the equivalent of so many 

 coal mines, digging their own coal to 

 the amount of over seven millions of 

 tons every year." 



«? ^ «i 



The National Irrigation Congress 



OF THE National Irrigation Con- 

 gress, former President Roosevelt 

 said : "This congress undoubtedly is 

 one of the most important unofficial 

 bodies in the country." 



This congress meets annually. Its 

 meeting this year will be held at Spo- 

 kane, August 9 to 14, and promises to 

 eclipse all former meetings in attend- 

 ance and interest. The congresses are 

 notable for the number and character 

 of the delegates attending. Last year, 

 for example, there were present the 

 Vice-president of the United States, the 

 governors of several western states, 

 United States Senators, Congressmen, 

 Government officials, state engineers of 

 eight western states, scientific men, in- 

 cluding experts of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, professors 

 of state institutions, and editors of tech- 

 nical journals. This year the manage- 

 ment expects from 4,500 to 5,000 ac- 

 credited delegates from various parts 

 of the United States, representatives 

 from Canada, Europe, the South Amer- 

 ican republics, China and Japan, and 

 President Taft, with several members 

 of his Cabinet. On Governors' Day, 

 August 13, governors of twenty-five 

 states and territories are expected. 

 Bankers, railroad presidents, scientists, 

 experts on reclamation of arid and 

 swamp lands, deep waterways, forestry, 

 good roads, and home-building will have 

 places on the program. 



Among the speakers announced are 

 James J. Hill, Gifford Pinchot, F. H. 

 Newell, Dr. Geo. B. Angell, United 

 States Senators Cummins and Jones, 



John Barrett, Director of the Bureau 

 of American Republics, Governors Will- 

 son of Kentucky and Patterson of 

 Tennessee, and other men of promi- 

 nence. The cooperation and assistance 

 of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, including the Forest Serv- 

 ice, and the Reclamation Service, are 

 promised. 



Among the features announced are 

 the following: 



August 10, afternoon. — Parade of 

 progress, showing the transformation 

 of the Northwest from semi-savagery 

 to civilization. 



August II, evening. — Illuminated pa- 

 rade of progress, representing various 

 periods in the Northwest from 1805 to 

 1909. Indians from four reservations 

 and districts in the Pacific and western 

 states will join in this demonstration. 



August 12, afternoon. — Parade and 

 countermarch of the industrial and ir- 

 rigation army, with 10,000 uniformed 

 men in line. The official emblem of the 

 congress, showing science bidding the 

 desert drink, will be featured on an 

 elaborate float. 



A regiment from Ottawa, Canada, 

 wearing the British uniform, is also 

 expected. On August 9 the proceed- 

 ings will be enlivened by the singing of 

 the irrigation ode by a large chorus of 

 trained singers, and the singing of state 

 hymns by school children. 



The avowed object of the congress is 

 the familiar one : To save the forests, 

 store the floods, reclaim the deserts, and 

 make homes on the land. 



Irrigation is gradually, even rapidly, 

 making a garden-spot of the great 

 American desert. The work, however, 

 is but in its infancy, and congresses 

 such as the one in question are potent 

 factors in its promotion. 



Reclamation is intimately connected 

 with problems of vital moment to so- 

 ciety. Present economic development 

 is, in large measure, separating the citi- 

 zen from the land. History records nu- 

 merous like instances which, without 

 exception, have brought trouble, some- 

 times peril, to the state. Agrarianism, 

 whether in ancient Rome or in modern 



