A FRIEND OF NATIONAL IRRIGA- 

 TION. 



There is little donbt that, among other things, the question of 

 national irrigation of the arid lands will be well taken care of under 

 the administration of President Roosevelt. He has lived for a long 

 time in the West, and is fully able to appreciate the importance of this 

 question. Since becoming president, as well as before, he has point- 

 edly expressed himself in favor of the national irrigation of the pub- 

 lic lands of the arid West. 



A dispatch from Washington states that Senator Hansbrough of 

 North Dakota, who is a prominent advocate of national irrigation, re- 

 cently called upon the president, and after the interview expressed 

 the belief that the president favors the required Congressional appro- 

 priation for the reclamation of the arid lands. He added: 



"Congress is going to be liberal with the West in dealing with ir- 

 rigation questions, and I believe that President Roosevelt will also be 

 most liberally disposed. I believe that the government should give 

 the proceeds of the sale of public lands to irrigation purposes. This 

 would amount to about $2,000,000 each year, and it could be expended 

 under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior in making surveys 

 and in the construction of reservoirs and canals. After the govern- 

 ment has done its part the private land owners will do a great deal. 

 They stand ready to spend millions also," 



As The Times has previously observed, the application of the pro- 

 ceeds of the sales of arid lands to the building of reservoirs would be 

 all right, as far as it goes, but of itself it would be far from sufficient 

 to produce any adequate results, commensurate with the vast impor- 

 tance of the problem. Such money would probably be divided among 

 the states, in proportion to the amount received from each, and this 

 would not go far in the building of reservoirs. 



There is every reason to hope that the coming Congress will deal 

 liberally with the arid West in the matter of an appropriation for irri- 

 gation purposes. The campaign of education on this subject that has 

 been carried on during the past couple of years has been productive 

 of good results. Los Angeles (CaL) Saturday Times. 



