274 



THE IERIGATION AGE. 



PLAIN FACTS ABOUT IRRIGATION 

 PROJECTS. 



By W. J. Jackman. 



It is no longer necessary to argue the merits of 

 irrigation. Those are now universally admitted, 

 especially by intelligent people who have taken the 

 trouble to advise themselves thoroughly on the sub- 

 ject. It is a well known fact that there are millions 

 of acres of land in this country, arid lands, on which 

 nothing except sage brush and jack rabbits can be 

 grown without irrigation. It is an equally well 

 known fact that, once water is supplied to these 

 lands in reasonable quantity, they become im- 

 mensely productive. Crops of all kinds are grown 

 in profusion, and of excellent quality. This is true 

 as to grain of all kinds, hay, alfalfa, vegetables, 

 fruits and live stock cattle, horses, hogs and sheep. 

 The scientific farmer, the man who knows how to 

 do things in the proper way, who has given irri- 

 gated lands a fair trial, will never willingly go back 

 to the old system of depending upon nature. This 

 is simply because with a smaller initial investment 

 and less effort he can make more money than is 

 possible in following old methods. 



This being so and the fact is indisputable- 

 one would naturally think that there would be a 

 great rush to take up irrigated lands, and so there 

 is in some sections, but the movement is not so 

 general or widespread as it might be. Why? Let 

 us face the conditions frankly and fearlessly. It is 

 undeniable that there are too many so-called irriga- 

 tion projects which have fallen far short of realizing 

 the expectations and hopes of those who have been 

 led (misled might be a better word) to invest in 

 them to the extent of buying alleged water rights. 

 As a result there is serious disappointment. Bad 

 news travels fast, and people are too prone to ac- 

 cept it as gospel truth without verification as to 

 the cause. 



There has been very little downright dishon- 

 esty in irrigation projects. Most of such failures as 

 have occurred may be traced to poor management 

 or lack of capital. In no instance can they be 

 charged to any defect in the theory of irrigation it- 

 self. This is immutable, unchangeable. The same 

 tomorrow as it was yesterday, the same a thousand 

 years from now as it is today. Poor management, 

 lack of ordinary business sense, has in some cases 

 led the promoters of projects to attempt to furnish 

 water to too large an area of land. Either the work 

 or the supply itself has been insufficient and the 

 result has been disastrous to those attempting to 

 farm the lands. They could not get the required 

 quantity of water at the required time and their 

 crops have withered and died. 



Lack of means to complete the works on the 

 contemplated scale has been another cause of dis- 

 appointment. People have taken up land only to 

 find that the expected supply of water was not 

 within miles of them, and there was no prospect of 

 getting it within a reasonable time. These things 



hurt. They create a wrong impression as to the 

 legitimacy of all irrigation plans and the honesty 

 of the promoters. 



Fortunately such instances are rare. The large 

 majority of projects have been carried to a success- 

 ful conclusion, but this does not alter the fact that 

 one failure, or partial failure, tends to create a bad 

 impression that a hundred successes will not over- 

 come. People who have taken up arid lands and 

 then find that the promises made to them are not 

 being kept, become disgusted and discouraged. 

 They write back home, the news spreads among 

 their friends and neighbors, and the outcome is that 

 a worthy enterprise that of reclaiming the desert 

 lands gets a black eye. It matters not that thou- 

 sands of people are prosperous and happy on irri- 

 gated farms. Let two or three in another section 

 fail to get what they have been led to believe they 

 would get, and the damage is done. 



The splendid work which has been accom- 

 plished in the Twin Falls region of southern Idaho 

 is a shining example of what intelligent manage- 

 ment and ample capital on the part of those install- 

 ing the irrigation plants will secure. A country 

 which seven years ago was nothing but a wild sage- 

 brush plain, is now the scene of thousands of highly 

 productive farms and orchards, many thriving 

 towns and villages, and one modern city (Twin 

 Falls) of from 8,000 to 10,000 people. The census 

 of 1910 gave Twin Falls a population of over 5,000. 

 (Then only three years old.) Since then it has 

 grown very fast. It is not a frontier town. It is a 

 thoroughly up-to-date city with handsome build- 

 ings, electric railway, steam road (the Oregon Short 

 Line) and all the most approved of modern con- 

 veniences. 



This is the result of irrigation properly planned 

 and carried out. The people who have settled there 

 are growing rich, some by farming, some by fruit 

 culture, others by raising live stock, and others still 

 by following professional and mercantile pursuits. 

 Farms originally taken up under the Carey act at a 

 cost' of from $40 to $60 per acre (including perpetual 

 water right) are now in demand at from $150 

 to $200. 



Similar results may be obtained under similar 

 conditions in other parts of the country where irri- 

 gation is a necessity, but it requires ample means, 

 on the part of the promoters and honest, intelligent 

 administration. It is undeniable that in a number 

 of enterprises these factors have been lacking. The 

 practice of inducing people to buy alleged water 

 rights before those in 'control of the same are ready 

 to deliver water is a mistake. It is worse, but we 

 will not use harsh language. The men who planned 

 and carried out the Twin Falls project have in- 

 vested in various ways the enormous sum of $18,- 

 000,000, but they have got something to show for it. 

 So have the people who have bought water rights. 

 There has been no disappointment, no failure to live 

 up to promises. So far as work done by mortal 

 man can be eternal the entire Twin Falls plant, the 

 dams, the canals, etc., is built for eternity. Nothing 

 short of some gigantic convulsion of nature can dis- 

 turb it. 



Uncle Sam and the various States safeguard 



