178 



THE IEBIGATION AGE. 



IRRIGATION IN TEXAS. 



Address Delivered to Texas Cattle Raisers' Association by Joseph A. 

 Kemp, President City National Bank, Wichita Falls, Texas. 



Mr. President and Members of the Texas Cattle 

 Raisers Association: I esteem it a great privilege in- 

 deed to be permitted to address this large and repre- 

 sentative body, and I assure you it is with unfeigned 

 diffidence that I attempt to do so. The compliment 

 paid in thus honoring me is due, not to any reputation 

 I have made as a public speeker (for speechmaking is 

 entirely out of my line) , but I feel sure I owe this great 

 honor chiefly to the reputation I have established 

 among some of the prominent members of this great 

 association as a crank upon the subject of irrigation. 



I am aware that I have had the distinction of be- 

 ing known as the irrigation crank of Texas for a num- 

 ber of years. I assure you, gentlemen, that the title 

 is not in the least offensive. I realize that men who 

 become enthusiasts upon any subject which is out of 

 the ordinary are usually designated as cranks. Until 

 very recently the question of irrigation has been little 

 understood by Texas people. I frequently meet people 

 now who, hearing the word "irrigation," seem to ex- 

 perience a peculiar feeling they have a feeling that 

 it is something a great way off and hard to reach, intan- 

 gible, something mysterious. They imagine that the 

 art of supplying water to cultivated lands is some com- 

 plicated and wonderfully intricate process, not easily 

 understood or attained by mortal man. 



The magic science of irrigation has been practiced 

 since the earliest dawn of civilization in fact, it was 

 in vogue during the semi-barbaric days of prehistoric 

 times. The use of irrigation for the production of crops 

 probably antedates Noah's deluge by several thousand 

 years. Twenty-seven centuries before the Star of 

 Bethlehem shown so brightly by night, a clever Egyp- 

 tian ruler turned the course of the Nile so as to carry 

 the turbid waters well out upon the higher ground, and 

 today Great Britain is completing the largest dam in 

 the world upon this very site and is spending millions 

 of dollars in constructing canals along the Eiver Nile. 



We find history repeating itself throughout the 

 world. Here in our own country, America, the Na- 

 tional Government is preparing to spend millions of 

 dollars for the reclamation of her lands in the arid and 

 semi-arid portions of North America. Irrigation was 

 practiced in southwest Texas nearly 200 years ago. 

 With the erection of the Spanish missions in the vi- 

 cinity of San Antonio began the cultivation of the soil 

 by irrigation. Evidences of these old ditches are yet 

 to be found. 



It is only within the last few years that the people 

 of Texas have begun to give the question thoughtful 

 consideration. The agitation of the question really 

 dates back to the time when your worthy and distin- 

 guished President was an honored member of our 

 State Senate. It was about eight years ago, after ex- 

 periencing two crop failures, that the people of the 

 west became very much aroused upon the subject of irri- 

 gation. A number of the citizens of west Texas who 

 had given the subject considerable investigation became 

 convinced that storm water irrigation was entirely feas- 

 ible for our section if we could only find the means by 

 which to construct the works necessary to impound the 

 water, and it was determined to make an effort to se- 

 cure legislation that would enable land owners to pro- 



vide means by a system of taxation. The legislature 

 was in session at the time, and a committee was sent to 

 Austin to confer with the legislators. This committee 

 was composed of a number of men from towns in west 

 Texas. It was decided that before any law could be 

 enacted which would permit of the character of taxing 

 system desired our State constitution would have to 

 be amended. Senator Turney seemed to understand 

 the subject better and take more interest in the ques- 

 tion than any other member, and he was therefore 

 asked to "father" the bill, which he consented to do. 

 He introduced in the Senate a resolution submitting 

 to the people of Texas, at a special election, an amend- 

 ment to the constitution providing for the organization 

 of irrigation districts in the western counties, and au- 

 thorizing the owners of irrigable lands in such districts 

 to issue bonds and vote upon themselves a tax to pay 

 interest and provide a sinking fund for the liquidation 

 of the bonds, the proceeds arising from the sale of the 

 bonds to be used in the construction of irrigation works. 

 After considerable hard work on the part of Senator 

 Turney and other western members, the bill passed 

 both houses by the requisite two-thirds majority, but 

 it met with quite a different fate before the people. As 

 you all remember, the amendment was defeated by an 

 overwhelming majority. This was a great surprise, as 

 well as disappointment, to many of us in the West. 

 There was perhaps no other class of our citizens more 

 strongly opposed to this amendment than the live stock 

 men. I do not make mention of this fact in any spirit 

 of criticism or complaint, for I believe sincerely that 

 you were prompted by your honest convictions. You 

 simply were not sufficiently informed upon this all im- 

 portant subject, and it is very gratifying to me to find 

 that a great change has taken place in the views enter- 

 tained by the intelligent and progressive members of 

 this great association upon this, in my humble judg- 

 ment, one of the most important subjects that you will 

 have to deal with in the future. The far-seeing and 

 observing cattle man realizes that a great change has 

 taken place in the last few years in the live stock in- 

 dustry. I am not a cattle man but my long residence in 

 west Texas and constant contact with men engaged in 

 that line of business has enabled me to learn something 

 about the business. I went to western Texas over 

 twenty-two years ago; it was the beginning of a new 

 epoch in the live stock industry. The Texas & Pacific 

 railroad was completed to El Paso; the Ft. Worth & 

 Denver was being built through the Panhandle. With 

 the building of these two railroads came the "man with 

 the hoe." The day of open range and free grass was 

 soon to be a thing of the past ; the State began to sell 

 its lands to farmers, the railroad companies began to 

 put their lands on the market, and the country which 

 for many years had been an open range and the exclu- 

 sive habitation of the cattle man, was soon dotted over 

 with farm houses and ranchmen were compelled to buy 

 or lease lands. The price of lands has been steadily 

 advancing until today those cattle men who failed to 

 purchase lands while they were cheap are finding it un- 

 profitable to either purchase or lease lands in large 

 bodies for strictly grazing purposes at prevailing values. 

 And in many instances stockmen who did acquire large 

 bodies of land are now cutting those pastures into small 

 tracts and selling same to farmers. The demand for 

 homes is increasing. Far out upon the plains the coun- 

 try is rapidly being settled by farmers. The change 

 which has taken place, all thoughtful men must realize 



