THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



249 



SALT RIVER VALLEY 



An Object-Lesson in Governmental Reclamation* 



By EDWARD F. BOHM, Author of 

 "The Carey Act Manual" and "Papers on Irrigation Finance" 



The writer of conservative tendencies, in an attempt to 

 describe, in the columns of a semi-technical journal, the Salt 

 River Valley of today, must approach his task with some de- 

 gree of hesitancy. So much has been set before the public 

 upon this subject during the past decade that much to be 

 written at this time will bear the earmarks of a twice-told 

 tale. Beyond this, it is difficult, even for the scientifically 

 trained observer, to Divorce from such a discussion every tinge 

 of that natural enthusiasm which is bound to infect him who 

 has been privileged to witness the marvelous fruition of one 

 of the first of those great twentieth century experiments in 

 Governm ;ntal home-making the "Federal Reclamation Proj- 

 ects." A drama of interest, absorbing to the layman, as well 

 as to the devotees of many professions and sciences, was in- 

 augurated with the final official approval of the project ten 

 years ago a fitting prologue to which may be found in the 

 exhaustive researches conducted by Federal and Territorial 

 "Departments" for many years prior to that time investiga- 

 tions covering every one of the manifold phases of the 

 titanic scheme of the permanent and lasting reclamation of a 

 desert area of 25,000 acres. The records of the Territorial 

 University at Tucson, of the Departments of the Interior and 

 of Agriculture, bear evidence to the successful attainments to 

 disclose the secrets of nature and to build the proud system 

 of water delivery as now completed upon such a foundation 

 of absolute knowledge as would forever insure its permanency 

 and adequacy. 



The Governmental publications upon these subjects are 

 many and exhaustive, and those desiring to engage in a more 

 detailed study of the project would do well to consult the 

 records of the U. S. Geological Survey, the Reclamation 

 Service, the Bureau of Soils and the Weather Bureau. The 

 first act of the drama that of construction has almost 

 closed, the project having been officially reported (April 1st, 

 1912) "93J4 per cent completed," but an era of even more 

 transcendent interest and importance has been opened the 

 era of "development and home-building." Much has been 

 written, since the time of Ferdinand La Salle, countless 

 theories evolved for the betterment of living conditions of 

 the human race, not to exclude mention of Roosevelt's famous 

 "Country Life Commission." Sociolog- 

 ists of late years have universally recog- 

 nized that the ideal community of the 

 future must embrace, in well-balanced 

 proportion, the advantages of urban as 

 well as of rural life. It would be an 

 easy matter to present a treatise upon 

 the sociological aspect of Government 

 Reclamation of the effect of the break- 

 ing up of large land holdings into small 

 units; of the almost ideal conditions of 

 life made possible by the application of 

 the doctrine of a "little land" in a 

 practical way, but such discussion, in- 

 teresting as it may be, must remain out- 

 side the limits of such an article as this. 



These subjects have been well and 

 sympathetically treated by students,, 

 writers and lecturers among the best 

 contributions may be mentioned those 

 of Mr. C. J. Blanchard, statistician of 



* EDITOR'S NOTE: This group of articles 

 is the second of a series by Mr. Bohm begun 

 in the March issue of THE IRRIGATION AGE 

 and further contributions to which will appear 

 from time to time. Mr. Bohm's standing as 

 an authoritative writer upon irrigation topics 

 is such that he does not require an introduc- 

 tion to our readers. None but districts or 

 projects of demonstrated merit will be de- 

 scribed, the policy of THE IRRIGATION AGE 

 being to make these articles sources of real 

 information and assistance to those interested. 



the Reclamation Service and B. A. Fowler of Phoenix, former 

 president of the National Irrigation Congress. 



It is recognized that a peculiar responsibility rests upon 

 the publisher of a magazine devoted to the technique of 

 an industry or profession and it is not wrong to assume that 

 the readers of such a publication have a very natural right 

 to expect that its utterances in themselves shall constitute 

 an authority of measurable weight. With this conviction it 

 is believed that the readers of the IRRIGATION AGE will have 

 better reason to be satisfied with a presentation of cold, hard 

 facts summarized after the manner of an "Official Report" 

 than with an elaborate attempt at word-painting. In the final 

 conclusion it is not to be expected that any one will be per- 

 suaded blindly to invest without personal investigation the 

 series of articles of which this constitutes the second is, after 

 all, intended only as a guide to those districts which, in the 

 unprejudiced opinion of the writer, are of such a substantial 

 degree of merit as to warrant the outlay of time and money 

 necessary to the personal choice of a home. As a preliminary 

 to the description to follow, it will be well to take note of 

 certain popular misconceptions, or failures to conceive, espe- 

 cially upon the part of the average Eastern mind. 

 "WHAT is A WATER RIGHT?" 



Since irrigation became a factor of importance in agricul- 

 ture, the question of what constitutes a water right has re- 

 ceived consideration and various interpretations have been 

 placed upon the phrase. In America, the question at first 

 purely academic with increased pressure upon existing nor- 

 mal flow of streams early became of practical importance. 

 Courts and laymen have supplied answers of varying tenor 

 in the past, but, with a few notable exceptions, the pre- 

 vailing conception of a water right is that incorporated in 

 the Federal Reclamation Act, in the Irrigation codes of a 

 number of the states and as aptly defined by the statutes of 

 Wyoming (S. L. 1909, Ch. 68, Art. 1). "A water right is a 

 right to use the water of the state when such use has been 

 acquired by the beneficial application of water under the 

 laws of the state relating thereto. Beneficial use shall be the 

 basis, the measure and limit of the right to use water at all 

 times, not exceeding in any case the statutory limit of 

 volume. Water rights can not be detached from the lands, 

 place or purpose for which acquired, without loss of priority." 



Irrigating Canal. Salt River Project, Arizona. 



