Year- 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



VOL. XXX 



CHICAGO, FEBRUARY, 1915. 



No. 4 



THE IRRIGATION AGE 



With which is Merged 



The National Land and Irrigation Journal 



MODERN IRRIGATION THE DRAINAGE JOURNAL 



THE IBRIGATION EPA MID-WEST 



ARID AMERICA THE FARM HERALD 



THE WATER USERS' BULLETIN THE IRKIGATOR 



D. H. ANDERSON 



PUBLISHER, 



Published Monthly at 30 No. Dearborn Street, 

 CHICAGO 



Entered as second-class matter October 8, 1897. at the Postoffice 

 at Chicago, 111., under Act of March t. 1879. 



D. H. ANDERSON, Editor 



ANNOUNCEMENT. 



The "Primer of Hydraulics" is now ready; Price |2.50. 

 If ordered in connection with subscription $2.00. 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 



To United States Subscribers, Postage Paid, . . . 11.00 



To Canada and Mexico. ....... 1.60 



All Other Foreign Countries 1.60 



In forwarding remittances please do not send checks on local 

 banks. Send either postoffice or express money order or Chicago or 

 New York draft. 



Official organ Federation of Tree Growing Clubs of 

 America. D. H. Anderson, Secretary. 



The Executive Committee of the National Federation 

 of Water Users' Associations has taken action whereby 

 THE IRRIGATION AGE is created the official organ of this 

 vast organization, representing 1,000,000 persons on the 

 government irrigation projects. 



Interesting to Advertisers 



It may interest advertisers to know that The Irrigation Age 

 is the only publication in the world having an actual paid in 

 advance circulation among individual irrigators and large 

 irrigation corporations. It is read regularly by all inter- 

 ested in this subject and has readers in all parts of the 

 world. The Irrigation Age is 30 years old and is the 

 pioneer publication of its class in the world. 



Once more politics is interfering 

 Politics seriously with the development of 



Again Halts the West. And not only the West, 

 Aid for but the whole nation, must suffer 



the West as a result. 



Because of the desire of the 



Wilson administration to keep down expenses, Sec- 

 retary Lane has abandoned his plan to advocate be- 

 fore this session of congress the issuance of $100,- 

 000,000 worth of irrigation bonds to raise funds for 

 the construction of more reclamation projects in 

 the West. The Secretary blames the war for his 

 sudden attack of "cold feet" concerning this propo- 

 sition. The political reasons for his change of atti- 

 tude are, however, written most plainly all over 

 his action. 



It would not be necessary to go to Europe to 

 sell these government securities. We have no doubt 

 but that the government could dispose of every 

 dollar of the bonds west of the one hundredth 

 meridian. 



With this much money available, a dozen or 

 more' big projects could be started. This would 

 mean work for thousands of unemployed through- 

 out the West. Completion of the projects would 

 mean homes for thousands of substantial citizens, 

 added' wealth to the nation, and a further enlarge- 



ment of the great irrigated bread basket of the na- 

 tion, which stands ever as insurance for the whole 

 nation against starvation should country-wide 

 drouth or war come upon us. While there is no 

 question but that millions of government funds 

 have been misspent in irrigation work, THE IRRIGA- 

 TION AGE still contends that there is no better in- 

 vestment which the United States can make than 

 that which it makes in bringing worthless lands to 

 a productive state. 



We are sorry that Secretary Lane has per- 

 mitted political exigencies to override his earlier 

 expressed convictions in favor of the $100,000.000 

 bond issue. 



And yet this is not the only instance where 

 Secretary Lane seems to be proving himself a much 

 better administration Democrat than a friend of 

 the West. His dribbling methods of handling the 

 proposed revaluation of the projects smacks sorely 

 of politics. When he announced his views on re- 

 valuation in his now famous letter to the Water 

 Users a year ago, Secretary Lane seemed to have 

 some pretty well denned ideas. Now he does not 

 seem to know whether he is afoot or on horseback. 



If conducted fairly, the project revaluations 

 will prove of very great benefit to the settlers. Vast 

 charges which now hang over their heads must be 



