Show RECLAIM IM ARID LAND attitude of administration on private and public projects ballinger in an address be fore national irrigation congress urges uniform state laws country more move thrifty in an address before the national irrigation congress recently held at spokane secretary ballinger of ot the interior spoke in part ns as follows valle the government has invested in re than in irrigation arks many times that amount has laen been invested since the passage of the reclamation act by private enterprise and it Is safe to ear oar that a larre por tion of these private investments have resulted from governmental example examples and encouragement and let me say here that it haa has not been and la is not the policy of the national government in the administration of this act to binder hinder or interfere with the investment of private capital in the construction st of irrigation work works but rather to lend it encouragement this Is particularly true in reference to irrigation under the carey act in the valous states while it Is possible that persons of limited means may successfully enter and acquire irrigated lands it will gelle generally rally be found that it Is not a poor mans proposition unless coupled with intelligent industry in agriculture any one who haa has visited one or more of tho the reclamation projects now la in operation and has seen on the one hand band the desert covered with sage brush and barrenness and on the other the water flowing over the fertile soil producing heavy crops of grain or orchards of fruit appreciates to the fullest extent the benefits of irrigation the people of the west therefore who are fai familiar nillar with these wonderful results in irrigation are highly appreciative of the importance of the recia nation mation service the greatest difficulty which the service encounters is in in finishing the projects now undertaken as against the clamor for a diversion of the funds to new fields in this respect the service 1 has suffered in not carrying to completion a smaller number ot of projects than it now Is engaged in con I 1 cannot conceive of anything which will contribute more to the permanent wealth and prosper prosperity ity cf ef the reclamation states and territories 0 than the continued construction on the broadest possible scale of irritation irrigation works the danger which the government Is 3 seeking to overcome la Is the establishment lish ment of small irrigation projects in localities where by such establish dent ment the larger opportunities are d de st troyed thus preventing enormous areas of lands from ever acquiring the use of water for lack of funds the government it at p often la Is raqu required ired to surrender possibilities in water ap irions which mean an enormous loss in future development of irrigation works and I 1 fear this Is not fully appreciated prec precia ted it Is for this reason that it ot times i private enterprises are disposed to contend that the government la is obstructing their interests while from rom the larger view their interests lre re obstructing greater possibilities for or larger areas of irrigable land ours is a itlen i of busy people a nation of great resources and poasi bili ties md and molt favorably situated for trade and commerce amerce co its wea wealth ith Is 1 greater than that of any single country even of franc and germany Ct ermany combined and anti ibis this is increase log ing at a fabulous rate much of it has been ac act emulated umu by the destruction by the jac sacrifice and v T the waste of natures na gilts gifts it is a fortunate that the has been brought to un dereta cd the importance of ot utilizing end and saving saying our uati a atral ral wealth and making it possible for the nation to continue to prosper and tor for the gen 41 rations that are to come to have ome some share in that prosperity espe dally since no element of the natio nations ris I 1 health wealth Is greater than that contained in the soil for this reason if for no other the work of reclamation of the arid and 1 arid lands of the west is worthy of first importance in the development of the nations resources every acre of irrigated land will be needed in the tho nations economy in a century we have passed from a purely agricultural country to an industrial du and commercial country but re e have not outgrown the necessity tor for agriculture importance of irrigation work the importance of the irrigation movement la Is indicated by the work that has ha been done thus far the national reclamation act waa was passed in 14 1902 at that time the govern sent had title in AS S states to a total of acree acres of arid land of alch which it wae wag estimated sufficient could bo be reclaimed to support aple with the projects now under clr the reclamation Uon service will by 1911 11 ll have made madd fruitful nearly 2000 acres at an estimated cost of 70 a 00 there are acres of arld id lands susceptible to reclamation by irrigation |