214 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



beforehand calculate the amount of water obtainable 

 through a succession of years. They failed again by 

 charging more than the farmers could afford. For sev- 

 eral years now the general Government has carefully 

 measured the amount of water running in the streams 

 for a succession of years, so it is approximately known 

 how much water can be obtained for irrigation, also 

 how much land can be irrigated. The result of this 

 latter investigation shows about 10 per cent of the 

 seventeen arid states and territories, excluding Alaska, 

 can be irrigated, that is, there is sufficient water to 

 irrigate 10 per cent of the arid West. The general 

 government has and is now engaged through the geolog- 

 ical and engineering departments to determine the best 

 sites for the reservoirs and their approximate cost 

 throughout the West. By this means mistakes in loca- 

 tion, in character of the constructive material of the 

 dam, in the manner of building, in short, all areas in 

 investments of capital may be avoided. For several 

 years the government has withdrawn all public lands 

 capable of being irrigated from the ordinary entry. If, 

 after thorough investigation, any of this land withdrawn 

 from entry is found not to be irrigable, it is replaced on 

 the list for a general public sale as originally. 



A few years ago the government commenced a re- 

 clamation fund to be used in the building of reservoirs 

 for the storage of waters to be used in irrigation. Bona 

 fide settlers may buy the land to be irrigated by said 

 government reservoir, not to exceed 160 acres, nor less 

 than forty acres, paying in ten annual instalments the 

 proportional part of the actual cost to the government 

 in building the irrigating plants that is, the reservoir, 

 head-gates and the main canal. When the major part 

 of the costs shall be paid in, the management of the 

 plant is turned over to the owners of the land so irri- 

 gated. The title to the plant still vests in the govern- 

 ment, to be finally disposed of by Congress. After the 

 management is turned over to the land owners, each 

 owner, whether he is owner of forty, eighty, or 160 

 acres, has one vote, and no one has more than one vote 

 in determining this, or that, policy to be pursued. So 

 that there is an effort made to prevent "freezing out" 

 of smaller stock or shareholders and to prevent the 

 management getting into the hands of the few. The 

 management is a pure democracy. Every shareholder 

 is such by virtue of his owning a tract of land, whether 

 it be large, or small, and his vote is equal to every other. 

 A share, or shares, represent a definite tract of land. 

 Overcapitalization for fraudulent purposes, or watered 

 stock, is prevented. 



The government's care in properly locating reser- 

 voir sites ought to prevent a mistaken investment of 

 capital. At least, that is a sound reason for the govern- 

 ment's part in the enterprise. The government builds 

 lighthouses and expects no direct returns, or direct re- 

 imbursements. But in the matter of building great res- 

 ervoirs in the arid West the government arranges for 

 direct reimbursement to be reapplied in building other 

 reservoirs where needed. Corporation capital may be 

 employed in these enterprises with reasonable profits, 

 but care should be taken that the corporation is never 

 allowed to foreclose the irrigated lands, or charge more 

 than a reasonable rate of a certain and definite per- 

 centage on capital actually and prudentially invested 

 and for reasonable periods of franchise, after which the 

 title to the plant should revert to the land-owners. Eng- 

 lish capital in Egypt and India has put in great dams at 



5 per cent return for a term of thirty years, after which 

 the title to the plant in Egypt reverts to the Khedive. 

 At Assuan is the greatest dam in the world, built at a 

 cost of $24,000,000 upon a 5 per cent return. It was fin- 

 ished in 1902. It is now worth $100,000,000. In the 

 valley of the Po in Northern Italy there are numerous 

 irrigating plants under three distinct systems of man- 

 agement the state, corporation, and the cooperative. 

 This region is humid, and the rainfall is thirty-six inches 

 annually, but not being well distributed through the 

 growing season, irrigation pays. Some of the main 

 canals are used for transportation also. This region 

 being humid, drainage also must be provided, which 

 increases the cost very materially. The valley of the Po 

 is the granary for Southern Europe. The state and the 

 cob'perattive system in Italy are said to keep the cor- 

 poration system in check as to rates. Our government 

 is studying the valuable lessons which both Egypt and 

 Italy have to teach. Egypt is already teaching us how 

 to deal with alkali soils. The Chinese produce vast 

 amounts of food and fertilizers in the canal ditches 

 themselves, while we as yet regard the ditch nothing 

 more than the conductor of water to the soil. 



The riparian law which prevails in the eastern and 

 middle states obtained without modification at first in 

 the arid West. This law allows the owner of land to 

 use the water on, or running through, the same to the 

 exclusion of others owning land back, or away, from the 

 stream. Even owners of the land above him could not 

 divert the water that customarily ran through the land 

 below. Seldom or never did any of the western states 

 or territories make a law directly adapted to an arid 

 country. Hence all water right in the West is in ac- 

 cordance with the riparian law, modified by custom and 

 numerous decisions of the local courts. This litigation 

 has cost the West an immense amount of money. In 

 some localities the cost of litigation has been quite 

 enough to build the ditches. The riparian law, adapted 

 to the humid country only and having been attempted 

 in our arid West, has resulted in many difficulties. The 

 first entry man who occupied the land along the streams 

 cut off others who might have entered and occupied 

 the lands farther back, had they a chance to secure 

 water. This circumstance enabled the first settlers to 

 use immense tracts of government land back for graz- 

 ing purposes without hindrance or expense. He was in 

 every sense "the dog in the manger." The cattle and 

 sheep men not only fought each other over these condi- 

 tions, but both these great interests kept out the small 

 farmer, and retarded irrigation development for farm- 

 ing purposes. One thing of interest, however, is to be 

 noted here. The cattle and horse men in many in- 

 stances so competed with each other for the free range 

 that the grass was so closely grazed during the spring 

 and summer seasons nothing was left to support the 

 stock through the winters. Hence these stockmen found 

 it necessary to raise feed to supplement the shortage of 

 grazing. To raise feed it was necessary to irrigate. 

 Hence the stockmen themselves, to avoid loss of stock 

 during the winters, began to irrigate in order to raise 

 fodder and hay. Still, on account of the injustice of 

 the workings of a riparian law framed for humid regions 

 only, and saddled upon arid regions, enable these stock- 

 men to monopolize not only all the water available, but 

 the use. free of any cost, of all the government grazing 

 lands surrounding their claims. Priorities along the 

 banks of streams have worked great injustice. Both 



