THE IRRIGA 7 JON A GE. 9 



country and conditions, and they must be absolutely freed from local 



or selfish influence. All these mark the study as one which the gen- 

 eral goverment can carry on more effectively than any other agency. 



"The public, East and West, has another interest in this investi- 

 gation. There are many million acres of irrigable land yet to be re- 

 claimed. This land is a public trust and the opportunity of future 

 home seekers. In order to know how much can be safely offered to 

 settlers we must know how much water each stream will supply, and 

 how much an acre of land requires. The government should provide 

 this information as a guide to honest enterprise and protection from 

 unscrupulous ones. ' Sooner or later a knowledge of the duty of water 

 becomes a necessary in every irrigated district. It is required to 

 settle disputes over water right contracts and provide for their intel- 

 ligent reconstruction. It is needed by law makers in the framing of 

 laws for the establishment of water rights and by the courts in ren- 

 dering decisions. 



" The issue as to whether western rivers are to remain a public 

 trust or become personal property is being waged with a vigor com- 

 mensurate with the value of the property. The result will determine 

 whether irrigated agriculture will become corporate or co-operative. 

 Personal ownership creates an opportunity for monopolies more ab- 

 solute and oppressive than any now existing. Those who do not ob- 

 ject to the free grants of perpetual franchise in cities, will approve of 

 the free and perpetual surrender of the water of streams. It is my 

 belief that both are alike unwise. 



' The time to settle which of these two policies should prevail is 

 during the early year of our development, in the pregnant years when 

 institutions are forming and before mistakes or abuses have become 

 fixed by time or custom. There are two agencies which should be en- 

 listed in this work. The national government should study the irri- 

 gation systems of the different states and of other countries, as the 

 governments of Canada and Australia are now doing. This the office 

 of Experiment Stations has begun. Some of the most equable and 

 experienced students of. irrigation are now making, under its direc- 

 tion, a careful investigation of the irrigation systems of Utah and 

 California. Their reports when printed will show in concrete form 

 what sort of water ownership now prevails and the merits and defects 

 of the systems now in use. It is the intention to extend these studies 

 to other states in order that legislatures may profit by the experience 

 of neighboring commonwealths, This, however, is not enough. The 

 problems of today will not be the same tomorrow. With growing and 

 increasing scarcity there will be a constant evolution in water laws. 

 "The next generation of irrigators should be educated to deal with 

 them. A course of instruction in the social and industrial features of 

 irrigation should be provided in every western university. A number 



of agricultural colleges, Colorado being especially entitled to com- 



