THE IRRIGA I10N A GE. 



173 



legitimate work for the United States 

 government itself. No one will object if 

 the government spends [money to reclaim 

 arid lands for the benefit [|of bona fide 

 settlers. St. Joseph (Mo.} Ntics. 



There are not a few people in various 

 sections of the country, not directly in- 

 terested in the work of irrigation, who 

 recognize that every reclaimed acre of land 

 means a stimulus to -business, and an 

 eventual benefit to the country means 

 more crops, increased population, ad- 

 vanced civilization, new needs, and con- 

 sequently a greater volume of business. 

 What congress has to 'guard against is 

 schemes to benefit mere private enterprises 

 at public expense. A project so guarded 

 will be beneficent, and the people of every 

 section of the country can consistently ap- 

 prove it. Springfield (111.) Register. 



Capt. H. M. Chittenden, of the En- 

 gineer Corps, who has made a careful 

 study of the subject, asserts that there are 

 in this country 75,000,000 acres of arid 

 land which can be reclaimed. This is a 

 'territory somewhat larger than New Eng- 

 land and New York together. Consider- 

 ing the great fertility of irrigated lands, it 

 will readily be seen that this reclaimed 

 territory would support millions of people, 

 and be a vast addition to the national 

 wealth and resources. Boston Herald. 



The project is one which would be of 

 the very greatest benefit, both to the West 

 and the East to the West as offering 

 homes for not less than 10.000,000 people 

 engaged in farming; to the East in supply- 

 ing a large home market for manufactures 

 of all kinds, and increasing to a very great 

 extent the wealth and resources of our na- 

 tion Colorado Springs Gazette. 



The day is certainly coming when the 

 public will realize the importance of fur- 

 ther developing our land resources. Al- 

 though the irrigation problem is an old 

 one in many localities, it is comparatively 



new to the country as a whole. These 

 lands once reclaimed and provided with an 

 adequate water supply, would become 

 among the most fruitful and valuable in 

 the country.- Sioux City (la.) Times. 



There are sufficient and satisfactory rea- 

 sons for the undertaking this great work 

 of irrigation by the federal government. 

 Private enterprise will undertake schemes 

 that promise early financial returns, but 

 will do little for the permanent benefit of 

 mankind. This great work must be prose- 

 cuted until every barren waste of sand and 

 sage brush that is capable of irrigation is 

 made to bloom and blossom like the rose 

 under the vivifying influence of water. It 

 is gratifying to note in the eastern press 

 the assertion that the country will not be 

 satisfied with anything less. Tacoma 

 ( Wash. ) News. 



There is no doubt that any extensive 

 plan for the reclamation of arid lands can 

 be carried on to much better advantage by 

 the general government than by the states 

 which have such lands within their bor- 

 ders. The benefits of so large an addition 

 to the productive area of the country are 

 apparent. Tens of thousands of farmers 

 settled upon small but highly productive 

 farms, would add greatly to the agricul- 

 tural products of the United States, and 

 would be good customers of its manufac- 

 turers. Grand Rapids Herald. 



The power and duty of the government 

 to conserve the waters either by forests or 

 reservoirs arise from the fact that upon 

 their preservation depends the very exist- 

 ence of the country. With water we may 

 have in the arid region prosperous com- 

 munities, populous states and national 

 wealth, resources and power; without 

 water we have deserts, desolation and 

 death. Los Angeles Times. 



There is sufficient available water in 

 Spain to reclaim an immense domain. The 

 government decided in May last to con. 



