THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



consequence of entrusting large affairs in the hands of unskilled 

 men has been too apparent. 



One feature of a typical irrigation district in which it differs 

 most widely from other public associations is the fact that it 

 starts at once by attempting to raise an enormous sum of money 

 and to expend it toward the completion of a gigantic project. 

 Little opportunity is given for preliminary work and the acquisi- 

 tion of experience so necessary in all lines of business. In other 

 words, there is not the slow growth often essential for the success 

 of great enterprises. Men are suddenly called upon to supervise 

 the disbursement of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of 

 dollars, and to take in charge the business of a great corporation, 

 their only preparation being that of a small farmer or profes- 



sional man in a country town. There are none of the minor rules 

 or precedents so essential to the conduct of the innumerable de- 

 tails of a great business, and the personal judgment of each officer 

 must be constantly exercised. It has thus resulted that both the 

 directors have been accused of extravagance, incompetence and 

 failure to select the best projects, and as a result investors have 

 feared to purchase bonds of certain districts, through doubts as to 

 whether the money would be applied in such manner as to increase 

 the value of the land. It is of course assumed that the land and 

 property of the district in its regular condition is ample security 

 for the bonds, but as a matter of fact the argument is constantly 

 used that the money obtained for sale of bonds will be used in 

 such a manner as to increase this security. 



A CAMPAIGN FOR NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 



BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL IRRIGATION COMMITTEE. 



The Chairman of the National Irrigation Committee has issued for wide distribution, as a " campaign 



ocument " in the interest of reclamation and settlement in a broad way, a printed pamphlet entitled, "A 



ampaign for National Prosperity.'' It outlines an aggressive plan of work under four heads, two of which 



re immediately practicable and one ultimately so, the other being purely educational. All are undertaken 



i n the interest of the West as a whole. The first object is to get a hearing for the claims of irrigation. The 



next is to accomplish actual results. The following extracts furnish a full outline of the document, though 



presenting less than half of the matter. The complete pamphlet can be obtained by application to the Chicago 



office of THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



A CAMPAIGN FOR NATIONAL PROSPERITY. 



Here is a national anomaly. In one half the United 

 States there is a surplus of men and capital, and a 

 dearth of opportunity for the employment of either. 

 In the other half of the United States there is a dearth 

 of men and of capital, and tremendous opportunities 

 for the employment of both. And the country is in 

 the midst of hard times, facing problems full of un- 

 certainty and possibly of peril. 



Never in the history of the nation was there graver 

 need of some new and grand impulse incur economic 

 life. 



pThe men of the West believe that past prosperity 

 was due to the policy of peaceful conquest over new 

 areas, and that prosperity can be largely and quickly 

 restored by a renewal of this policy of aggressive 

 national development. They believe they can point 

 to resources that will absorb all idle energies, alike 

 of labor and of capital, rewarding one with a living, 

 and hope of independence, and the other with fair 

 interest. But how shall we arouse the nation and or- 

 ganize opportunity ? 



For years I have studied this question from all 

 standpoints and among all classes. And now, in per- 

 formance of a trust reposed in me by the representa- 

 tives of twenty-three states, I propose to invite the 

 attention of the American people tothree.well-defined 

 lines of thought. They are fully set forth in the fol- 

 lowing pages and briefly noted here: 



I. Labor and Homes for the Unemployed. 

 \\.-The Education of the Masses in the Opportun- 

 ities for Independence Offered by the Greater 

 West. 



III. The Industrial and Social Aspects of Colonial 



Life on Irrigated Land. 



Some features of this plan will seem at first thought 

 to be of more importance than others, but on full con- 

 sideration all will be seen to be essential to a sym- 



metrical and enduring development of the national 

 opportunity. It is believed that the irrigation move- 

 ment, when comprehended, will command the hearty 

 and even enthusiastic support of the people. 



. WILLIAM E. SMYTHE, 

 Chairman of the National Irrigation Committee. 



l.-LABOR AND HOMES FOR THE UNEM- 

 PLOYED. 



No accurate statistics are available to indicate the 

 number of men wholly or partially idle to-day. I 

 am advised, however, from the best sources of infor- 

 mation that there is practically as much need of em- 

 ployment as there was one year ago. The business 

 depression is certainly as marked, and if there are 

 less acute symptoms of unrest it is because the peo- 

 ple have become somewhat benumbed by familiarity 

 with hard times. "Unsettled questions have no pity 

 for the repose of nations.' 1 The nation is in the pro- 

 cess of readjusting its political and economic condi- 

 tions, and until patience has done its perfect work 

 there can be no return to permanent good times. 

 Capital can wait. Labor cannot. And idleness is sy- 

 nonymous with danger. 



Manifestly the best cure for the laborless is an op- 

 portunity to labor, and the best cure for the homeless 

 a chance to earn homes. The Irrigation Propaganda 

 aims to apply this remedy by the simplest and most 

 direct means. There are various movements on foot 

 which seek to make everybody prosperous through 

 the operation of new theories of political economy. 

 The men of the west have no quarrel with those 

 theories, but their method of relieving the pressure 

 of the times is the direct and simple one of putting 

 surplus labor on surplus land. They have no sug- 

 gestion which promises the privilege of consuming 

 without the trouble of producing. They, can offer a 

 living for indefinite thousands, but only in accordance 

 with the divine injunction, "In the sweat of thy face 



