168 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



With the growth of population in all parts of the State 

 and the possibilities of irrigation becoming more ap- 

 parent every year, the value of water rights have in- 

 creased to proportions that were almost undreamed of. 

 Land values are in a large measure affected by the 

 water supply and particularly in Colorado. 



' The Arkansas River drainage basin in that State 

 comprises nearly 20,000,000 acres and more than 70 

 per cent of this area depends upon irrigation for its 

 crops. The available water supply is not sufficient at 

 all seasons of the year and when the scarcity prevails 

 the value of certain rights over others becomes appar- 

 ent. People who contemplate settling in Colorado can 

 not as a rule secure a water supply from the public any 

 longer. The rights to most of the water in that State 

 are now controlled by private individuals or companies 

 and the intending settler must get his water from 

 them. These rights are called "secondary rights," 

 since they are not derived directly from the public, but 

 from companies, who have in years past acquired con- 

 trol of the Arkansas River and its tributaries. 



The loose methods which have prevailed in the ac- 

 quirement of these rights in the early settlement of the 

 State and the lack of uniformity in the franchises and 

 contracts acquired has caused a great deal of trouble 

 and litigation, and the courts are now attempting to 

 straighten out the tangle and decide the rights of the 

 settler as well as those of the irrigation companies. 

 The value of these rights are governed largely by physi- 

 cal conditions and the nature of primary rights. Under 

 the Colorado laws a river and its tributaries are con- 

 sidered as a whole in regard to water rights. The right 

 to take water from any part of the stream is always 

 subject to prior rights to take it from any other part 

 of the stream or its tributaries, except when certain 

 physical conditions exist. The laws of Colorado also 

 make water personal property and give to appropriators 

 practically private ownership. The influence of such 

 ownership and the contracts which they hold with the 

 State are of vital importance to settlers. 



This whole question is very ably discussed by the 

 Hon. J. S. Green, ex-State engineer of Colorado, and 

 the result of his investigations extending over a long 

 period has been issued by the United States office of 

 experiment stations in a special bulletin. This bulletin 

 is No. 140 and its title is "The Acquirement of Water 

 Rights in Colorado and the Arkansas River Valley." 

 It is a work of great value to farmers and other users of 

 water, as well as to intending settlers, and should be 

 read by everybody who is interested in the vital subject 

 of water supply in the State of Colorado. Free copies 

 of this bulletin can be had by application to A. C. 

 True, Director of the Office of Experiment Stations, 

 Washington, D. C. 



The agents of the Octopus are flooding 

 Peculiar the country with extracts from speeches 



Use of of Senators in favor of repealing the land 



the Mails. laws. These extracts are sent out under 

 the franks of certain congressmen and 

 the Government is compelled to pay thousands of dollars 

 for the transmission of these documents through the 

 mails. The improper use of these franks is shown by 

 the fact that the matter is sent out from Washington 

 by the hired agents of the Octopus. 



So brazen is the work of these agents that they do 

 not hesitate to use any means to accomplish their end. 

 The fact that these documents are being i-ent out from 

 the office of the Homemaker, the organ which is sup- 

 ported entirely by the money of the Octopus, is shown 

 by the mailing directions placed upon them. The post- 

 office mailing list of the Homemaker and the printed 

 names of the persons to whom this paper is sent is 

 placed upon the documents carrying congressional 

 franks. 



These documents do not contain full discussions on 

 the land law repeal bill, but only such .extracts from 

 the speeches of Senators as are favoring the repeal. 

 No attempt is made to give a fair presentation of the 

 facts as brought out in the discussions, but the cam- 

 paign is wholly one-sided. The franks of certain con- 

 gressmen are used without limitation for this purpose. 



The exposure of this disgraceful misuse of frank- 

 ing privilege ought to be sufficient to condemn it for- 

 ever and cause a repeal of the act which makes it pos- 

 sible for selfish corporations to rob the Government in 

 this way. No congressman has the right to use his 

 frank for such a purpose, and it is surprising that any 

 self-respecting congressman would permit himself to 

 be used in this manner by the Octopus and its agents. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE, through the courtesy of the 

 Department of Agriculture, is enabled to present the 

 result of the investigation of drainage of farm lands by 

 C. G. Elliott, Government expert in drainage and irri- 

 gation, together with the illustrations used in his bul- 

 letin No. 187. This bulletin is of great importance, as 

 it contains a vast amount of information of practical 

 value to small farmers who desire to reclaim swampy 

 lands and bring them to a high state of cultivation. 



$2.00 pays one year's subscription to IRRIGATION 

 AQE and a copy of the PRIHER OF IRRIGATION. 



"What do we plant when we plant the tree? 

 We plant the ship which will cross the sea ; 

 We plant the mast to carry the sails ; 

 We plant the plank to withstand the gales ; 

 The keel, the keelson, the beam, the knee ; 

 We plant the ship when we plant the tree. 



"What do we plant when we plant the tree? 

 A thousand things that we daily see ; 

 We plant the spire that out-towers the crag ; 

 We plant the staff for our country's flag ; 

 We plant the shade from the hot sun free 

 We plant all these when we plant the tree." 



