32 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



showing here the desert and there a fer- 

 tile field are ever a delight to the human 

 eye." 



Col. Nettleton, of Colorado, one of the 

 prominent men in the irrigation move- 

 ment, read a statistical paper on "The 

 Success and Failures of Canal Building 

 and the Causes Thereof." He divided 

 irrigation enterprises into three heads, 

 corporation, co-operation and colony, de- 

 scribing the motives and methods of each 

 and gave figures to prove that irrigation 

 enterprises in Colorado were not failures. 



State Engineer Mead, of Wyoming, 

 discussed "The Obstacles to Settlement 

 in the Arid Eegion and the Best Means of 

 Overcoming Them." In the debate upon 

 this topic Mr. Mead graphically portrayed 

 obstacles to settlement as experience had 

 shown them. Capital was needed to' 

 make settlement by the poor man possible 

 and he believed that an easy way to get it 

 was to cede the grazing lands to the state, 

 and let them lease them, thus securing 

 four million dollars capital to promote 

 irrigation. This recommendation of Mr. 

 Mead's received the endorsement of the 

 Congress. Mr. Mead is preparing a bill 

 which he hopes will pass the National 

 Congress, which will provide that for ev- 

 ery acre of land taken up under a canal 

 sixteen acres of arid land adjoining 

 thereto will be leased at a nominal rental, 

 say 1 cent per acre. He estimates that if 

 this can be accomplished, even at this 

 rental, it will produce a revenue of about 

 $4,000,000 per year. This in turn he 

 proposes shall be expended in building 

 storage reservoirs and further reclaiming 

 our vast arid region. This projected bill 

 is one of the most important steps that 

 has yet been taken for the reclamation of 

 the arid land of America, and if it can be 

 carried out it will be a practical solution 

 of this important question. 



Another recommendation that received 

 the endorsement of the Congress was that 

 of Col. Chittenden in regard to storage 

 reservoirs. Col. Chittenden was on duty 



at Camp Wheeler, Huntsville, Ala., but a 

 very interesting paper from him was read, 

 entitled "The Construction of Storage 

 Eeservoirs Under National Supervision." 

 The conclusions he arrived at were that 

 one-fourth to three-fourths of the water of 

 streams must be held back in storage res- 

 ervoirs, and that the cost will compel the 

 general Government to undertake the en- 

 terprise. An estimate of the cost of sys- 

 tems examined in Wyoming and Colorado 

 show the necessary annual expenditures 

 to be moderate. His work included plans 

 to enable Congress to make intelligent 

 appropriations. 



In his address on what Congress is 

 doing in aid of irrigation, Senator F. E. 

 Warren confessed at the start that a dis- 

 cussion of what Congress had not done in 

 this line, would offer a larger field of dis- 

 cussion. The first evidence of interest 

 given by Congress in the arid land prob- 

 lem was the desert land law ; repressive 

 legislation followed, but during the past 

 five years a marked change for the better 

 has occurred. The Carey act, with its 

 subsequent modifications, was a step in 

 the right direction, and the interest shown 

 by Congress in investigation of reservoir 

 sites, etc., proves that progress is being 

 made. 



A great number of other valuable pa- 

 pers were read and discussed, but space 

 forbids even a mention of them. 



The committee appointed by the Lin- 

 coln Congress reported that it was suc- 

 cessful in framing a bill that met with 

 the approval of the House Committee. 



Officers were elected and executive 

 committee named, the state of Montana 

 was selected as the next meeting place, and 

 other business transacted. President 

 Carey was re-elected to office. 



The entertainment committee did its 

 work well in providing amusement for 

 the delegates . The opera house in which 

 the meeting was held was very prettily 

 decorated with the products of irrigation 

 and a reception and ball was tendered the 

 delegates the first night of the session. 



