THE CESSATION OF IRRIGATION. 



THE CAUSES THAT HAVE LED TO IT AND THE 

 REMEDIES PROPOSED. 



BY W. G. MOUNT, LADORE, COL. 



Judging from the almost complete cessation of irrigation enter- 

 prises, by ditch and reservoir companies, it would appear that a state- 

 ment lately made by the the State Engineer of Wyoming in his report, 

 was correct, namely, that their security for any return on their invest- 

 ment was so very slight that it caused them to hesitate before engaging 

 in that kind of enterprise. I have been investigating for several years 

 with the idea of locating the cause of such a state of affairs, and I ascribe 

 it as follows: First, because the settlers who are already located on the 

 land which might be covered up by the proposed ditch, are unwilling to 

 pay the cost per acre, to further improve their land, if they have a ditch 

 that covers even a small portion of it. I noticed this very particularly 

 in the case of the San Luis valley, and also the Bear river, Utah, ditches. 

 Farmers under the ditches mentioned have told me that it was safer for 

 them to trust to thejittle water they had, or to almost dry farming, as 

 was the case in Bear River valley, Utah, than to pay for irrigation at 

 the cost per acre asked by the canal company. 



Again the class of settlers who are looking for land now, contain a 

 number that have been forced off of their farms in the Eastern states by 

 the mortgage holders and they come here with two prominent ideas. 

 First, of earning their living, while looking for land, and second, of 

 never giving another mortgage if possible to avoid it. Therefore if they 

 find the only land available is covered by a canal controlled by a com- 

 pany who asks at once for a chattel or crop mortgage to secure the pay- 

 ment for the water necessary to irrigate their land, even the first year 

 they are afraid and fly the track immediately, preferring to look further. 



I would like to propose two remedies for this state of affairs, which, 

 even if they do not meet with approval, may suggest something better 

 to those who are making irrigation their whole study. The first is for 

 the state to guarantee a return of at least three per cent on the invest- 

 ment, providing that the proposed ditch or reservoir should meet with 

 the approval of the State Board of Engineers, both as to site and cost. 

 The next is the co-operation of capital and labor, the labor furnished by 

 intending settlers. 



In this way, by capital putting up dollar for dollar against the value 

 of the labor done by the settlers, the settlers could sustain themselves 

 while working, and the reduced charges necessary to pay the interest, 

 and finally the principal would be much easier for them to pay. 



