THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



prise can earn profits for the investor unless people 

 are found to purchase the lands and utilize the water 

 supply. Nearly every failure we have had thus far 

 has been due to the fact that lands have not been 

 settled after tens of thousands of dollars have been 

 expended in the construction of works. There are 

 many reasons why they have not been settled. In 

 the first place, the public has not yet been made to 

 understand the advantages and charms of life in a 

 region of small farms intensively cultivated by the 

 best irrigation methods. If we can ever get this idea 

 thoroughly well known to the American people every 

 acre of irrigated land will be in speedy demand. 

 Then irrigation enterprises will pay. And as a natural 

 consequence irrigation securities will be in lively 

 demand. There are companies that have spent money 

 very liberally to secure settlers, but there are few 

 companies or individuals who have attempted to do 

 anything worthy of their opportunities in illustrating 

 the possibilities of irrigation farming and its attrac- 

 tions both from an industrial and social standpoint. 



If there is any line of business in which 

 Union for 



the Common men can wisely cooperate for their corn- 

 Good. mon g OOC i j t j s m t hj s matter of exploit- 

 ing the opportunities for home-building in Arid 

 America. It is the height of folly for the San Joaquin 

 valley of California to Cast reflections on the Pecos 

 valley of New Mexico, or for the Yakima valley of 

 Washington to belittle the advantages of the Salt 

 River valley of Arizona. The fundamental facts in 

 all localities are the same. The irrigation industry is 

 the basis of their industrial life. No man will settle 

 in either place until he understands the enormous 

 advantage of insuring his crops by the purchase of a 

 water right, of living on a farm of 20 or 40 acres and 

 thus enjoying the blessings of neighborhood associa- 

 tion, and until he realizes the full force of that indus- 

 trial philosophy which teaches men to win indepen- 

 dence for their families by producing from their own 

 land the things they consume. The men who are 

 placing irrigated lands on the markets, whether they 

 are operating in Kansas, Arizona, California or 

 Washington, ought to stand shoulder to shoulder in 

 presenting the claims of Arid America. Before we 

 can realize any large measure of success we must se- 

 cure the absolute solidarity of irrigation interests in 

 this respect. No single company, nor even any sin- 

 gle State, can alone bear the expense of the campaign 

 of education necessary in order to turn a stream of 

 colonization, broad and deep like a mighty river, into 

 our new western empire. It is a surprising fact that 

 the real captains of the irrigation industry are 

 scarcely known to each other. It has long been the 

 desire of the editor of THE IRRIGATION AGE to bring 

 these men together upon some common ground. 

 They ought to get acquainted, devise some compre- 



hensive scheme for promoting colonization, and then 

 set out together on a campaign of conquest. There 

 can be no clash of interests. The reservoir of people 

 in our own country and in Europe which may be 

 drawn upon for settlers is so vast that there is ample 

 room for all. 



In the May number of this journal the 

 An Effort 



to be Made writer presented an article entitled, 

 at Denver. , <The Republic of irrigation." The de- 

 sign of that article was to set forth an outline of the 

 possibilities of colony-making on irrigated lands. It 

 was stated that the writer would invite the most in- 

 fluential and thoughtful men of the various States 

 and Territories to meet him at the next irrigation 

 congress with a view to perfecting plans looking to 

 the development of a high type of colonies in various 

 portions of the West. It is still the writer's purpose 

 to make this effort. The nature of the undertaking 

 is such as to make it impracticable to publish details 

 at this time, but we wish here and now to extend a 

 hearty invitation to those interested in the settlement 

 of irrigated lands to meet the writer at Denver during 

 the sessions of the congress between September 3d 

 and 10th. The duties of the congress will, of course, 

 be very pressing and will occupy the time very fully, 

 but the night is long and time can be found for the 

 thorough discussion of this matter before the dele- 

 gates depart for their homes. It is high time that the 

 problem of making homes where the common people 

 may realize the highest average prosperity were ap- 

 proached intelligently and courageously. The task is 

 great, but the world has never lacked men capable ot 

 performing great tasks when such men were demand- 

 ed by the relentless pressure of events There is clearly 

 a call for enlightened effort. We promised in the Los 

 Angeles platform " to evolve new forms of civiliza- 

 tion, to give new life to popular institutions.' 1 The 

 promise must be kept. It must be kept because the 

 best interests of our beloved West, of our common 

 country and of humanity alike demand it. It is not 

 necessary that it be undertaken in a spirit of pure 

 benevolence. Men require a reasonable incentive to 

 induce them to work hard in any cause. It is no re- 

 flection upon our pilgrim fathers to remark that when 

 they founded a colony where they might enjoy re- 

 ligious liberty they created a demand for corner lots 

 in the town of Plymouth. 



^ Si^nffi- The work of colonization has been pro- 

 cant Scandi- . . 



navian ceedmg quietly but to some effect during 

 Movement. the past year i mpO rtant results have 

 been achieved in portions of California, in northern 

 Utah, in Idaho and elsewhere. Quite the most signifi- 

 cant thing that has transpired in this direction is the 

 movement of Scandinavians into the Snake River val- 

 ley of Idaho. Since the middle of March one com- 

 pany has disposed of 10,000 acres of land, in lots of 



