328 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



FOURTEENTH NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS 



The Most Successful Congress in the History of the Organization Next 



- Meeting Place Sacramento, Cal. 



The sessions of the Fourteenth National Irrigation 

 Congress were opened at Riverside Park Theater, Boise, 

 Idaho, at 11 a. m., September 3, with a large number 

 of delegates in attendance. Thirty states and territories 

 were represented, the actual number of delegates who 

 signed the register being 1,125, while the number of 

 accredited ones exceeded 2,000. 



Boise is an ideal city in which to hold an irrigation 

 congress, for to irrigation the city owes both its pic- 



The Reclamation Service, Agricultural Department and 

 State Engineers, as well as Federal and state officers 

 participating in the proceedings acquitted themselves 

 with great credit. 



In the absence of President Geo. C. Pardee, First 

 Vice-President L. W. Shurtliff, of Ogden, called the 

 congress to order. 



Vice-President Shurtliff in opening the meeting 

 said : "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fourteenth Irriga- 



Vice-President Charles Warren Fairbanks. 



turesque beauty and its large commercial interests. The 

 city now has a population of some 20,000, and is stead- 

 ily growing. It is the commercial center of 400 square 

 miles of territory, rich in agricultural and mineral re- 

 sources. In the territory tributary to this point, there 

 are thousands of acres of fertile lands that have been 

 reclaimed by means of irrigation ; hence this was an 

 ideal place for the irrigationists to assemble for study 

 and discussion. The fourteenth congress will go into 

 history as being the best in point of work ever held. 



tion Congress : It becomes my duty to call this assem- 

 blage to order. I regret that we have not with us the 

 president of the congress, Governor Pardee. Therefore, 

 I shall not attempt to make any speech in any way, but 

 say that I am here with you upon this occasion in the 

 Gem state to consider questions of great importance not 

 only to our arid country, but all the world." 



Chairman Shurtliff then introduced Hon. James A. 

 Pinney, mayor of Boise, who welcomed the delegates. 



Governor Gooding was next introduced, and on be- 



