FARMEKS SHOULD OWN CANALS. i&amp;gt;17 



per acre, if so much, and that the irrigation-works may cost 

 $10 per acre. 



17. That whatever aid is given by the State or county, 

 should be extended in a cautious way. That in many parts of 

 the country where irrigation will ultimately best repay expend 

 iture, there are now no people; that the population must be 

 imported, the houses, barns, and equipments of the farms, 

 must be created before returns can follow the investment. That 

 for these reasons, we must look for a comparatively slow devel 

 opment of the country. 



18. That while we believe, as we have already stated, that 

 the best policy is for farmers to build and own the canals, we 

 also believe that where the farmers are unable to build, and 

 where the State is unable or unwilling to build, it may be, and 

 it probably will be, the best policy to invite the aid of private 

 enterprise. We refer to numerous instances in Spain and 

 Italy, where this system is now in successful operation, in sup 

 port of our opinion. 



19. That private companies undertaking such enterprises, 

 should be subjected to certain conditions, some of which are 

 as follows : 



That after a stated period, the franchise shall lapse in favor of 

 the State, or of the irrigators; or that, after a certain period, 

 the State shall have the right to purchase, on certain previously- 

 defined conditions. That the price of water shall be fixed by 

 agreement, each party in interest being represented by arbiters. 

 That the State shall have the right to charter an association of 

 irrigators to administer the works, the company merely selling 

 the water, and having nothing to do with it after it leaves the 

 channels, the association making all arrangements for its distri 

 bution, and for the collection of the water-rates. This latter 

 provision has several advantages : It relieves the company from 

 the odious duty of discriminating in times of scarcity, and from 

 the endless disputes which attend the distribution of water, and 

 puts the responsibility where it belongs on the irrigators. It 

 favors each irrigator; for he becomes a member of a company, 

 which is strong enough to stand up for its rights in any contest 

 with the capitalists. 



For a successful system of this kind, we refer to the &quot; Asso 

 ciation for irrigation in the Vercelles, Italy,&quot; given elsewhere 

 in this report. That we see no reason why the rights of farm- 



