IRRIGATION AGE. 



337 



and it is very hard to hold the labor, especially out in 

 these exposed places, and in consequence many of our 

 contractors, am sorry to say, have failed; very few 

 make money. We are sorry for that. The result is it is 

 costing more than we had expected, but then I hope 

 that the general prosperity of the country will stand it. 

 The reclamation fund is being expended at the rate 

 of one and one-half millions a month on this work. 

 That money is going into work in the western states 

 and is going to be in circulation largely in your com- 

 munity. 



The President in his message has stated Very 

 briefly what we have done for four years. You will, I 

 hope, see some of the work in this vicinity. Probably 

 the dam at Minidoka is one of the best examples near 

 here of good permanent construction economically done 

 by good contractors, and I am glad to say at a reason- 

 able profit. But you will see a lot of work which is 

 well done, but which has not yielded the men who have 

 done it one cent of profit. It should be said that the 

 object of the engineers coming at this time has been 

 well stated by our presiding officer, Senator Carter. 

 We come here not to teach you gentlemen. We do not 

 pretend to know what you do in all these details, but 

 we come here to gain that personal acquaintance the 

 personal friendship, the personal contact, which grows 

 out of meeting men from all parts of the country, men 

 of different ideas, and we want to get the benefit of 

 your experience, the benefit of your criticism, of your 

 judgment, to guide us in the future. 



Of course there are questions of policy, many 

 questions of law, which can not be altered by any 

 opinion that we may have, but there are a great many 

 questions of practical management which you can help 

 us in and I hope you will give us your generous sym- 

 pathy and co-operation. Those questions now are 

 those of management of these works. In the four 

 years that have elapsed there have been settled most 

 of the big questions that annoyed at first the ques- 

 tion of where to carry on the work and how to carry 

 it on and what to do in case of broken contracts, and 

 what to do on this exigency and that. Now we see 

 the work approaching a time where the water is be- 

 ginning to be turned on the soil and we are face to face 

 with the great question, how shall the men that live 

 upon that soil make payment and what kind of crops 

 shall he raise, and there is the question on which I hope 

 everyone of you will give us some help and suggestion. 

 It goes without saying a good many people in the 

 country in the East, men of sound business sense, 

 doubt whether this reclamation law is to succeed. 

 They say you can spend money and build the works, 

 but I do not believe those fellows are ever going to 

 pay up. I believe the conditions are such that they 

 will pay all these amounts invested by the government, 

 and the money will be returned to the treasury and 

 used over and over again. The President has said 

 in his letter this morning that that is the crucial 

 test and when this money begins to come back, when 

 the doubting men in the East see it is coming 

 back into the treasury I believe you can get any other 

 necessary money you ask. 



One of the questions which has been quite diffi- 

 cult apparently, but which now seems to be satisfac- 

 torily solved to a certain degree, has been that of farm 

 units. A good many settlers under the terms of the 

 new law went in and filed on 160 acres, and when the 



secretary of the interior, at the advice of the service, 

 cut the farm down to eighty or forty acres, they felt 

 aggrieved. At one time we thought there would be a 

 great deal of trouble, but the cloud has blown over. 

 The men interested have adjusted their farm units, 

 and I now learn that these doubts have been settled, and 

 in the same way I hope that many other questions will 

 when we come to meet them they will simply solve 

 themselves by the good sense and harmonious action 

 of the people interested. 



The subject assigned to me was the "Progress of 

 National Reclamation." That progress has been de- 

 scribed in the papers and magazines, and it has seemed 

 to me to be a very old story. Every day when I am in 

 Washington along comes a newspaper man and wants 

 something fresh about the subject. I give it to him, 

 and he sends it out to thousands of readers. 



The engineers of the reclamation service will be 

 glad to meet you singly or in delegations, and take 

 up any questions you may ask, and discuss them with 

 you, individually or collectively. I shall be very glad 

 to answer any questions, but I hope that some of these 

 able western lawyers will not ask me legal questions, 

 for I don't know anything about the law. 



Owing to lack of space a number of addresses 

 were crowded out of this issue, but they will be pub- 

 lished in subsequent issues. 



RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE FOURTEENTH 



NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS 



AT BOISE, IDAHO. 



Following are the resolutions recommended by the committee on 

 resolutions of the fourteenth National Irrigation Congress, which closed 

 its session yesterday, as adopted by the congress: 



"The congress desires to express its high appreciation of the 

 national irrigation law, and hails with pleasure the opportunities af- 

 forded under its beneficent provisions for home-making, and hopes that 

 the several governmental enterprises now under contemplation as well 

 as under construction will be pushed to a speedy and successful com- 

 pletion. 



"We heartily approve the efficient and thorough work of the 

 reclamation service in carrying on the work of national reclamation 

 where works have been commenced and are now being executed, and 

 have the fullest confidence in the honesty and ability of that service. 



"We recommend that the reclamation service and its representatives 

 co-operate with State officers in matters affecting the States' landed 

 interests. 



"This congress indorses and commends the earnest and efficient 

 work of the United States weather bureau' of the department of agri- 

 culture in establishing a highly useful climatological service in each 

 State which work has proven of great benefit to the irrigation develop- 

 ment of the West. 



"We heartily commend the excellent work being carried forward 

 by the irrigation and drainage investigations of the office of the ex- 

 periment stations, United States Department of Agriculture, and rec- 

 ommend the continuance and extension of this work, and urge upon 

 the United States Congress the continuance of the appropriations for 

 this service upon a liberal basis as an essential feature of the thorough 

 development of the arid West. 



"Whereas, The building of irrigation works is but a means to an 

 end, since the ultimate su'ccess of all irrigation enterprises, whether 

 public or private, depends on the intelligence, skill and industry of 

 those who settle on the lands, and 



"Whereas, The organization of farmers' clubs, the holding of farm- 

 ers' institutes, the establishment of agricultural and industrial high 

 schools, the carrying on of practical experiments for the benefit of 

 the farmer, and the training given by the agricultural colleges and ex- 

 periment stations are all valuable agencies in the industrial upbuilding 

 of rural communities in irrigated districts; 



"We heartily commend and indorse the work of these various 

 agencies, and urge upon the legislatures of all western states and 

 territories the granting of increased appropriations for the purposes. 



"We recommend that the president of this congress appoint a 

 committtee consisting of five members of this congress, whose duty 

 it shall be to secure the widest publicity of scientific information 

 concerning irrigation, with the view of educating the new settler 

 on irrigated lands in the proper use of water, stimulating the older 

 users of water to a full appreciation of the value of improved methods, 

 and to secure the publication throughout the United States of such 

 information as will serve to inculcate a full recognition of the ad- 

 vantages of irrigated agriculture. 



"This committtee shall have the power to appoint a secretary 

 at a salary of not to exceed $25 per month and to incur an ex- 

 pense of not to exceed the sum of $200 for stamps and incidentals, 

 including stationery, which sums shall be paid as other expenses 

 of this congress are paid, and said committee shall make a full re- 

 port of its work at the session of this congress for 1907. 



"We urge upon the United States government the immediate 

 necessity of solving the various problems now pending in connec- 



