PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 



SENATOR WARREN'S WORK. 



In the late sessions of Congress Senator 

 Warren, of Wyoming, made an eloquent 

 plea for the desired appropriation of 

 $35.000 for irrigation investigation. In 

 his opinion it was the most important in 

 the entire bill. He said: 



"This is not a local proposition nor a 

 local want in a narrow sense, nor is it 

 narrow in any sense. It is a very broad 

 subject and a burning one with many 

 people and localities. It is fallacious to 

 think it applies to only the strictly 

 arid region. Irrigation will benefit all 

 parts of the country, each and every state 

 in the union, if only a knowledge of its ap- 

 plication and benefits be properly dis- 

 seminated. I do not think I overstate its 

 value when I say that irrigation and re- 

 clamation of land is the most important 

 economical subject or problem that we 

 have before us today and capable of yield- 

 ing- the largest returns to us as a people 

 for the expense of providing for and prose- 

 cuting vigorously this department work. 

 It is a national want more than a state or 

 individual one, the nation at large being 

 the great beneficiary from every point of 



The United States owns exclusive of 

 Alaska, about 700,000,000 acres of public 

 land, about 550,000,000 acres of which is 

 arid and practically useless except as to 

 some portions which furnish very thin 

 grazing. To apply the waters of the 

 streams to the lands and to impound and 

 use the storm waters intelligently upon 

 these arid wastes is practically to create 

 land, and of the most valuable character." 



Later on, in referring to the value of 

 the land he said: 



"The value of irrigable and irrigated 

 lands and irrigation water depends upon 

 wise laws governing the ownership and 

 distribution of water, a knowledge of the 



best assimilation of land and water, and 

 its power and adaptability with reference 

 to the different agricultural crops. The 

 Secretary of Agriculture says, in speaking 

 of irrigation, in'his last annual report: 



Unfortunately, the accurate information 

 on which alone intelligent reforms can be 

 based is almost wholly lacking. As the 

 problems which confront these communi- 

 ties are. in a general way, the same, and 

 in many particulars affect the national as 

 well as local interests, it is highly appro- 

 priate that the National Government 

 should undertake investigations to aid in 

 the solution of the problems of irrigation. 

 As many of these problems are directly 

 connected with those in other agricultural 

 lines in which the department and the 

 experiment stations are working it is my 

 judgment that this department should be 

 put in a position to efficiently organize and 

 conduct important investigations in thi 

 line. 



A noted and most competent expert in 

 irrigation, Prof. Elwood Mead, State 

 engineer of Wyoming, in speaking of this 

 department work, says: 



It is the purpose of this investigation to 

 aid the state irrigation authorities in 

 their work of framing and enforcing laws 

 for the distribution and beneficial use of 

 the rivers of the arid region: to help 

 farmers in their 3fforts to secure the con- 

 servation and best use of that supply, and 

 to collect and arrange the facts which will 

 tend to promote wise legislation by Con- 

 gress for the reclamation or disposal of the 

 remainder of the public domain. 



The same author further says: 



The history of all irrigated countries 

 show that wise laws do more for the pros- 

 perity of their farmers than a fertile soil 

 or abundant water supply. The settle- 

 ment of the arid West, the separation of 

 single drainage areas into different politi- 

 cal divisions, and the necessity of framing 

 laws to meet emergencies before experi- 

 ence or study had shown what those laws 

 should embrace have created industrial 

 and legal complications which threatened 

 the stability and value of the irrigated 

 farms, and whose solution will require all 

 the wisdom and patience of our ablest 

 minds. The investigation of institutions 



