20 THE IRRIGA TION A GE. 



To the settlers' side, too, there is a strong commercial aspect. Land, 

 water, industry, and capital do not alone and of themselves assure 

 success. It depends much upon what is produced and how the product 

 is handled. It depends on how the supplies are purchased. It de- 

 pends on how labor is directed. It depends on the industrial polity, 

 which must be such as to provide the certainty of a living and the 

 hope of an independence. 



It is upon these broad lines that this department will be con- 

 ducted. It will aim to outline a practicable program for the conquest 

 of waste places by waste labor and waste capital throughout the 

 earth. It will deal not with theories, but with practice. It will bring 

 all its plans to the test of actual experience in this and other coun- 

 tries. It will seek to deduce lessons from failures in the field of colo- 

 onization as well as to find light in the many instances of success. It 

 will describe conditions in different localities with perfect candor, 

 speaking of their drawbacks as well as advantages. 



Some of the practical questions to be discussed are these: How 

 much capital is required to establish a family on an irrigated farm? 

 What is the best size of the farm unit? What scheme of production 

 should be recommended in different localities? What is the best way 

 to dispose of the product'' What economics can be effected in the 

 purchase of supplies? Are people from the cities well suited to make 

 homes on small farms? Is any form of superintendence feasible as a 

 means of preventing mistakes and assisting settlers to prosper? 



Questions of equal importance are: How can homes be had by 

 people having no capital, save their ability to perform productive la- 

 bor? How can people of means invest their money safely and profit- 

 ably to be used by others? How can people of regular income set 

 apart a portion of it each month and year and so provide homes 

 brought to a complete state of production at the end of a certain 

 period? How can investors who never intend to be resident settlers 

 invest in a colony and share its profits? 



Some of the larger economic questions are: In planning the in- 

 dustrial organization how much should be undertaken in co-operation 

 and how much left to individual enterprise.? What measure of con- 

 trol should be exercised over settlers who operate entirely or mostly 

 on borrowed capital, and how long should they work under such con- 

 trol? By what method should states, industries, and other enter- 

 prises closely related to colony development be conducted? What so- 

 cial scheme is calculated to conduce to the contentment and prosperity 

 of the settlers? Is Socialism feasible at the present time in new colo- 

 nies of small membership? 



Many widely-scattered colonial efforts will be drawn upon for ex- 

 periences. Among them are the labor colonies of Holland, Germany, 

 and Australia; the communities founded in the Forties under the For- 

 ties' teachings; the Morman settlements in Utah; the famous places 



