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Show vineyards and picturesque rural homes, such as cover the hillsides of France." In other words, the public lands should be held by the Government as a sacred heritage for those who may come to the West looking for homes, and which, under a wise irrigation policy, they will find responsive to their toll and industry. IRRIGATION TOPICS. A VNITKJ) DEMAND. The West Sliould Present a Solid Front. Every great project of any age and in any country has always been attained through united effort. "In union there is strength ! " "United we stand, divided we fall ! " These mottoes are peculiarly applicable to present conditions in the West. For many years the whole Western country has been trying to get irrigation irri-gation through one method and another. an-other. That the methods employed have not been as entirely satisfactory satisfac-tory as the benefits which arise from irrigation would suggest is shown not only by the fact that over 70,000,000 acres of productive land subject to irrigation development develop-ment are yet arid, but by the evident evi-dent reluctance of capital to enter this field. After much wrangling and cross-fire fighting during the past ten years, the leading men, newspapers, congresses, commercial commer-cial and organized bodies in the West have "gotten together" on an irrigation policy. Granting that the West is a unit in favor of irrigation, irri-gation, and a unit in favor of a definite irrigation policy, there is yet the opposition of the entire East to overcome, so that the absolute abso-lute necessity for unity of action and demand is evident. The Los Angeles Times, than which there is no more capable nor resolute advocate advo-cate of Western development and irrigation, calls attention to this policy and the great necessity for entire harmony of purpose and action ac-tion in working tosecure advancement advance-ment through irrigation. The policy referred to is that storage reservoirs should be built by the national Government under the River and Harbor appropriations, appropria-tions, as recommended by the Engineer En-gineer Corps, and that the public grazing lands sliould be leased, but without cession of the titie to the States, and the rentals devoted to irrigation development. Heretofore Hereto-fore the West has been unable to secure any Eastern recognition along these lines because it has been divided and antagonistic, one section wanting one thing and another an-other something else. But now organization or-ganization is telling and the West is practically "together" on this subject. With the West united, the conversion of the East is not such a problem. It requires, as the Times says, only that the vast possibilities pos-sibilities of the wealth lying latent in the arid lands of the West, and requiring but irrigation to be made productive, should be strongly brought to the attention of the industrial, in-dustrial, commercial, and manufacturing manufac-turing classes and organizations of the East. "The "national" movement has already secured good headway in the W'ft and is gaining ground constantly as people awakeii to the importance of the policy, but the Times urges that it is a mistake to do anything at this time to weaken the movement, and it deprecates the idea of a California convention to devise some means for State irrigation ir-rigation which will in any way con-die con-die t with the demand for national aid. It also opposes a plan whereby where-by the title to forests in California wouM be granted to the State University Uni-versity in trust, to be leased and the revenues devoted to specific purposes. In fact it Ftv.nds firmly against all schemes for State cession, ces-sion, snjing for California what if true to a more or ss extent i". all the Western Kti.t.' and Territorios. ''It-will not do to assume that the foothill land.-- of the Siena Xev;idas will hp forever de-.oted to grnxh-g. The time will o e;ie when wrter for Ui-'v: in-iati-iii l'-'- born Provided Pro-vided that these moniiirur, slopes will he dotted with orrlnrds ni;.-l |