THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



VOL. XI. 



CHICAGO, JANUARY, 1897. 



NO. i 



THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



Irrigation in the Themessage of Grov- 

 Message of the ernor Win. A. Rich- ' 

 Governor of Wyom= a rds, of Wyoming, 

 ing- to the legislature 



which convened Jan. 12. is a timely and 

 valuable addition to the irrigation liter- 

 ature of this country, and an event of no 

 mean importance in the settlement and 

 development of the arid West. So far 

 as our information goes, he is the first 

 Governor of an arid State to give agri- 

 cultural development the foremost place 

 in a legislative message, and is the first 

 to consider not material results, but the 

 betterment of institutions, on which the 

 enduring success of irrigated agriculture 

 must ultimately depend. In this message 

 he shows clearly the importance of the 

 grazing lands as a factor in promoting 

 the reclamation and profitable use of the 

 irrigable lands. This is a phase of the 

 irrigation problem, which has been gen- 

 erally neglected and overlooked. It is 

 our belief that many of the facts which 

 he cites are not only new to nine-tenths 

 of the people of this country, but the 

 majority of our congressional law-makers 

 as well. 



Some of these are worth summarizing: 

 First: Four-fifths of the state of Wy- 

 oming is grazing land. It can never be 

 reclaimed and its only value so far as 

 agriculture is concerned, is the pastur- 

 age it affords. 



Second: This land is now an open 

 common. Those who use it pay nothing 

 to the state or nation for the privilege. 

 There is no incentive to its improvement, 



W. A. RICHARDS, Governor of Wyoming. 



but on the contrary, the absence of any 

 law providing for its occupation or dis- 

 posal makes such improvement impos- 

 sible. 



Third: The growth of settlement is 

 increasing the number who desire to use 

 this land, and is producing various con- 

 troversies and conflicts over its occupa- 

 tion. It has already resulted in over- 

 stocking and the destruction of the 

 native grasses, in many sections and is 

 steadily impairing its pasturage value. 



