THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



365 



Government of the water and timber resources of the 

 State. A part of the investigations was to consist o! 

 some of the difficulties with which farmers in irrigated 

 districts have to contend, and was placed in charge of 

 the United States Office of Experiment Stations. It 

 has been my good fortune to have been connected with 

 this work since its inception. The scope of the investi- 

 gations has included the operation and maintenance of 

 canal systems, the equitable distribution of water among 

 users, the building of farm ditches, the preparation of 

 land to receive water, the prevention of waste, the cost 

 of pumping water, the drainage of irrigated lands, the 

 effect of water on crops and the various influences and 

 conditions which tend to retard or advance the interest? 

 of rural communities in irrigated districts. 



A part of this work was new, and in its execution 

 mistakes have been made; but the people of California 

 have been indulgent and all classes have been willing to 

 assist whenever an opportunity presented itself. I have 

 not heard a single word of criticism or a doubt ex- 

 pressed as to its value. 



HOW SETTLERS ON IRRIGATED FARMS MAY BE ASSISTED. 



This attitude on the part of the people of California 

 has led me to offer a few suggestions to this Congress 

 regarding the proper measures to adopt to guard against 

 the failure of irrigation enterprises by bringing timely 

 assistance tn those upon whom rests the tremendous re- 

 sponsibility of paying for both land and water, and of 

 making both profitable. Give one of this worthy class 

 from three to five years to get his land in shape, fences 

 built, ditches dug, buildings erected and profitable crops 

 started, and he will be prepared to meet all reasonable 

 obligations. A few years later he may have a large bank 

 account. But place the same burdens on the settler of 

 limited means at a time when he is spending both time 

 and labor on improvements, with little or no income, and 

 the chances are you will crush him. 



One of the suggestions I have to offer is that the 

 settler for the first and second years of his occupancy be 

 relieved of all payments on both land and water. In- 

 stead, he should obligate himself to improve his holding 

 to the extent of a fixed sum per acre each year. Canal 

 companies that control both land and water and con- 

 tractors under the Carey Act can afford to grant this 

 concession. On Government projects if the time allowed 

 to pay for a water right cannot well be extended to 

 twelve years there should be adopted a sliding scale of 

 payments. 



Another suggestion which I have to present is some 

 measure of relief for the new settler from the burden of 

 taxation. A few Western States levy no taxes on grapes 

 and fruit trees until they bear. This exemption should 

 he extended as far as it is safe and practical to every 

 immature crap and to every Western State and terri- 

 tory. 



Communities in newly reclaimed districts can like- 

 wise be assisted by the use of sufficient capital to estab- 

 lish such industries as canneries, creameries, etc. These 

 should be organized on the co-operative plan in such a 

 way that the farmers interested will in time become the 

 owners. Poor settlers are not able to start these indus- 

 tries and for lack of them their tomatoes and other vege- 

 tables are fed to stock and their dairy products cannot 

 be marketed. 



But none of these means of assistance touches the 

 vital part of the irrigation question. That part is sim- 



ply this : Five million acres will soon be ready for set- 

 tlement. An outlay of over $100,000,000 is" required 

 before homes can be established and crops marketed. 

 Who will supervise the expenditure of this vast sum so 

 that it may be put to the best possible use? If it is 

 right and proper to employ the best engineering talent 

 to design and supervise irrigation structures, the same 

 necessity exists to employ men of equal skill to super- 

 vise that part which belongs to the agricultural side of 

 irrigation. A teamster cannot bring his load to market 

 if one horse drops by the wayside. In every irrigation 

 undertaking the farmer is the off-horse, and no venture 

 of that kind can succeed undess he does his part. 



If this view be correct, fully a thousand skilled men 

 could be profitably employed under the more recently 

 built irrigation systems. These men should be familiar 

 with all the details of farm work and of irrigated cul- 

 ture and possess sufficient engineering and scientific 

 knowledge to enable them to direct and supervise the 

 work of converting a desert into a highly productive 

 irrigated farm. Canal companies, irrigation districts, 

 State and federal governments should share in the ex- 

 pense of maintaining this force. ' 



I leave to abler men the task of formulating plans 

 for the most efficient organization of this force. What I 

 particularly desire and advocate is the enlistment of 

 every useful agency in support of the home-builder. 

 These agencies may work independently of each other 

 or they may work in co-operation. Canal companies, 

 for example, may employ with profit to their sharehold- 

 ers skilled men to direct the labors of inexperienced set- 

 tlers. This kind of assistance has been given under 

 Carey Act projects in Idaho and its value has been fully 

 shown. The conversion of five-dollar grazing lands into 

 one hundred-dollar alfalfa land and five hundred-dollar 

 orchards is of vital interest to every western common- 

 wealth and each can afford liberal appropriations to help 

 those who produce such changes. Eeliance must also 

 be placed on Western States and territories to maintain 

 in the highest state of efficiency the irrigation work of 

 western Experiment Stations. The small sum which is 

 annually appropriated by Congress for this purpose is 

 not enough to maintain a dozen lines of investigation, 

 and too frequently the funds which should be given to 

 this basic industry are devoted to less important sub- 

 jects. 



Dr. Mead has spoken of the irrigation work of 

 the Department of Agriculture. As a member of that 

 staff, I may be permitted to state that the field has 

 always been so large and the problems so numerous that 

 we have not been able to cover more than a small part 

 of the total irrigated area. The demands of the old set- 

 tlers under irrigation have taxed to the utmost the ener- 

 gies of our small force, and now a new difficulty is pre- 

 sented. The new as well as the old settlers are clamor- 

 ing for advice and assistance. Instead of 11,000,000 

 acres to look after, there will soon be 17,000,000, and we 

 have neither the means nor the men to meet this de- 

 mand. 



One word in conclusion. In directing your atten- 

 tion to what seems to me to be the greatest need of arid 

 America I have been obliged to present the dark side of 

 the picture. I hasten to assure you this course has not 

 been taken in order to discourage settlers, but rather to 

 aid them. I believe so thoroughly in irrigation and in 

 (Concluded on page 379.) 



