THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



make tillable and fertile the now arid 

 region of the West. About the time the 

 governor was writing his letter to the Ir- 

 rigation Congress there appeared in the 

 Country Gentlemen, the leading agricul- 

 tural paper of New York, an article urging 

 the farmers of that state to oppose all 

 plans for irrigation in the West at govern- 

 ment expense, not so much because of the 

 expense as because the reclamation of arid 

 lands of the West would increase the num- 

 ber of competing farmers in the markets, 

 and would thus decrease the profit of the 

 New York farmers. The narrow selfish- 

 ness of this is disgusting. It is a part, 

 perhaps, of the rank conservatism that 

 would prevent the development of the 

 country. Columbus (0.) Dispatch. 



There is no greater necessity for the ap- 

 propriation of money for the purpose of 

 developing the rivers and harbors of the 

 country than there is for the expenditure 

 of a comparatively small amount of gov- 

 ernment funds in aiding to bring water 

 upon land that only needs its magic touch 

 to make it fertile and provide new homes 

 for citizens of the nation. Butte Miner. 



The necessity of doing something to re- 

 claim arid lands has been slowly filtering 

 through the minds of western legislators 

 for ten years or more. It is time they got 

 together for a united attack upon the 

 house and senate committees that deal 

 with internal improvements. There are 

 enough congressmen from the West, and 

 their mentality and aggressiveness are of 

 sufficient high order to make a stir if they 

 concentrate their energies. Spokanf. 

 ( Wash. ) Review. 



The reclamation of arid lands is too 

 vast in its scope and objects for private 

 enterprise or even state aid. The govern- 

 ment must deal with the problem sooner 

 or later. It alone can prevent a ruinous 

 conflict of interests and conserve the 

 oceans of water uselessly going to waste. 

 North Yakima A'eics. 



It would seem to be a good investment 

 for the government from a business stand- 

 point, as well as highly desirable for other 

 reasons. The work is one which private 

 enterprise cannot well undertake. It re- 

 quires not only a large capital, but abso- 

 lute control over the head-waters of some 

 of the principal streams of the country and 

 of the region surrounding their sources. 

 Individuals do not possess this, and there 

 are objections to granting it to them. The 

 government, however, can control and 

 maintain it. Grand Rapids (Mich.)Press. 



One of the greatest movements of the 

 nineteenth century, one destined to find a 

 successful issue in the early part of the 

 twentieth. When this system becomes 

 general throughout the arid lands of the 

 West, the entire people of thu country 

 will share in the prosperous times they 

 will produce. Thousands of home seekers 

 will find homes for themselves and their 

 families. The manufacturers of the East 

 will find a large field for their products 

 and will be enabled to employ more men. 

 These men will consume more of the pro- 

 ducts of the eastern farmer, and all in all 

 every section and every industry will be 

 greatly developed. Shreveport (La.) 

 Times. 



The general subject is one of great im- 

 portance. Minneapolis and the North- 

 west are interested in the proposition di- 

 rectly. The larger cultivation of the arid 

 valleys by means of irrigation is sure to be 

 of advantage, not only to the cities and 

 towns in the irrigated districts, which 

 would profit by the increased population 

 and trade, but to the trade centers as well. 

 Minneapolis Journal. 



One of the strongest points made in the 

 Chicago Irrigation Convention in favor of 

 government assistance to irrigation, was 

 that it would promote the small farm in- 

 dustry. The irrigated area is peculiarly 

 adapted to small farms and unadapted to 

 bonanza farming. Minnesota lands will 



