THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



17 



This statement is made Lccause of a belief in the 

 value of the work being done by the Agricultural De- 

 partment, and that to have it misrepresented and mis- 

 understood would be an injury to the whole country; 

 because of a belief that Mr. Maxwell's present activities 

 are altogether selfish and that they threaten the working 

 of a beneficent measure. A thorough understanding and 

 investigation of the questions 1 have raised is desired by 

 myself and all those connected with the irrigation work 

 of the Agricultural Department. 



Respectfully, ELWOOD MEAD. 



PAWNEE PASS, COLORADO. 



In this issue is shown a half-tone photo of the 

 Pawnee bluifs on each side of Pawnee Pass, near Ster- 

 ling, Colorado, where the citizens of the South Platte 

 Valley hope to see a government reservoir which will 

 store enough water to irrigate 250,000 acres of land 

 below it. As will be seen from the formation shown 

 in photo, these bluffs, which are about one hundred 

 fict higher than the valley or plain below them, curve 

 like two huge horns toward each other, forming a lower 



"The grateful acknowledgments of this congress 

 are due to Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United 

 States, for his invaluable assistance in the cause of 

 irrigation. His message to Congress in December, 1901, 

 marked the beginning of a new epoch in the history not 

 only of the arid West, but also in that of the whole 

 region. Without his powerful aid and that of his ad- 

 ministration it would not have been possible to secure 

 the passage of that great act which will inaugurate and 

 put into enective motion the national irrigation policy 

 for which we have been striving so long. Great as his 

 administration may be, we believe that none of its 

 achievements will rebound more to the greatness of our 

 people and the glory of our country than will the pas- 

 sage of the national irrigation act. We send him our 

 greeting and give him our assurances of our most sin- 

 cere respect and admiration. 



"We appreciate the invaluable assistance rendered 

 to this glorious consummation by, and here express our 

 sense of obligation to, the secretaries of the interior and 

 of agriculture, to the friends of the bill in the Senate 

 and House, and to all who have labored so effectively 

 and unceasingly to secure this inauguration of the policy 



semi-circle rim to a basin which extends back as a 

 water shed for upwards of 70 miles. The space be- 

 tween these ledges varies from 3~y 2 to 5 miles in width, 

 and it is claimed by those who have made a study of 

 the ground, that by building a dam across between the 

 two promontories a distance of a little over 1 J /L miles 

 a reservoir 9 miles long and from 4 to 5 miles in width 

 will lie established which will hold enough water to 

 ani|>ly .simply 200,000 or more acres lying under it. 

 The photo shown was taken expressly for the IRRIGA- 

 TION' AGE to show the formation at Pawnee Pass, through 

 which flows Pawnee creek. The people of Sterling and 

 vicinity are building great hopes on the possibilities 

 of this work being accomplished. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE TENTH IRRIGATION 

 CONGRESS. 



RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS. 



"The Tenth National Irrigation Congress felicitates 

 the entire American people upon the enactment of the 

 national irrigation act of June 17, 1902, one of the most 

 beneficial and wide-reaching measures in the history of 

 our legislation, and rejoices in the fact that its passage 

 was due neither to partisanship or sectionalism, but io 

 the patriotic and united co-operation of men from all 

 parts of the country, irrespective of political complexion. 



for the reclamation by the national government of its 

 arid empire a policy which will be productive of greater 

 good to a greater number than any governmental achieve- 

 ment of modern times. 



"This congress, having confidence in the fairness 

 and intelligence, ability and integrity of the adminis- 

 tration and in those officials of the interior department 

 to whom is intrusted the execution of the national irri- 

 gation act, deem it inexpedient at this time to nia-kc 

 specific recommendations regarding the manner of carry- 

 ing the law into effect, or the policy that shall be pur- 

 sued in the expenditure of the available funds, and leaves 

 all questions relating to this subject to their discretion 

 and judgment. 



"We urge the enactment of adequate national and 

 state laws for the preservation of our forests. Forest 

 reserves should be extended wherever necessary for the 

 preservation of the water supplies; more rangers should 

 be appointed for the protection of the reserves from fire ; 

 adequate provision should be made for the prompt 

 extinguishment of all fires; burned areas should be 

 reforested, and the national government should, wher- 

 ever practicable, utilize its troops as a forest patrol, and, 

 with the co-operation of the states, rigidly guard against 

 forest destruction. 



"We call attention to the recommendation of Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt in his message to Congress, in which he 



