184 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Capt. Chittenden, who had charge of the 

 work, in the elaborate report he made to 

 the Government. The paper by him, 

 which we present this month, gives his 

 impressions of the country through which 

 the survey was made and the character- 

 istics of its water supply. 



To In his report Capt. Chittenden 



Build said he deemed "a compre- 



Reservoirs hensive reservoir system in 

 the arid regions of the United States ab- 

 solutely essential to the future welfare of 

 this portion of the public domain," and 

 therefore he recommended that one- 

 seventh of the total amount of each River 

 and Harbor Bill be set aside to build reser- 

 voirs. "The use of the waters so stored 

 should be absolutely free to the public 

 forever, just as the canals, harbors and 

 other public works are free for general 

 use without toll or levy of any kind." 



Prominent in support of this policy, 

 during the recent session of Congress, 

 was Senator Carter, of Montana, who in- 

 troduced an amendment to the River and 

 Harbor Bill, appropriating generally five 

 million dollars for building storage reser- 

 voirs in all the semi-arid and arid-land 

 states and territories, the water stored to 

 be used for irrigation. The fact that, by 

 storing the heal-waters of the Missouri, 

 the Platte and the Arkansas rivers in 

 reservoirs in the Mountain Valleys, the 

 disastrous floods which overflow the south 

 could be prevented and the millions of 

 dollars now spent yearly on levees in the 

 vain endeavor to keep the waters in check, 

 thus saved, proves that the subject of 

 reservoirs is not a local question, affecting 

 the western states only, but is one of 

 far-reaching import. 



I M The Senate Committee on 

 Bhaif , n ,_ 



of the Commerce gave a full hearing 



Congress tQ those wh{) urged tne adop . 



tion of this policy. Those who spoke in 

 advocacy of it included, besides the 

 senators of Montana and Wyoming, already 

 referred to, Geo. H. Maxwell, represent- 

 ing the National Irrigation Congress. In 

 behalf of this body he urged the construc- 

 tion of reservoirs, which policy was em- 

 bodied in the resolution passed at the 

 Congress at Cheyenne last September. 

 "We favor the preservation and de> 



velopment of our national resources by the 

 construction of storage reservoirs by the 

 Federal Government, for flood protection 

 and to save for use in aid of navigation 

 and irrigation the flood waters which now 

 run to waste and cause overflow and des- 

 truction, as recommended in the report of 

 Capt. Hiram Crittenden, and we urge the 

 adoption of -the recommendation of this re- 

 port as to the construction of storage 

 reservoirs in the arid regions, as a part of 

 the national policy of internal improve- 

 ments." 



Mr. Maxwell spoke chiefly with refer- 

 ence to the immense benefit the reservoirs 

 would be as a flood protection to the 

 southern and middle states at the annual 

 rise of the Mississippi. By his zealous 

 efforts Mr. Maxwell has proven himself a 

 worthy representative of the Irrigation 

 Congress. 



Under .the department of Irrigation in 

 this number, we give a more extended ac- 

 count of the addresses made by Senator 

 Warren and Mr. Maxwell, together with 

 additional information on the pamphlet by 

 Mr. Newell. 



The While "old glory" was waved 



Closing and patriotic songs were sung 

 of Congress by the enthusiastic members, 

 the Fifty-fifth Congress adjourned sine 

 die, March 4. Owing to the number of 

 vital questions with which Congress had 

 to deal, this session was of unusual in- 

 terest. While many mistakes were made, 

 both of omission and commission, its re- 

 cord, as a whole, is fair and in its closing 

 acts of ratifying the treaty of peace and 

 making Dewey an admiral, it left a pleas- 

 ing impression on the minds of the people. 

 The President and Congress have been 

 more in harmony throughout the session 

 than might have been expected from the 

 diversity of opinion held on the many im- 

 portant issues. 



It is to be regretted that, with an extra 

 appropriation of 4821 million dollars, due 

 to the expenses incurred by the late war 

 with Spain, the ordinary appropriations 

 made by the Fifty-fifth Congress should 

 have exceeded those of its predecessor by 

 39f millions. The regular appropriations 

 woted by the last Congress amount to 

 $1,084,300,000, which, with those of the 

 war appropriations, aggregate $1,566,000,- 

 000. 



As Mr. Cannon, Chai ^ man of the Com- 



