PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 



THE SEVENTH ANNUAL CONGRESS. 



The seventh annual session was held at 

 Cheyenne, Wyo. . Sept. 1, 2, and 3. Gov. 

 Eichards, who delivered the address of 

 welcome, reviewed the agricultural his- 

 tory of Wyoming in a manner that proved 

 his thorough knowledge cf the subject. 

 He then gave an outline of what the Con- 

 gress might do for the state. 



Ex-Senator Carey, of Wyoming, presi- 

 dent of the Congress, gave an opening ad- 

 dress which has been widely quoted by 

 western publications, and was a masterly 

 review of the work of the Congress in the 

 past. Said he : 



"The sessions of the National Irrigation 

 Congress have left behind them lasting 

 impressions and far-reaching benefits. 

 The questions discussed and the resolu- 

 tions adopted from time to time have 

 brought prominently before the people of 

 the United States the arid and sub-arid 

 portions of the country, their present con- 

 dition, and what is required to transform 

 sections now wholly or partly sterile and 

 unsightly into those of productiveness 

 and beauty. The sessions held and the 

 commissioners heretofore appointed kave 

 not accomplished all that could be de- 

 sired ; yet a great deal has been done. If 

 we examine the statues of the United 

 States and of several states interested, we 

 will find that much useful legislation has 

 been secured. The files of the two houses 

 of Congress best tell of the interest now 

 manifested in the question which directly 

 concerns the arid states and territories. 

 Various bills have been introduced and 

 considered which directly apply to the 

 trans-Missouri country, many of which 

 possessed significant merit. The news- 

 papers and magazines now give the sub- 

 ject discussed in the irrigation convention 

 space and criticism. These sessions 

 bring together scientists, skilled engi- 

 neers, law-makers, practical business men. 

 capitalists, and the every day farmer and 

 irrigator. The delegates each take a sig- 

 nificant part in the deliberations, and each 

 is so necessary to the other that it is diffi- 

 cult to determine which of the different 

 professions and trades becomes the most 

 important factor. Each gives the other 



the benefit of his experience and explains 

 his theories, thereby helping to build up 

 a sound public sentiment. While there 

 has been much to discourage, yet that 

 which has been realized in the way of leg- 

 islation should be a sufficient incentive 

 for us to continue our efforts. " 



Irrigation, as the speaker further 

 pointed out, was not a doubtful possibil- 

 ity, but a certainty. Experiments have 

 demonstrated repeatedly what may be ac- 

 complished by its use, and therefore ask- 

 ing the aid of the government in con- 

 structing reservoirs to hold water for irri- 

 gating the arid lands is not asking it to 

 embark in any theoretical scheme unproved 

 by practice. 



"Irrigation for the most part," said 

 President Carey, "is still primitive. In 

 many of the states, only from the small 

 streams have the waters been diverted; 

 the great streams have only been 

 touched." 



In conclusion he said: "We hear of 

 failures ; many will say that in their en- 

 deavors they have lost their capital and 

 labor. This could not be otherwise, for 

 all that has been attempted in the way of 

 irrigation work has not been completed, 

 nor has all been don* satisfactorily and 

 successfully. In great undertakings there 

 have always been some bitter dissap- 

 pointment and failures. This will occur 

 in the future as it has in the past. All 

 railroad building has not brought large 

 returns. The great canals of half a cen- 

 tury ago for transportation purposes have 

 been largely abandoned. Why should we 

 expect all irrigation enterprises from their 

 very inception to be successful? We, 

 however, say that irrigation works prop- 

 erly located and well constructed are al- 

 ways a success, for do they not, when op- 

 erated, turn a desert into a garden and 

 supplant barrenness with fertility, and, aa 

 if by magic, change the parched and 

 thirsty plains into harvest fields produc- 

 ing profitable crops? These changes 



