216 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



inaugurated by the department is des- 

 tined, I am confident, to mark a new and 

 better era of irrigation development for 

 the arid states." 



MR. NEWELL'S REPORT. 



In response to the resolution passed by 

 the Senate Feb. 7, 



Resolved, That the Secretary of the In- 

 terior be and hereby is, directed to furnish 

 in concise form for the use of the Senate a 

 general statement of the origin, character 

 and extent of the surveys of reservoir 

 sites made by the United States Geologi- 

 cal Survey, with brief memoranda as to 

 present conditions of water storage and 

 the most important sites in each large 

 hydrographic basin, also a summary of 

 estimates as to probable cost of construct- 

 ing suitable dams at points where the 

 stored water will be of most immediate 

 value to the public. 



Secretary of the Interior, C. N. Bliss, pre- 

 sented the report prepared by Mr. F. H. 

 Newell, hydrographer, entitled "Surveys 

 of Reservoir Sites," which is valuable for 

 reference as well as interesting to all who 

 are in sympathy with the irrigation move- 

 ment. Mr. Newell 's report traces the 

 work of the government surveys from the 

 report prepared by Maj. J. W. Powell, 

 April 1, 1878, on the "Lands of the Arid 

 Region," to the investigations of recent 

 times. A history of the extent and char- 

 acter of the surveys is given, with a dis- 

 cussion of the present conditions, requi- 

 sites for success, and important reservoir 

 sites. In speaking of the present condi- 

 tions Mr. Newell says: 



"One fact has come prominently for- 

 ward during the last ten years, since the 

 inauguration of the reservoir work, and 

 that is that water storage on a large scale 

 can rarely be made profitable to individ- 

 uals or corporations. Water conservation 

 is expensive at best, and existing condi- 

 tions, laws, and customs are such that the 

 person who builds a dam on the head 

 waters of a stream is rarely in a position 

 to be benefited financially by the water 

 which he impounds. * * * * While 

 reservoirs in general cannot be made 

 sources of profit to the investors, there is 

 no gainsaying the fact that they are indis- 

 pensable to the community. They may 

 be classed with light-houses and works of 

 internal improvement, which, under ex- 

 isting laws and customs, can not be made 



sources of private gain, and yet must be 

 had if a full development of the natural 

 resources is to be obtained. 



The one great demand of the western 

 half of the United States is for more water 

 during times of scarcity. This has been 

 particularly accentuated by the droughts 

 of 1898, when millions of dollars were lost 

 through lack of ordinary supply. It is 

 highly probable that the aggregate losses 

 to the communities, if these could have 

 been put in the form of works for conserv- 

 ing flood water, would have repaid the cost 

 of all such works. Such losses are so dis- 

 tributed and so far-reaching that it is, of 

 course, impossible to segregate them, or to 

 indicate definitely the individuals most 

 deeply concerned. They are, moreover, 

 of such character that only the communi- 

 ty as a whole is competent to guard 

 against them, individual, or even corpor- 

 ate action, not being possible. The state 

 or the nation must provide the means by 

 which disasters of this kind may in the 

 future be avoided. Ten years ago it was 

 commonly asserted that every acre of the 

 arid land could be reclaimed. Now there 

 is no longer talk of irrigating every acre 

 of the fertile lands of the arid region, and 

 comparatively little interest is displayed 

 as to whether 10 or 15 per cent of these 

 lands can be reclaimed. Public sentiment 

 is now concentrated on the question how 

 the relatively small quantity of water can 

 be conserved for the largest use, it being 

 apparent that by such conservation a pop- 

 ulation of many million can be directly or 

 indirectly sustained." 



ACTIVE SOLICITORS WANTED EVERY- 

 ** where for "The Story of the Philippines," by 

 Murat Halstead, commissioned by the Govern- 

 ment as Official Historian to the War Depart- 

 ment. The book was written in army camps at 

 San Francisco, on the Pacific with General 

 Merritt, In the hospitals at Honolulu, in Hong 

 Kong, in the American trenches at Manila, in 

 the insurgents camps with Aguinaldo, on the 

 deck of the Olympia with Dewey, and in the 

 roar of battle at the fall of Manila. Bonanza 

 for agents. Brimful of original pictures taken 

 by government photographers on the spot. 

 Large book. Low prices. Big profits. Freight 

 paid. Credit given. Drop all trashy unofficial 

 war books. Outfit free. Address, H. L, Barber, 

 Gen. Mngr., 356 Dearborn Street, Chicago. 



