194 1HE IRRIGTIOX AGE. 



cumulating data bearing upon the water supply, the location of res- 

 ervoir sites, and the methods and cost of bringing water to the land. 



* * * 



The interest of the public is manifested in a practical way by the 

 formation of associations in different parts of the country intended to 

 promote the examination of the resources of the countty in its water 

 and forests. Large sums of money have been subscribed for dissemi- 

 nation of information concerning these waters, and also for co-opera- 

 tion with various bureaus, notably the hydrographic branch of the 

 geological survey. The appropriation for this latter office was in- 

 creased by the last Congress from 150,000 to $100,000, and this sum 

 has been further enlarged by popular subscription, as just noted. A 

 still further increase commensurate with the importance of the subject 

 is being urged by commercial organizations and firms and by citizens 

 who have contributed their funds to the furtherance of this work. 



Developments of irrigation have proceeded almost wholly along 

 the lines of building small individual ditches and co-operative ditches. 

 The opportunities for extending and multiplying these are, however, 

 limited, as the lands most easily accessible for water supply have 

 already passed into the possession of individuals. There remain large 

 bodies of public land for which water can be obtained only at a great 

 expense, although the cost per acre may not exceed that of the small 

 systems. Further extension of the irrigable area rests in the building 



of great storage reservoirs and canals. 



* * * 



Progress in the construction of these large works of reclaimation 

 has come practically to a standstill, as it has been found by experi- 

 ence and shown by statistics that these reclaimation works have not 

 been made a source of individual profit. Capital has been induced to 

 undertake the construction of such works in different parts of the 

 West, but almost without exception these have been financial failures, 

 while the small co-operative ditches built by the land owners have 

 been conspicuously successful. The large works, while sources of 

 loss to their owners, have, on the other hand, been of great advantage 

 to the committees and to the State as well as to the nation, but it is 

 improbable that investors will continue as a philanthropic enterprise. 



The cause of financial failures of these works of reclamation has 

 been in the fact that the owners cannot secure to themselves the in- 

 crease in value which has taken place directly or indirectly through 

 the building of the works. In some respects the case is comparable 

 to that of a city whose harbor has been improved. The land values 

 are increased, but the work if carried out by private enterprise may 

 not be remunerative to the builders. It is evident that if further 

 reclaimation is to take place it must be through Govermental action. 



