174 



THE IREIGATION AGE. 



GREAT PROJECT MAY CEMENT TWO NATIONS 



^P HE proposed gravity 

 1 canal system to ir- 

 rigate the lower Rio 

 Grande country is feas- 

 ible. 



It is a 750,000 acre 

 international proposi- 

 tion. 



It is a project 

 which may prove 

 greater than just a de- 

 velopment and conser- 

 vation of resources of 

 the two nations it is 

 almost certain to be- 

 come a lasting bond 

 of friendship between 

 the United States and 

 Mexico. 



Construction of the dam across the Rio Grande 

 will require a special treaty. 



The lands on the United States side are de- 

 veloped sufficiently in intensive two-crop-a-year 

 farms, with railroads and markets established, to 

 warrant the United States government in getting 

 behind this vast project for wider development of 

 Southeastern Texas and for cheaper water for 

 those who are already taking water from the Rio 

 Grande river. 



The above pointed statements are from the lips 

 of Lon C. Hill, builder of Harlingen, Texas, and the 

 13,000 acre irrigation project which surrounds it. 

 Dreamer, yet man of great actual accomplishments, 

 lawyer, irrigator, international statesman and one 

 of the most powerful men in the state of Texas, 

 Mr. Hill paved the way long ago for the construc- 

 tion of the Rio Grande gravity system project. 



Remarkable as it may seem to those acquainted 

 vith the recent organization of a campaign in 

 Southeastern Texas to induce Congress to take up 

 the project, Mr. Hill made surveys at his own ex- 

 pense in 1902 and 1903, covering practically all the 

 ground on the American side of the river, which 

 it is proposed to include in the project. He also had 

 tested the proposed dam site at Roma, finding a 

 blue sandstone bedrock there th'at will furnish a 

 satisfactory foundation for the proposed dam. 



"The proposed Rio Grande gravity system is 

 not only practical, but it will prove one of the most 

 valuable and cleanest projects which the United 

 States government ever undertook," said Mr. Hill, 

 who was in Chicago recently. "There are sufficient 

 flood waters coming down the Rio Grande each year, 

 which, if stored, will irrigate more than 3, million 

 acres of land. There are about 750,000 acres of 

 high class agricultural lands on the United States 

 and Mexican sides which can be irrigated from this 

 project. 



"Conditions are ideal in every way for the con- 

 struction of the project. Back from the river and 

 easy of access are several excellent sites on both 

 sides for storage reservoirs, big enough to hold all 



Hogs enjoy alfalfa and get fat on it. Photograph made on the 

 J. R. 'Webster farm, south of Hereford, Texas. This pasture contains 

 l l /4 acres and furnished grazing for sixteen pigs and three sows from 

 June 15 to November 1, 1914. The gain in the pigs during this period 

 was 2,160 pounds: at fl cents a pouni 

 an acre and a quarter. 



n the pig 

 this totaled $129.60 not bad for 



the water the project 

 will need. The land has 

 a fall of about twelve 

 inches to the mile to the 

 east and northeast. 



"This country, the 

 richest agricultural em- 

 pire in the world and 

 a most ideal place in 

 which to live, is already 

 largely developed, with 

 railroads traversing it 

 and thriving towns and 

 markets established for 

 the produce of the 

 farmers. The United 

 States government can- 

 not find any better se- 

 curity, therefore, in 

 picking out a develop- 

 ment project, that it will get in the lower Rio Grande 

 county. 



"The construction of the project will require a 

 special treaty between the United States and 

 Mexico concerning the damming of the Rio Grande. 

 As the brainiest men in Mexico have given this 

 project much thought, as concerns the tremendous 

 benefits that will accrue to Mexico from develop- 

 ment on their side of the river, little or no difficulty 

 will be met with in the treaty negotiations, as soon 

 as stable government is established in Mexico. And 

 the establishment of stable government in Mexico 

 is very close at hand." 



In preparation for the work that must be done 

 by the Reclamation Service, when the United 

 States government takes up this project, Mr. Hill 

 drafted a bill (H. B. No. 576), which is certain of 

 passage by the Texas legislature at the present 

 session, amending the present irrigation law so as 

 to facilitate Federal co-operation. This was neces- 

 sary because Texas is not a public land state. 



Because of his other and varied interests, Mr. 

 Hill played only a small part in the recent organ- 

 izing of the lower Rio Grande farmers to boost the 

 proposed project. To obtain the $10,000,000 to 

 $12,000,000 appropriation from Congress that is nec- 

 essary and to otherwise bring the project to the 

 point of actual construction, strong leadership will 

 be needed in the Rio Grande country. 



With his tremendous fund of first-hand infor- 

 mation of the country, his record as a successful 

 project builder and financier, his friendship with 

 the powerful men of both the United States and 

 Mexico, Mr. Hill stands head and shoulders above 

 every other man in the lower Rio Grande country. 

 He is the ideal man to lead the project to success. 

 The farmers should put Mr. Hill in the saddle, in- 

 duce him, if necessary, to sacrifice part of his pri- 

 vate interests for the greater public good, and push 

 this great project to early consummation. 



