572 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



December 



interesting. The presence of govern- 

 ment experts and eminent irrigation 

 authorities throughout the country 

 lent an authoritative tone to the pro- 

 ceedings. The afternoon session on 

 Wednesday brought out some interest- 

 ing figures in connection with the at- 

 tendance figures that eloquently ex- 

 press the interest in the entire coun- 

 try has in irrigation, and settlement of 

 the arid and semi-arid west. A total 

 of twenty-four states and territories 

 were represented by 400 delegates ; ap- 

 portioned as follows : Arizona, 42 ; 

 California, 37 ; Colorado, 12 ; District 

 of Columbia, u ; Idaho, 6; Illinois, 5; 

 Indian Territory, I ; Kansas, 3 ; Loui- 

 siana, 2 ; Michigan, i ; Minnesota, 7 ; 

 Missouri, 4 ; Montana, 5 ; Nebraska, 

 12; Nevada, 4; New Mexico, 50; 

 North Dakota, i ; Texas, 60 ; Utah, 26 ; 

 Washington, 5; Wisconsin, 10; Mexi- 

 co, 45; Egypt, i. 



The educational character of the dis- 

 cussions of the congress and the va- 

 rious papers, lectures, and speeches 

 given is perhaps the most valuable as- 

 pect of the congress. The indorsement 

 of the Federal Government's various 

 irrigation projects is evidence of the 

 keen interest and appreciation of the 

 people at large in the workings of 

 the Reclamation Law. 



This congress did not mince matters 

 on the public land question. It passed 

 a resolution strongly urging the repeal 

 of all land laws but the Homestead 

 Act, and offering substitutes for the 

 present acts, which is in marked con- 

 trast to the weak evasion of the issue 

 at the Eleventh Irrigation Congress 

 at Ogden, Utah, last year, in the 

 adoption of the Needham resolution. 

 Senator Clark, president of the con- 

 gress, in his speech at the final session 

 denounced the Needham resolution as 

 a subterfuge and a trick to evade the 

 issue. 



The Elephant Butte project, at 

 Elephant Butte, N. Mex., under ex- 

 amination by the United States Re- 

 clamation Service, for the erection of 

 an irrigation system to reclaim lands 

 of the Rio Grande Valley in New 

 Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, received 



the unanimous support of the congress. 

 The Reclamation Service was com- 

 mended for its "splendid and valua- 

 ble services," particularly in its ef- 

 forts to solve the vexatious problem 

 of equal rights in water supply for 

 Xew Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, by 

 the erection of the Elephant Butte 

 dam. 



After two successive terms as presi- 

 dent, Senator W. A. Clark is succeed- 

 ed by Governor George C. Pardee, of 

 California. The other officers elected 

 were : First vice president, Judge L. 

 M. Shurtliff, of Utah; second vice 

 president, Congressman J. H. Steph- 

 ens, of Texas ; third vice president, E. 

 L. Smith, of Hood River, Oregon. 

 Portland, Oregon, was selected as the 

 meeting place of the Thirteenth Na- 

 tional Irrigation Congress. 



The principal resolutions adopted by 

 the Congress are as follows : 



It is the opinion of the National 

 Irrigation Congress that the National 

 Irrigation Law be so extended by Con- 

 gress as to include the State of Texas 

 within its provisions in so far as to 

 permit the Secretary of the Interior 

 to direct engineers of the United States 

 Reclamation Service to examine and 

 report upon feasible irrigation proj- 

 ects, and when approved according to 

 the terms of the said law, to super- 

 intend their construction to the end 

 that Texas may have the benefit of 

 the same service that is now extended 

 to the other arid sections. 



The appropriation of funds for for- 

 est planting on denuded watersheds in 

 the forest reserves is essential to the 

 progress of irrigation, and we strong- 

 ly urge upon Congress legislation to 

 that end that during the coming ses- 

 sion with the view of increasing the 

 value of streams still flowing and re- 

 storing those which have disappeared. 



We express the fullest confidence in 

 the honesty, ability, and capacity of 

 the officials of the Reclamation, and 

 Forest, and Weather Services, and 

 commend their impartial and non-par- 

 tisan administration ; and our hearty 

 thank's are hereby tendered to the of- 

 ficials of the Interior Department, and 



