THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



333 



Gov. Joseph H. Kibley, of Geo. \V. Peltier, of Sacra- 



Arizona. 



Judge F. C. Goudy, 

 President. 



mento, the man whose 

 ability made congress pos- 

 sibie. 



President and Secretary, Sixteenth National Irrigation Congress. 



B. ,A. Fowler, Secretary. Judge J. E. Raker, Vice- 

 President. 



"The development of irrigation by the national 

 government must have a profound and far-reaching in- 

 fluence upon the general subject of irrigation throughout 

 the country. It will tend powerfully to the extension 

 of irrigation into portions of the country which have 

 hitherto relied largely upon rainfall in the cultivation' 

 and growing of crops. There is no more important sub- 

 ject for the consideration of farmers in many of the 

 humid and semi-humid regions than that of so-called 

 supplemental irrigation. We must prepare more and 

 more for the increased demand upon our food supply 

 which comes with the multiplying millions of our popu- 

 lation. Therefore, the development of the subject of 

 irrigation is of interest, jiot only to the farmers of these 

 great western regions, but to the farmers and consumers 

 everywhere. 



"We have not fairly begun to appreciate the full 

 value of our streams and rivers. We have not fairly 



begun to appropriate them to the benefit of our agricul- 

 ture, industry and commerce. The waters which come 

 down from the sides of these mountains may be convert- 

 ed into electrical power and carried hundreds of miles 

 with but little loss to the initial energy and appropriated 

 to lighting and heating cities, operating mines and driv- 

 ing the wheels of industry. We have thousands of miles 

 of rivers which may be made navigable with little ex- 

 pense to the government compared with the benefits 

 flowing from their use in carrying commerce. There 

 are thousands of miles of rivers which are navigable 

 in a degree but which should be deepened and improved 

 so as to meet our growing needs. It is impossible to 

 give too much emphasis to the importance of this sub- 

 ject. Our rivers are the natural highways of commerce, 

 and the growing density of our population and the in- 

 crease of our production make it essential that there 

 should be additional facilities to insure cheap and ready 

 transportation. The capacity of the railways of the 



Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks Addressing Congress. On the platform are the governors of five Western States. 



