78 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



partment of Agriculture instead of creat- 

 ing a separate division. That will come 

 in time, but we are content to have our 

 cause in the hands of so efficient and inter- 

 ested a worker as Secretary Wilso i. 



It has been decided by the Department 

 to confine the work on irrigation for the 

 present to two general lines: "The colla- 

 tion and publication of information regard- 

 ing the laws and institutions of the irri- 

 gated region in their relation to agricul- 

 ture" and "The publication of available 

 information regarding the use of irrigation 

 waters in agriculture as determined by 

 actual experience of farmers and experi- 

 mental investigations, and the encourage- 

 ment of further investigations in this line 

 by the experiment stations." 



Bulletins It will be especially gratifying 

 Published, to the small farmer desirous of 

 trying irrigation, but ignorant of the cor- 

 rect method of using water, to learn that 

 arrangements have already been made for 

 the preparation of several bulletins on ir- 

 rigation by competent experts, one of 

 whom is the State Engineer of Wyoming, 

 Prof. Elwood Mead, and these bulletins 

 will be published and distributed by the 

 the Department during the present fiscal 

 year. This is of great importance as it 

 will enable people to gain some certain 

 knowledge as to the best methods to r 'be 

 used. 



The laws and institutions relating to ir- 

 rigation, which have grown uo in the 

 different communities, are in most cases 

 so unsatisfactory that there is a crying 

 need of immediate reform, and as this is a 

 question of general, rather than local, in- 

 terest, Sec'y Wilson recommends that it 

 be taken up by the National Government 

 and such investigations be made as shall 

 determine the solution of these many 

 problems. 



The 



Present 



Work. 



As already stated the Depart- 

 ment has decided to divide the 

 work for the present into two heads. Un- 

 der the first of these the careful study of 

 the laws and institutions of the irrigated 

 region with special reference to their im- 

 provement the objects will be to aid the 

 courts in the adjudication of claims re- 

 specting water rights; to bring out the 

 defects in the existing laws and suggest 



remedies for them; and to assist farmers 

 in securing water rights and to protect 

 their interests in the appropriation and 

 use of water for irrigation. Under the 

 second heading the publication of the re- 

 sults gained from experimental investiga- 

 tion it is proposed that the Department 

 take up the carrying on of thorough origi- 

 nal investigations along a number of differ- 

 ent lines. The agricultural experiment 

 stations in the irrigated regions have 

 shown the way in which these investiga- 

 tions should be conducted, but their lim- 

 ited means have prevented them making 

 very great progress. 



In closing his report regarding irriga- 

 tion Secretary Wilson say: "I believe 

 that the importance and variety of the 

 work demanded in the interests of irriga- 

 tion in this country will justify a large in- 

 crease in the appropriation for irrigation 

 investigations by the Department. I hope 

 that at the coming session of Congress a 

 well-defined policy regarding the work of 

 the Department on this subject will be 

 definitely adopted." In this hope he is 

 joined by 'every friend of the irrigation 

 movement. 



The Beam There is a great deal of very 



in Our Own , J 



Eye. natural enthusiasm over the 



acquisition of new territory by the 

 United States, but there is a serious 

 phase of the matter which is forgotten by 

 many in the first flush of triumph, and 

 that is our duty to these newly acquired 

 colonies. David Starr Jordan, president 

 of Leland Stanford University, Cal., dis- 

 cussed this question in the Atlantic Month- 

 ly recently and taking Alaska as his theme 

 told of the abuses in that country and 

 pointed out certain lessons that he deemed 

 useful in dealing with other colonies. 



Mr. Jordan visited Alaska several years 

 ago by request of our government and may 

 therefore be taken as authority and his 

 statements given due consideration. Al- 

 aska's suffering resulted, in his opinion 

 from four causes ''Lack of centralization 

 of power and authority, lack of scientifi c 

 knowledge, lack of personal and public 

 interest, and the use of offices as political 

 patronage;" the first of these probably 

 being the main one. The natives were 

 incapable of self-government and to force 



