THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



157 



interstate or international priorities and diversion of 

 waters, with agreements as to the manner in which 

 the waters of the different States should be appor- 

 tioned. 



2. There should be better provisions for the pro- 

 tection of the forests and all timber lands, and some 

 pecuniary advantage to be derived by settlers to 

 encourage them to plant and carefully attend to the 

 growth of trees as windbreaks and to prevent evap- 

 oration. 



8. There should be governmental aid in the con- 

 struction of reservoirs upon the head waters of 

 streams navigable in any part of their course. 



4. There, should be a government commission 

 vested with authority to examine and report upon all 

 irrigation projects offered upon the market, such 

 investigations to be made upon the request of intend- 

 ing investors. 



Nevada's One of the most complete and pains- 

 Possibil- taking reports is that of the Nevada 

 ities. Commission, of which Gen. John E. 

 Jones, now the nominee of the Silver party for gov- 

 ernor, was chairman. It was presented to the Con- 

 gress by L. H. Taylor, C. E., who succeeds Gen. 

 Jones as the Nevada member of the National Com- 

 mittee. To both of these gentlemen and their 

 colleagues high praise is due for the manner in 

 which they performed the work committed to them. 

 They sent circulars of inquiry throughout the State, 

 and made a careful study of physical conditions and 

 of popular opinion. They report that there are 

 approximately the following classifications of Surface 

 areas in Nevada: Water area, 1,081,600 acres; for- 

 restry, 2,000,000; grazing, 30,000,000; agricultural 

 lands, 20,000,000 (6,000,000 irrigable, 14,000,000 non- 

 irrigable); mineral lands, 15,000,000; saline, borax, 

 nitre and sulphur deposits, alkali flats, 3,656,000. 

 The report further describes the topography, moun- 

 tain formation, lakes and rivers. Rainfall and 

 snowfall are discussed at length. The report asserts 

 that not less than 5,886,000 acres of Nevada soil can 

 be irrigated, a large portion of it being government 

 land. The report clearly sets forth the imperative 

 need of enlightened national and State legislation to 

 enable Nevada to take full advantage of her home- 

 making possibilities. It fixes the maximum amount 

 of arable land to be taken by a settler at 160 acres, 

 and favors the conditional transfer of the lands to 

 the States as the only feasible and constitutional way 

 to reclaim them. It. says: "It is neither the func- 

 tion nor the duty of the government of the United 

 States to improve the public lands or construct 

 reservoirs or canals for irrigation. Moreover, this 

 could not be done by the federal government without 

 the consent of the States, and we are not willing to 

 surrender the control of our waterways and the use 



of the water for irrigation purposes to the Congress 

 of the United States, or any power not directly 

 amenable to the people of the States." But the 

 report insists that title should not pass until a home 

 is established and the lands reduced to possession. 

 It says the grazing lands should be reserved for a 

 common pasture, subject to the regulation of State 

 laws. The report also favors State ownership of 

 waterways, and rigid State regulation over the use 

 of water for irrigation and other purposes. 



One of the most creditable reports in 

 An Able , ... , . , , ,-., 



Nebraska the entire list was submitted by Chair- 



Report. man Charles P. Ross, of the Nebraska 

 Commission. It covered a very wide range of topics 

 quite exhaustively and was presented to delegates in 

 the form of a well-printed pamphlet of thirty-three 

 pages. A portion of the report is devoted to a de- 

 scription of irrigation conditions in Nebraska, and it 

 may be said without invidious comparison that it 

 furnishes altogether the best account of this subject 

 in existence. Surface and underground waters are 

 fully discussed, and it is clearly demonstrated that 

 the State has an important and promising future in 

 this respect. There is much more in the Nebraska 

 report than can be summarized in this place. It 

 ought to be in every irrigation library. It reflects 

 credit alike upon Chairman Ross and the State of 

 Nebraska. The recommendations for national legis- 

 lation include the abrogation of the commutation 

 clause, its restriction to heads of families, the reduc- 

 tion of the amount of land to be taken to eighty acres 

 where one crop per annum is raised, and to forty 

 acres where more than one crop is raised, and urges 

 that ten years' residence be required before final 

 proof can be made It favors the leasing of the pas- 

 turage lands, to be apportioned to different irrigation 

 districts. It closes with the wise remark, " We rec- 

 ognize that principles are not details." 



The report of the North Dakota Com- 

 m i ss i n is signed by Chairman M. F. 

 Merchant, W. W. Barrett and W. J. 

 Woods. It declares that irrigation and forestry are 

 intimately related and rank among the foremost 

 economic problems of the time. It describes pre- 

 vailing conditions in North Dakota and the benefits 

 to accrue to the State from systematic irrigation. It 

 declares that national assistance is required for the 

 proper development of the interests at stake. It 

 also insists on rigid national control of lands and 

 waters. The evil effects of the hot winds are con- 

 sidered, and the suggestion made that active 

 steps be taken to induce the governments of the 

 United States, Canada and Mexico to develop and 

 maintain vast and compact bodies of forests and 

 chains of lakes with a view of mitigating the trouble. 

 A cabinet department devoted to irrigation and for- 





