TOPICS OF THE TIME 







The Bills There are now pending be- 

 in fore the Senate and the 



Congress. House of Representatives a 

 number of bills pertaining to arid lands, 

 reservoir sites and water supply and the 

 preservation of the forests. One of the 

 most important of these is the bill for the 

 appropriation of funds to carry on the 

 work of surveying and gauging the flow 

 of Western streams. The question of 

 water supply is of all others the one most 

 important. ' This must be definitely ascer- 

 tained and found to be adequate before 

 there can be any security either for the 

 capital which makes possible the building 

 of the canals; or for the settler who tills 

 the soil and to whom every drop of water 

 is precious. Should Congress appropriate a 

 half million dollars or more for this purpose 

 it would not be out of harmony with its im- 

 portance but to expect results from the 

 expenditure of the diminutive sum of $700 

 in such States as Colorado or California is 

 ridiculous. The men who have this work 

 in hand are energetic, intelligent engineers 

 and every dollar which is spent in the 

 hydrographic survey will be returned many 

 fold in the benefits which will accrue to 

 the Western States. 



j Ln Educate the people. It is 



Educational an old axiom that an edu- 



Campaigtt. C ated people will not be 

 serfs or slaves. The ancient Saxon gloried 

 in the fact that his long hair waved over 

 the neck of a "free man. " One of the 

 needs of the American people today is an 

 educational course in irrigation. Could 

 they but rise to a full understanding of 

 the benefits derived from the application 

 of water in the proper quantity at the 

 right time, and the possibilities of an im- 

 proved industrial and economic system 

 which radiate therefrom, the cry of hard 

 times, of the unemployed, of suffering 

 women and children would soon cease. 



Within its scope, irrigation comprehends 

 not alone the giving to thirsty plants a 

 drink, but it opens avenues through which 



182 



will tramp an army to reclaim and settle 

 the vast areas of arid land, to build there- 

 on comfortable homes; to engage in every 

 form of industry, and to erect social in- 

 stitutions which as nearly as possible will 

 place men upon an equality. 



^f+ i There has been an inclina- 



Must Work ,. . 

 out its own tlon m certain quarters to 



Salvation. sit idly by and wait for 

 the National government to take up on 

 an extensive scale the work of reclaiming 

 the arid lands. While it is true that it 

 is the duty of the federal government to 

 undertake a large portion of this work, it 

 is also true that until the representatives 

 in Congress from the States east of the 

 Mississippi can be brought to a full reali- 

 zation of the needs of the West it is use- 

 less to hope for much assistance from this 

 source. But this is no reason why nothing 

 should be done. Cannot the West work 

 out its own salvation, even though the 

 tools at command are not what might be 

 desired? They will do good work if in 

 proper hands. There are innumerable 

 things that can be done, and when these 

 are accomplished if a united front is pre- 

 sented it will be much easier to obtain a 

 favorable reply to the requests made of 

 the Congress at Washington. 



Water Power The constant improve- 

 and ment in the methods of 



Electricity, utilizing electrical force 

 in the numerous industries is opening a 

 wide field for the development of the 

 mountain regions. The vast water power 

 which goes to waste is being harnessed 

 and placed at work. Already in some por- 

 tions of Colorado, California and Utah 

 the tremendous fall of the mountain 

 streams is turning water wheels and tur- 

 bines, and the electric current generated 

 is carried for miles on wires until it is 

 finally used for turning the wheels of 

 factories, propelling the cars on the 

 street railways, and furnishing light and 



