THE IKEIGATION AGE. 



735 



and there are thousands of city families that would be bet- 

 ter off on land and who could make a success of farm- 

 ing if properly started. Throughout the central west as 

 well as in the far west there is urgent need of irrigation 

 and the use of capital in this direction can be made highly 

 profitable. Irrigation is the first step toward better farm- 

 ing. It is the first move to be made in putting agricul- 

 ture on a scientific and practical basis. It is sincerely 

 hoped that the time has come when American capitalists 

 will grasp the opportunity to do a great and sensible work 

 for the cause of progressive agriculture. They can best 

 do this as land owners if they will employ a sufficient 

 amount of capital to properly equip their farms, to irri- 

 gate them, to systematize their work and to raise the 

 grade of rural labor by the means of higher wages, shorter 

 hours and better social conditions generally. In addi- 

 tion to this there are many ways of encouraging the ear- 

 nest and progressive farmers who wish to remain in the 

 country, but who need the help of city capitalists in chang- 

 ing over from the old to the new methods. While IRRI- 

 GATION AGE claims that our men of money have a duty 

 to perform in the way suggested we claim with equal 

 sincerity that they can employ their capital in this way 

 and be sure of a large return for its use. 



CRITICISES STATE LAWS 



A trenchant and timely protest against 

 Governor land waste and poor farming was made 



Eberhart by Governor Eberhart of Minnesota be- 



Decries fore a gathering of bankers in Chicago 



Farm Waste. a few days ago. Observing people ev- 

 erywhere agree with the governor that 

 one of the pressing demands of the time is for better 

 farming. In the course of his speech he said that the 

 waste in this country from the careless handling of the 

 soil amounted yearly to upwards of five hundred million 

 dollars. This is a dollar an acre on the half-billion acres 

 under cultivation. Instead of being too high this esti- 

 mate ought to be at least two dollars an acre, or a total 

 of one billion dollars. With reference to the duty of 

 capitalists and business men he said: 



"The time has now come when every citizen must 

 feel more keenly his duties and responsibilities with refer- 

 ence to the great heritage of unsurpassed natural re- 

 sources that our nation may forever remain the greatest 

 agricultural, industrial and commercial nation in the 

 world." 



Governor Eberhart made a strong picture of the un- 

 attractive life on the average farm for young men and 

 women, and he added: "Although I have presented a 

 sad picture it is not pessimistic. The background is alto- 

 gether cheerful. Two words express the most simple and 

 effective remedy, 'intelligent farming.' This will not only 

 make farming profitable, but it will surround the home 

 life on the farm with so many attractions as to remove 

 all desire for the deceptive allurements of the city. In- 

 telligent farming does not only guarantee good dividends 

 on a. farm investment, but it builds good roads to save cost 

 of transportation, consolidates rural schools, where in- 

 telligent farming, industry and home economics can be 

 taught by precept and example, beautifies the home and 

 its surroundings, and fills it with all the attractions that 

 elevate manhood and womanhood, teaches the younger 

 generation the dignity as well as the reward of farm 

 labor, and inspires the laborer with a hopeful expectation 

 of a bright future." 



Nebraska State Engineer Simmons Recommends Change 

 in Statutes. 



In his report recently submitted to the Governor. 

 E. C. Simmons, state engineer of Nebraska and secretary 

 of the state board of irrigation says: 



"Perhaps the most important amendment required by 

 our present laws is made necessary by reason of the 

 opinion of the supreme court in the case of Farmers' 

 Irrigation District vs. Frank (72 Neb. 136). In that 

 opinion, Sec. 28, Art. 2, of the irrigation laws, was con- 

 strued to give a person or corporation to whom an 

 appropriation had been allowed the exclusive right to 

 irrigate the lands included in the appropriation. 



"It is the opinion of many eminent jurists that this 

 is essentially wrong for it gives to the appropriator a 

 vested interest in lands to which he has no title. The 

 ownership of land should be held paramount and superior 

 to the right to water the same. 



"The present law, allowing the applicant to include in 

 his appropriation large tracts of land without the 

 knowledge or consent of the owners, should be so amended 

 as to give these owners a voice in the matter. Without a 

 reasonable amount of land to be watered, there cannot be 

 much incentive to invest capital in a ditch; therefore, 

 extreme care should be used to frame such a law as will 

 be just and equitable to all concerned." 



For District System. 



"The district irrigation system, properly conducted, 

 is the one that is most permanent and economical and 

 the one which experience has shown will, in time, control 

 most of the irrigation in this state. The system is based 

 upon the power of the district to borrow money and is : ue 

 bonds. The law should be carefully revised, with special 

 view to protect the territory within the district bondaries 

 from exploitation and at the same time secure those who 

 may purchase bonds based upon the faith of the borrower. 



"More than five hundred claims for water previous to 

 the law of 1895 have been adjudicated. In several cases 

 no physical work has been performed. Upon perhaps one- 

 fourth of this number, excavation and construction has 

 not been prosecuted beyond turning a few furrows. Few, 

 if any, can be considered fully completed. Vast areas of 

 land, aggregating thousands and thousands of acres have 

 been li-ted in these claims, to which water has never been 

 applied; yet, under the ruling (of the supreme court) this 

 land cannot be included in any other application. The 

 board is powerless to grant relief. The attorney general 

 should be directed to institute proceedings in the proper 

 courts to remove this restriction, plaimants who cannot, 

 or will not, water the land listed in their appropriations 

 should be forced to step a-ide and give some one else a 

 chance. 



"The different water divisions should be districted by 

 this board without waiting for a petition as provided in 

 secton 33, article 2, and the under assistants appointed 

 earTy for the whole state, so that they will know their 

 duties and be prepared to act when scarcity of water 

 prevails and quick work is necessary. 



"Every under secretary should be furnished by the 

 owner of each canal with a list of the officers and owners, 

 a list of the land to be irrigated and a daily bulletin of the 

 intake at the headgate, so that especially in times of 

 shortage, the under assistants can be properly instructed. 

 Headgates with locks and seals and measuring flumes are 

 necessary in enforcing the law of priority." 



MEXICAN COMMISSIONERS INVESTIGATE. 



Engineers working in the interest of the Mexican gov- 

 ernment are completing survey? on the mammoth project 

 'on the Yaqui River in Sonora. Mexican commissioners 

 made an investigation recently to determine whether or 

 not the government should finance the proposition. The 

 proposed dam will be 180 feet high and impound a body 

 of water forty miles in length. It will be located at An- 

 gustora. twenty miles south of F.I Tigre. About 500,000 

 acres will be reclaimed. 



