THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



339 



TWELFTH NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 



Full Scope and Meaning of the Great November Meeting Ex- 

 plained by an Editorial Writer Who Favors the Con- 

 struction of an Enormous Reservoir in Western Texas. 



EL PASO, TEX., August 31. Under the caption, 

 "El Paso's Greatest Opportunity," the Morning Times 

 publishes the following editorial concerning the scope 

 of the Irrigation Congress: 



"If the people of El Paso do not fully appreciate 

 the extreme importance of the National Irrigation 

 Congress to be held in this city, November 15-18 next, 

 it is high time for them to carefully study the full 

 scope of the convention and the meaning it carries with 

 it, for it presents the only opportunity that is within 

 reach of our city for it to receive a direct and valuable 

 indorsement of its international dam a project which 

 means, to state the case in a few words, that the more 

 powerful Government of the United States should do 

 full justice to the weaker Government of Mexico in the 

 distribution and use of the waters of the Rio Grande. 



"As the case now stands the flow of the river is 

 exhausted by irrigation methods in Colorado and New 

 Mexico long before the descending waters reach the 

 El Paso Valley and the Mexican frontier, until the 

 farmers here on both sides of the border have seen 

 their lands scorched by drouth and themselves impov- 

 erished to the point of demanding relief. 



"Indeed, we are wrongfully deprived of the usage 

 of the waters of the river, for at various times in many 

 parts of the Union where interstate questions involving 

 the use of water for irrigation purposes have arisen the 

 courts have invariably awarded to the first users the 

 privilege and right of ownership to waters by reason of 

 priority of usage, commonly known under the Spanish 

 law as the first riparian right. 



"But, beyond and outside of that consideration, 

 the Irrigation Congress has the expenditure of a fund 

 of $27,000,000, derived from the sale of public lands, 

 which is to be divided among only sixteen States and 

 Territories, in which Texas, unfortunately, is not in- 

 cluded, because she owns her own lands, over which 

 the Government exercises no control. Inasmuch, 

 therefore, as the State of Texas does not contribute 

 by the sale of public lands to the reclamation fund, 

 she can not, of course, participate in the benefits to 

 accrue from the expenditure of the large sum of money 

 in the arid regions and must depend solely on special 

 legislation for an appropriation to be used in the con- 

 struction of the international reservoir near the city; 

 but to obtain such legislation an indorsement of the 

 National Irrigation Congress will be found of great 

 value. 



"The position occupied by El Paso is unique and 

 has no parallel on any frontier of our country. To 

 the north the Canadian border has constant and co- 

 pious rainfalls and needs no irrigation; to the south 

 there is no. point on the frontier as early settled as the 

 El Paso Valley, whose inhabitants were the first users 

 of the waters of the Rio Grande for irrigation pur- 

 poses, and below the El Paso Valley there is either no 

 land suitable for irrigation or else there is an abundant 

 flow of water the year round, beyond where the tribu- 

 tary streams like the Rio Concho empty into the main 

 channel. 



"It is, therefore, a unique situation for both gov- 

 ernments, with a unique opportunity presented to both. 



and the United States will doubtless avail itself of the 

 privilege now offered of doing full justice to Mexico 

 and of giving us the grandest object lesson of irriga- 

 tion that could possibly be attempted. 



"While an international dam, thus constructed 

 would prove of incalculable value to this entire section, 

 there is yet another peculiar benefit to be derived from 

 the Irrigation Congress which assembles in this city 

 in November. It is this: We are in the midst of 

 a mining region and are surrounded by miners on 

 every side, so that we are more than repeating the his- 

 tory of the magnificent growth of Denver. For wher- 

 ever there have been deep mines and deep mining in 

 this section they have been most productive of wealth 

 and in every instance El Paso has been connected with 

 such mines by means of railroads. Now it happens 

 that the arid States are the identical States which 

 comprise the mining region of the country, and while 

 it is difficult to bring real mining men to a miners' 

 congress, because there is no money to divide, yet we 

 can be sure that mining magnates and mine operators 

 will flock to the Irrigation Congress because there are 

 $27,000,000 of federal money to be divided and expend- 

 ed in the arid regions. Furthermore, the treasury will 

 be replenished by every acre benefited, making the 

 irrigation fund permanent and constantly increasing. 



"If, therefore, the Irrigation Congress can bring 

 together the miners of the West and of the mountain 

 regions, which are identical with the arid regions, this, 

 then, is El Paso's greatest opportunity, and the city 

 would deny itself ten years of its growth and the county 

 would be guilty of the same mistake if each did not 

 liberally appropraite moneys for this great November 

 event. 



"Last year, when the El Paso delegation went to 

 Ogden, it was not until the last moment that the enor- 

 mity of the importance of the Irrigation Congress 

 made itself manifest to those in charge of the move- 

 ment. Even the State of Utah appropriated $5,000 

 for Ogden's benefit in the reception and entertainment 

 of that grand gathering, and there were above $10,- 

 000 subscribed and paid to the same fund by private 

 individuals of less important points throughout the 

 State, but the congress was worth all the money ex- 

 pended. 



"Now the State of Texas is peculiarly situated _in 

 this respect, for the constitution forbids the appropria- 

 tion of a single cent for enterprises of this character, 

 and even the Texas building at the World's- Fair was 

 created by private subscription. El Paso, therefore, 

 must depend solely upon her own resources to make 

 the November congress a brilliant success, and the city 

 and county authorities, who have been called upon for 

 assistance, should not respond with any halfway dick- 

 ering, but should come forward and contribute the 

 full amount which they have been asked to appro- 

 priate." 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



One Year, $1.00 

 THE PRIHER OF IRRIGATION 



300 pages, $1.00 



