| Show fw for 0 tui paw RE ke rearranging ARRANGING THE WEST TUB proposition to make a repartition of that part of the united states west of the missouri river recently advocated in the irrigation age by orren M donaldson is attracting con ud sid erable attention in the east where by many it is considered to be possible our attention has been again calletto called to it b by mr george arbogast ot of this city r with a request that we give some of the details of the proposition in the east the scheme is regarded as being put forward by the irrigating experts ot of the west though so far as utah s concerned it has received little consideration the plan if adopted would be fraught with amazing political and economical possibilities and while there are few now who believe the proposed repartition ever will be made yet its advocates vacates say that such a repartition as the they propose is essential to the growth aad development ot of the greater part ot of the west and that it must come some day the design is given in the accompanying maps map the present arrangement ran raU gement being shown by the light noes and the proposed partition by thic the heavy lines with the names of the 1 stew shew and the old states inserted the wonderful development ot of the 7 f rf r F lo 10 I 1 0 T si ua WA LL 0 I 1 IT sy S ijar i jrr ten wt ra 0 ln s C f sa s1 JT C 1 1 y T aa 80 M 0 ra I 1 I 1 tol kosct p af ds A 4 k at X C 0 V WA N S A S I 1 ys S TU so UTH U TH I 1 S jle 71 CO LORA 7 0 A V I 1 i y t V alc i 0 o V e en r i s ar 6 rf x i 0 1 WES ay ay ads 6 C s C J arid W west which practically includes of the country between the mis riv river er and the sierras by irrigation in the east to be one of the kevels els of 0 this age within the last few ay ir abu ars the most hopeless lookin looking deserts and and sage brush in colorado Fo colorado lorado tl new mexico arizona Ar ikona southern fornia la and other western states 10 lag 0 have been transformed into fruit orchards and fertile farming lands on irrigation the future of the greater part of the west depends and with a full and proper use of the resources of the country there is now scarcely a section of the almost uninhabited western desert regions that may not be rendered able to support as large a population as the best agricultural lands of the east the article referred to claims so tar far the reclamation of the desert has been carried on without any particular system private corporations have bought up what seemed favorable sections of country tapping rivers here and there at haphazard and wasting more water than chef the used whole water areas have been preempted pre empted for the use of small sections without protest because there were no neighbors to demand a share but as the value of theland the land under irrigation became apparent otner settlers came alon along gand and their natural and rightful share of being cut oft off lor for the greater benefit of others trouble arose this kind of thing has grown and the dissatisfaction has been en intensified with the growth until many western states are the scene of bitter contests over water rights the adjustment of these difficulties is one of the objects sought in the proposed re parti tion but the greater reason urged is that the question on ot of irrigation must be t taken a k en u up in in the interests of the people as a atole whole the water supply from every source must be so used as to benefit the most people the irrigation experts say this end cannot possibly be attained as the western states are at present constituted the trouble is that many millions ot of acres of the best irrigable land in one state de depend pe nd for their natural water supply on rivers that rise and run the greater part of their length in another state the people in the latter state can cut off the water supply and use or waste it all int in heir their own state ruining the land in the lower state it has already happened that large areas of land made valuable by arri irrigation 0 n secured through the erection of costly t ly works have been ruined through the later development of agriculture on lands in another state higher up the rivers thus serious conflicts have ave arisen between states and some such questions are now before congress and the department of the interior kansas wants to know if her agriculture is to be destroyed in favor of colorados settlers and in tu tum in the colorado people want to know if they must abandon their lands and industries in favor of the kansas farmers idaho an and dUtah utah utah utah and nevada and nevada and california are wrangling over like questions and as agriculture is developed similar questions in numberless varying details will arise among au all the states of the west these troubles are caused by the manner in which the states were laid out A glance at the map of the united states will show the notable difference between boundaries in the eastern and western halves in the eastern half natural boundaries rivers mountains and the like are largely followed in the western the state divisions are almost wholly on the lines of latitude and longitude there is total disregard of geographical lines and the results in some cases as developed along with the development oi of the country are comical as well as complex in arizona for instance people living north of the grand canyon can get to their capital only by traveling several hundred miles out of the direct way and passing through other states the canyon is is impassable for five hundred miles of its length ex capt in one place montana colorado and wyoming are cut in halves py by the rocky mountains while washington and 0 oregon r e g 0 n are divided by the cascade range a ge and the districts on either side these mountains have few interests in common while many of their interests conflict what the of the new scheme want is that the states shall be mapped out with regard to topographical affinity and their territory shall be based on undivided water systems system sor or drainage basins when the reclamation of the arid and west is fully taken in in hand they say the irrigation works will have to be constructed ted and controlled by the states but whether operated by the state or by private companies it will be impossible to accomplish what will be required unless the whole of every separate irrigation district the whole of the lands and waters is under one set ot of laws and one state authority As bounded now there is not a river of considerable size in all the irr country that does not flow through two or more states or territories ri the water systems of th the whole arid and region are crossed and re crossed by state lines columns would be needed to tell the curious way in which the meandering of rivers through three or four states or territories has raised all manner of intricate questions ot of water rights and involved the whole west in interstate inter state problems the bear fiver for instance rises in utah flows north into wyoming turns west into utah again then back into wyoming crosses into idaho and finally comes back again to the state of its origin emptying its waters into the great salt lake the possible complications concerning water rights in this river are dazing indeed the interior department I 1 is at present wrestling with a bitter contest between idaho and utah with respect to the division of the waters of this river the governor and people of idaho want the department to compel the utah people to stop developing their irrigation works as they are ruining and undoing all idaho has done in years of work again there are some six million acres of land in idaho that depend wholly on water rising in wyoming in order to develop this land it is necessary that the people should have full control of the water supply and irrigation works in wyoming most of the agriculture of nevada depends wholly on waters caught in Cali california tornia and if california starts in to utilize these waters within her own boundaries there would be snore more trouble these are but sample instances says the article and this is but the beginning of the era of the remedy proposed is to wipe out completely the present state and territorial lines and re divide the arid and and sub humid west and southwest into states with boundaries in accord with the natural contour of the country and with special reference to the requirements of irrigation of course it is impossible ible to include the largest rivers e each PT h in one irrigation district or in one state but with the exception of the missouri rio grande colorado co lumbia and shoshone and of two smaller rivers no stream in all the irrigation country would under the proposed partition shown in the accompanying map flow from one political division into another each river would have its entire course through the arid and region of the united states confined within the limits of one state or territory the plan would put a very different look on the map of the united states the new york sun points out that it would also make great changes in the political affairs of the nation the scheme would give twenty six states and territories in place of the eighteen that now constitute the western half alf of the country thus securing to the west its equal e al influence with the east in national affairs affairs to which its ite equal population will give it full title in the not distant future there would then be fifty seven I 1 states and territories in the union the average population of the new political divisions would be about three hundred and eighty thousand and the average size seventy three thousand five hun dred square miles the bo boundaries es are drawn almost wholly upon natural lines and the areas of the proposed states are tolerably uniform practically all of the proposed divisions would be entitled to statehood for all the rest the map tells the story but the scheme has not yet received the endorsement ot the west itself |
