RECLAIMING THE DESERT 159 



was organized of which he became, later on, the 

 mouthpiece and executive. 



On June 13, 1902, the present Reclamation Act 

 passed the House. Three days later, it passed the 

 Senate without change, and the following day was 

 signed by President Roosevelt. It set aside a pro- 

 portion of the receipts from the sale of public lands 

 in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, 

 Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New 

 Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, 

 Washington and Wyoming to constitute a fund for 

 construction and capitalization of irrigation works 

 on federal lands under direction of the Secretary of 

 the Interior. Later, a percentage of the royalties 

 from oil produced on the public domain has become 

 a prolific source of reclamation capital. 



"It is as right for the National Government to 

 make the streams and rivers of the arid region use- 

 ful by irrigation works for water storage," said 

 President Roosevelt to Congress, "as to make useful 

 the rivers and harbors of the humid region by en- 

 gineering works of another kind. The reclamation 

 and settlement of the arid lands will enrich every 

 portion of our country. Our people as a whole will 

 profit, for successful home making is but another 

 name for the upbuilding of the nation." 



"In 1902 when the reclamation act went into 

 effect," wrote Reclamation Commissioner Elwood 

 Mead twenty-four years later, "the arid region was 

 a primitive pioneer country. Since then more than 



