460 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



October 



tions which hampered speedy and se- 

 cure investment by the United States, 

 was impressed upon the attention of 

 the legislatures of the States. The 

 message of President Roosevelt at the 

 beginning of the Congressional ses- 

 sion in which the Reclamation Act 

 was passed, had forcibly presented the 

 unsatisfactory conditions in some of 

 the States. 



This message was doubtless the first 

 Presidential message to Congress con- 

 taining a discussion of the state laws 

 relating to irrigation. In a few in- 

 cisive paragraphs, President Roose- 

 velt stated the fundamental principles 

 which should underlie such legisla- 

 tion and pointed out the fact that in a 

 number of States decisive action was 

 necessary in order to place their laws 

 upon a proper basis. 



It is true that a modification of the 

 irrigation laws would eventually have 

 been compelled bv the force of circum- 

 stances. But there can be no doubt 

 that this vigorous discussion by the 

 President and the passage of the Re- 

 clamation Act, which is also due large- 

 ly to his efforts, has caused these 

 changes to be made in several States 

 much earlier than if the necessity had 

 not been so presented by the Presi- 

 dent's energetic statement. 



The fundamental ideas are that the 

 waters of the western streams are of 

 but little value while they flow in the 

 streams, and that most of the lands 

 now belonging to the public are of no 

 value without the application of the 

 water. Separately the two are of no 

 benefit to the country or to civiliza- 

 tion, while if the water is brought 

 upon the land, the development of a 

 magnificent civilization upon the form- 

 er desert becomes possible. 



In several of the States of the West 

 the legal conditions have interfered 

 seriously with the bringing together 

 of the land and the water. This situ- 

 ation was recognized and many efforts 

 were made from time to time to secure 

 the necessary modification of existing 

 legislation, or further legislation to 

 meet the inadequacy of the existing 

 statutes. 



This need has been felt especially in 

 the States of Montana, Oregon, and 

 Washington, and vigorous efforts two 

 years ago secured special legislation to 

 facilitate the operations of the Gov- 

 ernment in those States. This has 

 been of some value, but the work of 

 the Government must remain ham- 

 pered by the statutory conditions upon 

 this subject, so long as no general sys- 

 tem is in force in harmony with the 

 principles recognized as necessary by 

 modern practice. 



Immediately after the passage of 

 the Reclamation Act, surveys and in- 

 vestigations were commenced by the 

 United States, with a view to the con- 

 struction of irrigation works in the 

 various States and Territories men- 

 tioned in the law. Prior to the legis- 

 lative sessions of 1903, the Reclama- 

 tion Service was asked to suggest leg- 

 islation in order to meet the obstacles 

 found in some of the States on account 

 of the existing laws concerning water 

 rights and irrigation. 



It was felt, however, by the officers 

 of the Service that there had not been 

 sufficient practical experience to war- 

 rant any suggestion upon this ques- 

 tion. Two years ago, however, pre- 

 ceding the legislative sessions of 1905 

 in the various States, in reponse to 

 urgent requests from representative 

 bodies in several of the States, partic- 

 ularly in Washington and Oregon, a 

 draft of a State irrigation code was 

 prepared by the Reclamation Service 

 as a suggestion to the commissions en- 

 gaged in preparing recommendations 

 for the legislatures. 



This draft was carefully considered 

 in a number of the States and Terri- 

 tories and was adopted without sub- 

 stantial change in the States of North 

 and South Dakota and in the Terri- 

 tory of Oklahoma. In Oregon, Wash- 

 ington, Montana, New Mexico, and 

 others some features of this draft 

 were adopted. 



There is now a renewal of interest 

 in this matter and commissions in 

 Montana, Oregon, and Washington 

 are again considering the proper form 



