THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



59 



property, the principle of organized control is aban- 

 doned and inevitably anarchy ensues. 



That is the condition of the irrigation industry 

 of Idaho at this time confusion, chaos, disorders 

 are rampant, strifes abound, hatred and suspicion in- 

 tervene between neighbors, litigations multiply and 

 shysters feast upon the cupidity and stupidness of 

 the misguided irrigationists like vultures upon the 

 carrion that clutters the field of physical carnage. 



It is a terrible indictment, but it is true. 



It is the result of legislative wanderings from 

 the great cardinal principles fixed in the state's 

 organic law. 



It is the natural sequence of departure from 

 natural equity. 



It is the fruitage of a mad scramble to parcel 

 out to private control a great public property, the 

 use of which, if Idaho is to attain her full measure 

 of development, must forever be "* * a public use." 



What then? Does the commission hope to 

 bring order out of disorder, harmony from discord, 

 peace out of strife, by going deeper into the tangle 

 of misconception? 



Would it develop Idaho's wonderful irrigation 

 opportunities by saying, "These may irrigate and 

 those shall not?" 



Would it lift its hand in the path of progress 

 and bid it stay the onward march upon a theory 

 that the accident of time gives inviolate right to 

 monopolization by individuals of that which in na- 

 ture is the just inheritance of all? 



The duty of water is as flexible as the supply 

 that is changing forever. It cannot be measured 

 like acres of land in a fixed and permanent amount. 

 It cannot be bound by the signature of a man nor 

 the words of a written deed. It cannot be decreed 

 by a court and ordered the same today and tomor- 

 row, for God and the elements obey neither the 

 judge nor jury nor mandate of man-made law. 



The duty of water is service and that alone. 



The title to water is use and nothing more. 



Why not then, instead of advising constriction 

 of Idaho's irrigation development by seeking to 

 perpetuate the fallacy of rigid title to definite, un- 

 changeable flow, provide a competent administra- 

 tive authority, representative not of the whim of 

 the individual, but of the rights of the state, to de- 

 termine upon facts the equitable use and duty as 

 that duty is manifest through need? 



Then compel such use of water as will develop 

 the state and secure the rights of all. 



PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS FOR IRRIGATION AID 



The Pan-American Scientific Congress, which 

 held its sessions in Washington in January, devoted 

 some of its valuable time to the subject of irrigation. 

 The sub-section which had this topic on its pro- 

 gram finally adopted the following important reso- 

 lutions : 



WHEREAS, The surest foundation for national 

 prosperity is a land-owning, agricultural population ; 

 and, 



WHEREAS, One of the highest functions of the 

 State is to provide conditions under which its grow- 

 ing population may acquire homes on the land ; and, 



WHEREAS, There are in all Pan-American coun- 

 tries large areas of unutilized land, the reclamation 

 of which will permit of the necessary expansion 

 within existing territorial limits ; and, 



WHEREAS, Private development unaided by the 

 State has not yet yielded financial returns such as 

 will induce large capital to continue in this field ; and, 



WHEREAS, The creation of homes and national 

 wealth in places now waste is of great public im- 

 portance ; 



Be it Resolved, That the American nations 

 should extend substantial aid in the gradual recla- 

 mation of these waste lands as the demands of in- 

 creasing population require. 



Be it Further Resolved, That, in formulating a 

 policy for the reclamation of arid and semi-arid 

 lands, it is recommended that the public bear a just 

 part of the expense and that the Nation, the State 

 and the community co-operate with the tillers of 

 the soil in converting worthless lands into produc- 

 tive farms. In such co-operation the Federal Gov- 

 ernment, either alone or in co-operation with the 

 State, should ascertain the land and water resources 

 of the arid portions of the republic and construct 

 the larger irrigation works, while each State de- 



pendent on irrigation for the full development of its 

 agricultural resources should utilize, in the best 

 possible manner, the water made available by the 

 larger works of the Federal Government and should 

 also extend financial aid, either in money or credit, 

 to the smaller works built by corporations, com- 

 munities or individuals. It should likewise be the 

 duty of the Nation, the State and the community 

 to colonize the vacant lands under completed sys- 

 tems and to remove, in so far as practicable, the 

 handicaps which at present retard the progress of 

 settlement on irrigable lands. 



A comprehensive study throughout the Amer- 

 icas of the laws, customs and regulations and prac- 

 tice pertaining to the use of water for irrigation 

 and other purposes, was advocated by Dr. Augustin 

 Mercau, dean of the Engineering Faculty of Buenos 

 Aires, Argentina, and other delegates, and a resolu- 

 tion to that effect was adopted by the section and 

 passed by the congress in the following form : 



That each of the American nations appoint a 

 commission to investigate and study, in their re- 

 spective countries, the existing laws and regulations 

 affecting : 



(a) The administrative practice of regulating 

 the use of water. 



(b) The adjudicating of rights pertaining to 

 the use of surface and underground water for irri- 

 gation purposes. 



(c) The distribution, application and use of 

 water upon arid and irrigable lands. 



(d) Methods of conservation of surface and 

 underground waters for irrigation or industrial pur- 

 poses. 



(e) And to suggest laws or regulations in the 

 interest of general industry, navigation and com- 

 merce. 



