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THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



RESOLUTIONS 



Twenty-third International Irrigation Congress Held at El Paso, Texas 



The International Irrigation Con- 

 gress, at the close of its first quarter 

 century of existence, tenders its pro- 

 found gratitude to the American peo- 

 ple for the generous measure of 

 recognition accorded to its cause, and 

 to the people and governments of 

 many foreign countries, particularly 

 the Dominion of Canada and the 

 Commonwealth of Australia, for their 

 sympathy, co-operation and support. 



We view with inexpressible pride 

 and satisfaction the long road of con- 

 structive progress over which the na- 

 tion and the world have advanced 

 during the past twenty-five years to- 

 ward higher ideals of human welfare 

 and brotherhood; and in this time, 

 which sees many of the greatest 

 forces in the world engaged in strife, 

 we would lift higher than ever the 

 banner of the great pioneer move- 

 ment which wages war only upon the 

 destructive forces of nature, which 

 aims only at the subjugation of the 

 desert places, which seeks no trophies 

 save reclaimed valleys and happy 

 homes. 



Since the beginning of this move- 

 ment in 1891, public opinion concern- 

 ing the arid regions of the earth, and 

 particularly those of western Amer- 

 ica, has been completely revolution- 

 ized. Irrigation has become a sci- 

 ence, and it is recognized that by 

 means of its ministrations aridity it- 

 self is but another name for the 

 highest degree of fertility. The rec- 

 ognition of these facts was equivalent 

 to the discovery of a new continent, 

 for vast areas formerly regarded as 

 almost worthless were thereby opened 

 to development and occupation. 



As the swift consequence of this 

 fundamental change in public opinion 

 the National Reclamation Act was 

 placed upon our statute books in 1902, 

 marking the first step in a new and 

 beneficent public policy, and this was 

 followed by the Forest Reserve Law, 

 which dedicated the source water- 

 sheds to the service of the people in 

 perpetuity. Later legislation extends 

 to state irrigation districts the right 

 to include unentered government 

 land, imposing thereon proportionate 

 project charges the same as on lands 

 privately owned, while the Federal 

 Farm Loan Act extends credit to our 

 farming population on an equal foot- 

 ing with the more favored occupa- 

 tions. 



In spite of what has been accom- 

 plished, however, this Congress keen- 

 ly realizes that its work is only be- 

 gun, that it has scarcely approached 

 the human problem the problem of 

 making it possible for millions to get 

 ready access to the soil, building pros- 

 perous homes and organizing all the 

 institutions of civilized life the solu- 

 tion of which is the end and aim of 

 all our efforts. On the contrary, we 

 recognize that the influence which 

 this body has exerted during the past 

 quarter of a century must be contin- 

 uously maintained, since the evolu- 

 tion of new and better forms of life 

 upon the land must proceed with the 

 growth of the race. 



The Endowment Fund 



As one means of perpetuating the 

 influence of this movement through- 

 put all coming generations, we htart- 

 ily endorse the plan of the Board of 

 Governors which look to the raising 

 of a large endowment fund by means 

 of voluntary contributions on the part 

 of the friends and beneficiaries of nhe 

 cause, such fund to be invested so 

 that it shall yield an income sufficient 

 to meet the annual expense of the 

 Congress, and we rejoice in the fact 

 that the nucleus of this endowment 

 has already been paid in and depos- 

 ited in trusf for this great purpose. 

 World Irrigation Center 



As a second means of perpetuating 

 the movement and vastly increasing 

 its facilities of usefulness, we approve 

 the project for the erection of a pub- 

 lic building at Salt Lake City, Utah, 

 the cradle of American irrigation and 

 birthplace of the Irrigation Congress, 

 and we learn with great satisfaction 

 that the people of Utah stand ready 

 to donate a magnificent site overlook- 

 ing the mountain stream first turned 

 upon the desert by the hands of Eng- 

 lish-speaking man. We express our 

 appreciation of the action of Senator 

 Sutherland of Utah in introducing 

 Senate Bill 4828, providing for an 

 initial appropriation for a building 

 "suitable for the establishment and 

 maintenance of permanent exhibits, 

 illustrating works of irrigation and 

 methods of applying water to the soil, 

 a library of irrigation, including its 

 relation to agriculture, engineering 

 and colonization, and for the use of 

 meetings and conventions held for 

 the promotion and advancement of 

 irrigation and reclamation of arid 

 lands, and for such other related pur- 

 poses as may be determined by the 

 commission to be placed in charge." 



We pledge our earnest efforts in 

 support of this measure and invite the 

 co-operation of the several states and 

 of foreign countries interested in the 

 work, to the end that there shall be 

 created during the next few years a 

 world center of irrigation thought, 

 knowledge, practice and history which 

 shall possess all the essential quali- 

 ties of a great university of irrigation, 

 as a practical means of working out 

 future public policies, to be placed at 

 the service of mankind. 



Financing Future Work 



While the nation has already sup- 

 plied $120,000,000, drawn from the 

 proceeds of public land sales, for our 

 various irrigation projects, the work 

 which must go forward for genera- 

 tions has only begun and vast sums 

 of money will be required to enable 

 us to take full advantage of the na- 

 tion's opportunity. Fortunately, the 

 need can be met without taking 

 money from the treasury and without 

 the issue of bonds, since the opulent 

 resources of western America are 

 adequate in themselves to this situa- 

 tion, at least for many years to come. 



Within the forest reserves of the 

 Pacific Coast states, outside of Alas- 

 ka, we have approximately fifty mil- 

 lion acres of timber land, on this 



area are billions of feet of ripe tim- 

 ber, timber that is ready for the saws 

 and that should be manufactured into 

 home-building and farm-serving ma- 

 terial. The irrigation projects of the 

 future must look to these forest re- 

 serves for their water supply, and 

 within the reserves the storage reser- 

 voirs will have to be constructed and 

 maintained. The forest reserves are 

 for service; the ripe timber product 

 within them, placed in the market 

 upon reasonable terms, will provide 

 a fund that will readily install every 

 storage reservoir or system necessary 

 for the harnessing of these waters 

 to service on the arid lands. 



This ripe product cannot better 

 serve than to be made to furnish these 

 storage reservoirs and systems with- 

 out cost to the lands to be served and 

 without burden to the men and wom- 

 en who are to keep these waters and 

 lands in service union. When so con- 

 structed, the reservoirs and systems 

 should become and remain a part of 

 the forest reserves and be so main- 

 tained, and will thus render their 

 highest service if their delivery is 

 limited to irrigation districts or other 

 state units, thereby placing the dis- 

 tribution of the waters in service in 

 the hands of the state authorities, 

 providing, however, that there be de- 

 livered by such state units no water 

 for irrigation exceeding a reasonably 

 sized farm unit to any one person or 

 corporation. 



We, therefore, recommend that im- 

 mediate steps be taken by the Fed- 

 eral Government to place the ripe 

 timber within the reserves in the mar- 

 ket for manufacture, to the end that 

 it may be made to render the highest 

 service to the people. 



The Reclamation Service 



The Irrigation Congress can with 

 just pride of achievement point to the 

 results secured under the operation 

 of the Federal Reclamation Law en- 

 acted June 17, 1902. The Reclama- 

 tion Service is now, after only four- 

 teen years' existence, prepared to de- 

 liver water to one million six hun- 

 dred and eighty thousand acres of 

 land. There were actually irrigated 

 during the present year nine hundred 

 and forty-six thousand acres, which 

 produced crops valued at twenty-two 

 million dollars. Approximately one 

 hundred and twenty million dollars 

 have been expended in the construc- 

 tion of irrigation systems. 



Our country cannot afford to dis- 

 continue or handicap the work of the 

 Reclamation Service, which has add- 

 ed greatly to the agricultural develop- 

 ment and provided farm homes for 

 thousands of citizens, but, on the 

 other hand, should give it the most 

 generous support. 



It is needless to state that in the 

 carrying out of this tremendous un- 

 dertaking mistakes have been made, 

 or that enthusiastic dreams have not 

 in every instance been fully realized; 

 but in comparison with the vast 

 achievements any errors of judgment 

 sink into insignificance. 



We do not believe, however, that 



