Show FNOFOH t mRHATtN Congress Will Appropriate 50000 For Investigation 0 j IMPORTANCE OFSUBJECT + GOVEP1OIE1TT OFFICIALS INTER I FJ3TED I THE PROBLEM t Secretary Wilson Strongly Favors the Investigation Director True Outlines Out-lines the Plan of the Government Collection and Publication of Valuable Irrigation Information + Special to The Herald Washington Jan 14 Secretary of Agriculture Wilson is actively interested inter-ested in irrigation investigation and ha expressed himse1f < as strongly favoring fa-voring the p proposed appropriation of 50000 for this purpose There Is now an increased probability that the appropriation ap-propriation will be carried at that figure fig-ure In the house the amount has been cut to 20000 but the secretarys ea nest recommendation is relied upon to secure a restoration to the original sum State Engineer Elwood Mead of Wyoming Wyo-ming who is at Willards hotel has completed a report on the water rights of the Missouri river and its tributaries for the department of agriculture The report is an elaborate one and presents in detail the irrigation situation in the several Rocky mountain states In a formal letter to the secretary of agriculture Director A C True of the experiment stations division says Engineer Mead is thoroughly familiar fa-miliar with the region of which he writes and has had a long and successful success-ful experienoe a irrigating engineeer and administrator of irrigation laws a well a a student of the agricultural problems of this region His bulletin is the first of a series of bulletins to be prepared in accordance with the law authorizing the collection from agricultural agricul-tural colleges agricultural experiment stations and other sources Including the employment of practical agents of valuable information and data on the subject of irrigation I was decided that the best way in which the office coujd get the advice 1 which it needed for the formulation of i plans of work along the most useful j lines was to call a conference in the irrigated region of the experiment station sta-tion officers and irrigation engineers who had been most largely engaged in j recent years in making experiments and experimental inquiries in irrigation irriga-tion or in dealing with the administrative adminis-trative and practical problems involved in the use of water for irrigation in the west This conference was held at Denver last July and was attended by experimenstatcn officers from Call Cal fornia Nebraska Colorado tltafi Mon tana and7ytunihg and thestar an gineers Wyoming Nebraska Ne-braska After careful consideration it has been determined to confine the work on irrigation for the present to two general gen-eral lines 1 The collection and pub lication of information regarding the laws and institutions of the irrigated i region on their relation to agriculture i and 2 the publication of available avaiable information regarding the use of irrigation I irri-gation waters in agriculture as shown i by actual experiment of farmers and i by experiment and investigation and 1 1 the encouragement of further Investi gations in this line by the experiment stations as to the extent and importance I import-ance in which the use of water for irrigation ir-rigation 1 has TT increased in that vast re iuii UL Lit uiiuea tiiates in which the rainfall is not sufficient for successful agriculture agculure Many perplexing questions have arisen regarding the legislation and I methods of administration required to secure the most equitable distribution distributon of available water and the promotion of the most advantageous development of industrial and social life in the lfe communities com-munities where very existence depend upon an adequate supply of water for irrigation The postoffice at Bald Mountain Sheridan county Wyo has been dis continued Mail will go to Slack John F Jones was today appointed postmaster at Adamsville Beaver county Utah vice Alice C Green re signed |