104 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



BY Q. L. SHUMWAY. 



To ONE unfamiliar with irrigation many features 

 appear incredible. The magnitude of present under- 

 takings, possible results, and tremendous volume and 

 value seem as chimerical as an Arabian Night's dream. 

 The chronicler can index an acre producing nothing of 

 value, and only a few rods away another producing a 

 hundred yes, a thousand dollars from one year's 

 crop. No many years ago the two acres, were twin arid 

 brothers. The transformation of one is due to culti- 

 vation and intelligent application of water. 



IN THE West Federal enterprises of a magnitude 

 almost inconceivable are under way or contemplated 

 projects which would involve expenditure of millions 

 and will reclaim sufficient area to support a nation. 

 Add to this hundreds of thousands of acres being re- 

 claimed by private enterprises H. G. Leavitt in the 

 North Platte Valley, Jay Turley on the silver San 

 Juan, A. H. Heber in the Imperial country, C. G. 

 Guernsey and others in the Big Horn Basin, and many 

 others. 



To OCCUPY and properly cultivate these areas will 

 require a rapid influx of population. Every million 

 acres reclaimed will add fifty million dollars taxable 

 property to the country's wealth, for without unity of 

 soil and water both are valueless. With indifferent 

 cultivation, each acre will yield twenty-five dollars an- 

 nual product. Two years' product from an area which 

 before produced nothing will repay the total cost of 

 reclamation and some to spare. With intensive farm- 

 ing, production may be doubled and quadrupled. 

 Counting population of the town, an irrigated com- 

 munity will support one inhabitant to the acre. 



THIS magnificent benevolent purpose is worthy 

 of exultant approbation, and conscious of its inevitable 

 perpetuity, shrewd attaches of corporate interests have 

 identified themselves with Federal endeavor. Legisla- 

 tion, desired or dreaded by their masters, at times de- 

 mands herculean effort and today their press bureau 

 is over wrought. It is asserted that powerful antagon- 

 ists of President Roosevelt have placed an inconceiv- 

 able amount in trusted hands, which provokes press 

 activit}' under a cloak of interest in the development 

 of the arid West. 



THE pernicious purposes may be perceived by scan- 

 ning columns parallel to those devoted to irrigation. 

 One contains coarse compliment appeals to vanity 

 in which selected executive or statesmen are their 

 victims; another column deals in educational matters, 

 in bungling attempts to intimidate the president, or 

 sinuous endeavor to create popular sentiment. 



ATROCIOUS insolence and method alike indicate the 

 essence of graft, and, unfortunately, some Eastern 

 scriveners, observing preponderance of irrigation mat- 

 ter, have directed opprobrium and odium upon the Na- 

 tional Irrigation Act, which is natural, but wrong. 

 While acknowledging an unfortunate affinity exists 

 between some reclamation officials and these corporate 

 janizaries, it is an imperative duty to resist aspersion 

 that is born of error, and briefly illuminate disreputable 

 attempts to shift the burden of ignominious designs. 



WITH blundering frenzy and unprecedented lib- 

 erality, this Maxwell coterie have fetched censure upon 

 whatever purpose or personality they fain would favor. 

 A compliment in their productions and the specified in- 

 dividual or motive becomes a cynosure of suspicion. 

 Justly or unjustly, this is inevitable. As these special- 

 ists have fastened themselves upon a benevolent purpose 

 to ultimately use it to steady their craft of infamy, 

 so good men, high in the walks of life, are victims 

 of its wiles. Craftily playing on the passions of am- 

 bition, they trust that acquiescence will compromise 

 selected statesmen and in a measure commit them to 

 defensive attitudes, which will eventually confuse the 

 public mind and involve the personality to the extent 

 that Maxwelltian inordinate desires will be supported 

 by the individual's endeavors to extricate himself. 



THE West has bountiful allurements, but with 

 Eastern periodicals illustrating sensational, erroneous 

 conceptions in fiction, and with "halo-wearers" illumi- 

 nating' Western ambitious characters as steeped in 

 fraud, what can be sufficient to induce desirable citizen- 

 ship? New development is providing Arcadian en- 

 vironment for many million people, and pioneers of 

 the idea, as well as in fact, do not take kindly to il- 

 lusions which tradiice. They do not possess endow- 

 ments which Maxwell and his coterie are wont to at- 

 tribute. 



THE engine of duplicity employed by Western rail- 

 roads is neutralizing development. The lubrication 

 they supply is working them disaster. It asserts the 

 leaven of dishonor permeates the entire Western 

 social fabric, it generalizes accusations which compel 

 the layman reader to imagine loose moral environ- 

 ments will be inevitable if he migrates West. Desir- 

 able citizenship hesitates about bringing families un- 

 der such baneful influence. 



Is IT impossible that one of the near future events 

 will be a formal repudiation of Mr. Maxwell by the 

 railroads? His work is menacing to their prosperity, 

 and they can ill afford to contribute to a purpose which 

 is having such reactionary results. Rate legislation 

 may not be best for railroads, it may not be best for de- 

 veloping communities, but it is a more desirable alter- 



