Excerpt from The Irrigation Age, Vol. 22
With this issue The Irrigation Age begins its twenty-second year. While irrigation, per se, is as old as civilization itself, little had been done in the United States to reclaim any arid or semi-arid lands by means of irrigation at the time the first number of this journal was published. Indeed, very few had any adequate conception of what could be done in the way of reclaiming waste lands. Some learned men in those days scoffed at the idea of any one even being able to make anything grow in the wild lands of the West. Hardly more than half a century ago no less a personage than Daniel Webster, who was then Secretary of State, when asked to favor a small appropriation for the purpose of sending an expedition to explore the western country, balanced a 2-cent piece on the end of his forefinger and gravely announced that he would not exchange the coin for all the territory lying west of the Rocky mountains!
This incident is recited at this time so that the reader today can understand something of the amazing indifference and lack of information that has stood like a Chinese wall between the people and their just rights, keeping them away from a rich heritage to which they were justly entitled. It was against this great wall that The Irrigation Age directed its batteries more than a score of years ago. One after another of the towering barriers have crumbled before the steady and well directed fire, until today scarcely a vestige of the wall remains. The struggle was long and strenuous - but now the people are coming into their own - they are beginning to reap the fruits of victory. The Reclamation Act has now been in operation over a period of four years, and thousands of acres of waste lands have already been reclaimed - and the good work has just begun!
In this connection it should be noted that manufacturers are beginning to appreciate the good work of The Irrigation Age. Every acre of land reclaimed by means of irrigation spells a larger demand for everything used on the farm. We take no little pride in our achievements during the last twenty-one years, and we hope to do even more in the years to come.
William E. Smythe, one of the founders of the paper, is still actively engaged in literary work, and while no longer connected with this publication, is doing much toward stimulating interest in irrigation development; and to his early efforts may be attributed much of the success which has been attained through the passage of the Reclamation Law. Numerous other men have been prominent in irrigation work, and, unfortunately for the cause, many unscrupulous individuals have derived personal benefits to which they were not entitled - but to the great number of early workers who spent so much energy and valuable time without receiving or expecting anything in return, the Age extends greeting and good wishes on this its 22d birthday. Some of those who did valiant work have passed away, and are not permitted to see the results of their labors; while others, like Newell, Shurtliff, John Henry Smith, Mead, Knight, Keisel, Graves, Johnson, Jaycox, Carpenter, Frost, Moses, Murphy, Fortier and many others are more or less active and doing splendid work in promoting the best interests of irrigation - to these and to the whole company of loyal workers the Age extends greeting.
The Bureau of Forestry at Washington, D. C., announces that the bill providing for settlement on agricultural lands embraced in forest reservations has been signed by the President and is now effective. This law will throw open for settlement thousands of acres of fertile lands. Following are the more important provisions of the new law:
"Only lands valuable for agricultural purposes and not needed for administrative purposes by the forest service or for some other public use will be classified and listed under this bill. Land covered with a merchantable growth of timber will not be . Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The Irrigation Age, Vol. 22 (Classic Reprint) (Federation of Tree Growing Club America)