COLORADO. 



Ill 



subjects to be considered are amendments to 

 the "Code," which has caused very general 

 dissatisfaction, the question of irrigation, the 

 mining laws, and the State lands. There is no 

 matter of greater or more immediate importance 

 to the State of Colorado than that of irrigation. 

 Very little can be raised within the limits of 

 the State without it. Circumstances are such 

 as to render agriculture peculiarly profitable 

 there. The mines continue to develop with 

 increasing richness and rapidity, and thereby 

 large numbers of active and enterprising per- 

 sons are attracted to become settlers. Works 

 for the treatment of ores are needed, and the 

 number of consumers will increase correspond- 

 ingly. Thus the farmer will soon have a mar- 

 ket at his own door. 



The crop of grain of 1878 has for the first 

 time been sufficient for home consumption. 

 The only lands of the State that can be irri- 

 gated by the means at the command of single 

 individuals, or of a combination of farmers, are 

 those in the valleys of the various streams. 

 But those lands have all been appropriated. 

 Hence the development of the agricultural re- 

 sources of the State has reached a limit which 

 it can not pass without the aid of organized 

 capital. The extensive area of now arid up- 

 lands that is of no value except for the feeding 

 of cattle and of sheep can, by irrigation, be 

 made wonderfully productive in all the ce- 

 reals, and thus be rendered the source of limit- 

 less wealth. The only irrigating enterprises of 

 any extent that have ever been undertaken and 

 carried out in northern Colorado have been 

 that of the Greeley colony, and the one prose- 

 cuted by the Colorado Central Railroad men 

 in Larimer County. The result of the former 

 has been the regular annual production of value 

 sufficient for the support of a flourishing and 

 growing city of two or three thousand inhab- 

 itants. The latter was completed in the fall of 

 the year, and sufficient time has not elapsed 

 to show its advantages. It has, however, al- 

 ready resulted in selling several thousand acres 

 of railroad land. The increase in the value of 

 unproductive land by irrigating ditches is es- 

 timated at five dollars per acre. A canal a 

 hundred miles long, with the necessary lateral 

 branches, would carry the water, which is 

 abundant, five miles on each side, and irrigate 

 640,000 acres. 



A State Convention to consider this subject 

 of irrigation assembled at Denver on Decem- 

 ber 5th. The attendance was large, and the 

 sessions continued through three days. The 

 result of its deliberations was expressed in 

 the following memorial to the State Legis- 

 lature : 

 To the Honorable tlie General Assembly of the State 



of Colorado. 



GENTLEMEN : Your memorialists in convention as- 

 sembled, to take into consideration the subject of 

 irrigation, one of so much importance to the whole 

 people of Colorado, would respectfully represent 



That said convention met, in pursuance to a gen- 

 eral call issued through the press, at the city of Den- 



ver, on December 5, 1878, and continued in session 

 for three days. 



That the regularly elected officers were as follows, 

 viz. : Hon. L. C. Mead, President ; K. 0. Tenney, 

 Vice-President ; and I. L. Bailey, Secretary. 



That the measures adopted were carefully consid- 

 ered and thoroughly discussed, and are presented 

 as expressing the deliberate convictions of your me- 

 morialists. 



That the right to the use of water for irrigation, 

 and its proper and equitable distribution, is one or 

 the most important subjects that can occupy the time 

 and attention of your honorable body. 



That the present and future welfare of our agricul- 

 tural interests depends largely upon the satisfactory 

 adjustment of the many intricate questions regarding 

 the priority of right to the use of water, the proper 

 settlement of which increases in importance with the 

 increase of our population. 



That the following resolutions embody the senti- 

 ments of said convention, and your memorialists 

 would respectfully request your careful consideration 

 and adoption of the same in the enactment of laws 

 upon irrigation : 



Resolved, That the President of the State Board 

 of Agriculture have included among his duties 

 those of Commissioner of Irrigation, and that the 

 Secretary of said Board be required to compile and 

 preserve statistics in regard to irrigation in this 

 State. 



Resolved, That the State should.be divided into 

 irrigation districts, according to the natural courses 

 of the streams, and that commissioners be appointed 

 for the several districts. 



Resolved, That measures should be taken for ascer- 

 taining and perpetuating the priority of the right of 

 ditches, individuals, and farms to the use or water 

 in each irrigation district, and also to measure the 

 capacity of the natural streams in the State. 



Resolved, That a commissioner or commissioners 

 for each of the several water districts be appointed 

 by the County Commissioners, one from each county 

 in which the water district is situated ; and that, in 

 case of a tie on a question of disagreement, the Dis- 

 trict Commissioners shall choose another disinterest- 

 ed person to act as one of their number. 



Resolved, That it should be the duty of the District 

 Commissioners to collect and place on file, in the 

 offices of the County Clerks and Recorders of their 

 respective counties within their districts, all data 

 respecting the volume of water in the natural streams 

 within their districts as far as ascertained from time 

 to time, also the date of construction, the date of all 

 enlargements, the capacity at time of construction, 

 the capacity of the enlargements, and the capacity 

 of each ditch at the time they enter upon their du- 

 ties. Also, to divide the water among the ditches, 

 individuals, and farms respectively in accordance 

 with the prior rights as ascertained by these data, 

 and by such action as the law may direct. 



Resolved, That the Commissioners should be em- 

 powered, in the discharge of their duties, to enter 

 upon the premises through which ditches and streams 

 run, to call for persons and papers, to administer 

 oaths and take testimony, and their decision in re- 

 gard to the use of water for the time being shall be 

 final ; but any parties who may deem themselves 

 aggrieved may appeal from the decision of the Com- 

 missioners to the District Court. 



Resolved, That there should be some uniform meth- 

 od adopted for measuring the water entering the 

 different ditches. 



Resolved. That there is urgent need for legislation 

 in regard to simplifying: the method of obtaining the 

 right'of way for irrigating ditches. 



jBuofoai, That the most stringent and efficient laws 

 should be enacted to prevent the pollution of our 

 streams and ditches, to the end that the water shall 

 remain pure and fit for household uses. 



Resolved, That the subject of reservoirs and the 



