r r 



9 m B aP*^^* 



A BIG IDAHO DITCH 

 Headworks on the Main South Canal of the Minidoka Project 



power, as a substitute for other fuels, thus 

 limiting the rapid destruction of our forests 

 and also conserving and saving our supplies 

 of coal and other fuels. Third, the use of 

 electricity for pumping renders it possible 

 permanently to reclaim and irrigate vast sec- 

 tions of our arid lands otherwise impossible 

 of irrigation or reclamation. Fourth, its ex- 

 tensive development will cheapen and extend 

 manufacture and commerce, thus affording 

 an immediate home market for the products 

 of our irrigated farms and also cheapen 

 transportation to other markets. Therefore, 

 be it 



Rcsok'ed, That the necessary rights of 

 way and rights for the construction of reser- 

 voirs and other uses of the public lands, 

 for the development of electric power, 

 should be aided and encouraged in every 

 reasonable way, and all such rights and uses 

 should be granted and allowed upon equal 

 terms with similar rights granted for the 

 direct purpose of irrigation. Such uses being 

 public uses subject to the control of the state, 

 should continue so long as the right to the 

 beneficial use of the water and the duty to 

 supply the power continue under state laws. 

 And no burdensome charges or discrimina- 

 tions should be exacted or imposed as a 

 result of which such beneficial developments 

 may be delayed and the investment of capi- 

 tal therein prevented and the cost increased 

 to the customer. 



That the national government, as a part of 



592 



the comprehensive national policy of internal 

 improvements for river control and regula- 

 tion and the construction of inland water- 

 ways and utilization of water power, and for 

 the enlargement to the utmost possible extent 

 of the area of the country available for agri- 

 culture and homes on the land, and for the 

 'protection of those homes from either flood 

 or drought, shall build not only levees and 

 revetments where needed, and drainage works 

 for the reclamation of swamp and over- 

 flowed lands, but shall also preserve existing 

 forests, reforest denuded areas, plant new 

 forests, and build the reservoirs and engi- 

 neering work necessary to safeguard against 

 overflow, and save for beneficial use the 

 flood waters that now run to waste. 



That a census of the standing timber in 

 the United States should be authorized by 

 Congress, and that the states should be urged 

 to cooperate with the nation for the preser- 

 vation and enlargement of our forest re- 

 sources, by the adoption of uniform forest 

 laws and systems for forest protection, and 

 the preservation and right use of the forests, 

 and that forestry, irrigation, drainage, flood 

 protection, water storage, and river regula- 

 tion and control for navigation and water 

 power should l)e regarded as one great inter- 

 related subject in all legislative and execu- 

 tive policies. 



That power made available by national irri- 

 gation works, when once applied to pumping 

 or other duty connected with irrigation, 



