EIGHTEENTH IRRIGATION CONGRESS 



The Eighteenth Irrigation Congress, held 

 at Pueblo, Colo., September 26 to 30, wit- 

 nessed a revival of the controversy between 

 Federal and state control of water resources 

 which had given zest to the proceedings of 

 the Second National Conservation Congress. 

 Considerable bitterness of feeling was dis- 

 played by the advocates of exclusive state 

 control, and a good deal of time was wasted 

 in declamation and manipulation which might 

 better have been devoted to constructive 

 work. The advocates of Federal control 

 repeated the victory which they achieved at 

 St. Paul. The platform adopted is a strong 

 conservation document. 



B. A. Fowler of Phonix, Ariz., was elected 

 president of the congress, and Arthur Hooker 

 of Spokane, Wash., was elected secretary. 



Following are the 



RESOLUTIONS 



This eighteenth convention of the Na- 

 tional Irrigation Congress now drawing to 

 a close, made up of duly appointed delegates 

 from all the states west of the one hundredth 

 meridian, and several east of that line, has 

 been notable for the fullness and freedom 

 of discussion concerning every aspect of 

 irrigation. Much of the discussion has 

 reached planes both high and practical and 

 well worthy of preservation in permanent 

 form for guidance in the future. Accord- 

 ingty, we, the delegates here in session as- 

 sembled, in the City of Pueblo, State of 

 Colorado, on this 30th day of September, 

 1910, do hereby adopt the following declar- 

 ation of principles and affirmation of policies 

 and opinions. 



Recognizing the waters of the country as 

 the source of life and the basis of the habit- 

 ability and productivity of the land, we hold 

 that the waters belong to the people of the 

 country, and that this right of the people in 

 and to the waters is natural, inherent, in- 

 alienable and indefeasible. 



Recognizing the necessity for administer- 

 ing this invaluable possession of the people 

 by state and federal agencies, we deny the 

 right of state or federal governments, or 

 municipal authorities, to alienate or convey 

 water by granting franchises for the use 

 thereof in perpetuity, or without iust com- 

 pensation in the interest of the people. 



Recognizing the interdependence of the va- 

 rious uses of the waters of the country, we 

 hold that the primary uses are for drink- 

 ing and domestic supplv for agriculture 

 through irrigation or otherwise, in which 

 water is consumed, and that the use for navi- 

 gation and for power, in whicli water is not 

 676 



consumed, are secondary; and we hold that 

 use of the water should be made with refer- 

 ence to all other uses for the public wel- 

 fare in accordance with the principle of the 

 greatest good to the greatest number for 

 the longest time. 



Accepting the fact that all parts of each 

 drainage area are related and interdepen- 

 dent, we hold that each stream should be 

 viewed and treated as a unit from its source 

 to its mouth ; and since the waters are es- 

 sentially mobile and transitory, we hold that 

 federal control is essential to the equitable 

 distribution and utilization of the waters of 

 interstate streams. 



Since the better utilization of our waters 

 for water supply, irrigation, navigation and 

 power requires unification of the various ad- 

 ministrative agencies of the Government hav- 

 ing charge of the federal regulation nad 

 control of water and waterways into a single 

 agency, we request our representatives in 

 the Federal Congress to take early action 

 looking to the creation of an appropriate 

 agency for this purpose ; such agency to be 

 empowered to co-operate with states. 



Viewing purity of w-ater supply as essen- 

 tial to the public health and general wel- 

 fare, we urge on all municipal, state and 

 federal authorities, and on individuals and 

 corporations, constant vigilance and requisite 

 action looking towards purifying and prevent- 

 ing contamination of the waters. 



Recognizing the establishment of the 

 United States Reclamation Service, largely 

 through the efforts of this organization, as 

 one of the important steps in the develop- 

 ment of this country as a home for a great 

 and growing people, we heartily favor the 

 continuation and extension of the service; 

 and we re-affirm our full confidence in the 

 intcgrit}'' and capability of the officers of 

 this branch of the public service. 



^Re-affirming the conviction of _ the last 

 Congress as to the importance of irrigation 

 by private enterprise, we note with gratifi- 

 cation the response by the Federal Congress 

 and the Census Bureau to our demand for 

 complete statistics concerning irrigation, and 

 we commend this subject to the considera- 

 tion of future sessions of this Congress. 



Adhering to the principle of local self- 

 government, we urge co-operation and_ organ- 

 ization for mutual benefit among irrigators, 

 and advocate provision for irrigation dis- 

 tricts by the legislatures of all states in 

 which irrigation is practiced. 



Recognizing the economic waste and men- 

 ace to the pubHc health connected with our 

 vast areas of swamp and overflow lands, we 

 request our representatives in the Federal 



