ATTITIDI': OF THE ADMIXISTRATlOX 



547 



tions in the states and also uniform leg- 

 islation affecting interstate waters. 



Ours is a nation of busy people, a 

 nation of great resources and possibili- 

 ties, and most favorably situated for 

 trade and commerce. Its wealth is 

 greater than that of any single country, 

 even of France and Germany combined, 

 and this wealth is increasing at a fabu- 

 lous rate. Much of it has been accumu- 

 lated by the destruction, by the sacri- 

 fice and waste of nature's gifts, and it 

 is a fortuitous circumstance that the 

 country has been brought to understand 

 the importance of utilizing and saving 

 our natural wealth and making it pos- 

 sible for the Nation to continue to 

 prosper, and for the generations that 

 are to come to have some share in that 

 prosperity, especially since no element 

 of the Nation's wealth is greater than 

 that contained in the soil. For this 

 reason, if for no other, the work of 

 reclamation of the arid and semi-arid 



lands of the West is worthy of first 

 importance in the development of the 

 Nation's resources. Every acre of ir- 

 rigable land will be needed in the Na- 

 tion's economy. 



In a century, we have passed from 

 a purely agricultural country to an in- 

 dustrial and commercial country, but 

 we have not outgrown the necessity for 

 agriculture. We have, of necessity, 

 maintained agriculture and have added 

 to our national activities industrial and 

 commercial progress to a wonderful 

 degree. The wealth of the Nation em- 

 braces every product of labor which 

 contributes to the needs of man. The 

 dormant wealth in national resources 

 means only resources available to create 

 wealth by intelligent eff'ort, and I trust 

 our people will never be called upon to 

 look with fear upon the couplet of 

 (Goldsmith : 



111 fares tiie land, to hastening ills a prey. 

 Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. 



d!)^l^«^ 



A Typical Headgate on the North Platte. There are 9 Gates, as Shown by Uprights 



