THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



What should we learn from this? First, that all 

 irrigation enterprise should be so organized as to 

 result in ownership and control of individual works 

 by those served under them, either from the com- 

 mencement of operations or at the end of a term 

 of years fixed in the articles of agreement; and, 

 second, that to insure amicable continuance of rela- 

 lations between managers of irrigation enterprises 

 and the irrigators under them, during the period of 

 development, the services of a third and superior 

 party is required as an authoritative referee. This 

 party can be no other than the State. 



In the interests of the party primarily concerned, 

 why is this? Suppose the irrigation companies and 

 the irrigators do not want State or any other control? 

 Yet, why should they have it in their own interest? 

 Wherein would they be mistaken in opposing it? 

 ANSWER. In this: Under whatever form of enter- 

 prise irrigation may be developed there are other 

 parties at interest besides the promoter or manager 

 or owner of the scheme and works, and the irrigators 

 or land owners under it. The public at large is 

 always a party at interest, and capital is almost 

 always so, in a direct way, and always at stake, in- 

 directly. 



Almost every irrigation enterprise except those 

 where the works are constructed by communities of 

 irrigators, on a cash basis their labor usually being 

 their capital requires much money to carry it out. 

 It is raised on bonds, stock and shares, lands or water 

 privileges of the enterprise, directly; or, indirectly, 

 on the lands to be served with water, either by the 

 owners or by the company having water supply con- 

 tracts with the owners and liens on the lands as 

 security. 



In some such way it must be had from the world's 

 capital. To get it on advantageous terms the investor 

 must be protected. There has been sufficient experi- 

 ence in other countries, and our own is now furnish- 

 ing a crop of examples, to warn those who control 

 investment moneys, that the construction alone of 

 irrigation works does not result in successful enter- 

 prise, but that there must be general success in irri- 

 gation under those works in order that the enterprise 

 may meet its financial obligations. 



In this the way the interest of the irrigation com- 

 panies and of the irrigators in every case depend on 

 protection to the public and to capital in all cases, 

 and this protection can only be accorded by the 

 establishment of State control over irrigation enter- 

 prise. 



THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM. 



There are a lot of parts which are necessary to 

 success in irrigation enterprise : (1) An adequate 

 water suppy; (2) suitable lands to put it on; (3) 

 efficient and lasting works for delivery and distribu- 

 tion, constructed within economic limits of cost; (4) 

 fair and efficient management of those works in the 

 interest of irrigation under them ; (5) and a contented, 

 industrious and skillful population of irrigators 

 located on the land. 



The prerequisites of market for produce, and of 

 transportation advantage, as affecting the business 

 interests of irrigation venture, are not here to be con- 

 sidered. For the moment we take it for granted that 

 these are favorable, yet we must have the above 

 numbered parts of the economic problem in order 

 that we succeed. And such success there must be, else 

 capital will not be safe. The money has gone into the 

 works and other things unproductive except through 



the medium of the irrigator. The capitalist does not 

 want the works ; he doesn't want the lands. He wants 

 the interest on his money, regularly paid, and his 

 principal returned when it becomes due. He cannot 

 operate the works to make money out of them except 

 he has irrigators, and he cannot sell the land for his 

 advantage except to irrigators; and people desirous 

 of becoming irrigators will not buy lands operated ap- 

 parently for the benefit of capital. This is a group of 

 great general truths, made such by experience in 

 other countries; and, as I have said, our own country 

 is contributing testimony in the same line. 



When American irrigation securities have been 

 offered in European markets, they have not, as a 

 rule, found sale through the older established chan- 

 nels of financial dealings or to the more experienced 

 handlers of investment moneys in the financial 

 centers. Why has this been? Because it is known 

 to many of those who control investment moneys that 

 the construction of irrigation works is not a paying 

 end, but merely a means to an end; one of five 

 parts in a great economic problem; that the safety of 

 the investment depends on the felicitous accomplish- 

 ment of the end\.\i& working out of the entire prob- 

 lem, that the management of the works cannot, as a 

 usual thing, operate them profitably without the 

 cooperation of a population of irrigators settled un- 

 der them. 



When we thoroughly appreciate this fact and all 

 that it means we have made a long step toward under- 

 standing why there has been so much disappointment 

 in irrigation development enterprise, and why irriga- 

 tion securities have been so slow of sale. 



THE FUNCTION OF SPECULATIVE ENTERPRISE. 



When we have thus followed through a line of 

 reasoning and come to a conclusion as to " what 

 ought to be " in irrigation we have only looked at one 

 side of the living question, and have yet to consider 

 how far this conclusion must be modified by "what 

 can be" under existing circumstances. 



In the first place, irrigation cannot be liberally or 

 generally developed in this country under any one 

 form of enterprise. Conditions make necessary 

 variety in organization and promotion to meet the 

 varied cases. 



It is useless, for instance, to talk of association of 

 district construction of works for the reclamation of 

 desert lands. There can be no local association 

 without a resident people, and settlers cannot exist 

 on our far-reaching, unwatered deserts long enough 

 to form communities and carry out works of irriga- 

 tion, except in cases of peculiarly favorable and 

 small schemes, such as were open in Utah and else- 

 where when Mormon community effort in irrigation 

 commenced. That time is now gone by and that 

 class of opportunity nearly exhausted. 



In advance of irrigation there is little or no value 

 in desert lands. In advance of broad and expensive 

 investigation there is no knowing just where condi- 

 tions are favorable for great enterprise what area 

 and water supply should or can within economic 

 limits be brought together. Mere settlers can 

 neither make these investigations tor themselves nor 

 take advantage of the results after they are made 

 by the government. Hence, without a settled popula- 

 tion, without established land value, without a clean- 

 cut enterprise to work to without the advantages to 

 be commanded only by capital and business organ- 

 ization there is no basis of credit. And, hence, 



