Chapter 17
Letter to Joanna C. Colcord
1937
North Dakota's star is in the ascendancy. The folks out here have been trying to do business in farming when for 25 years the moistures have been downward, but if one believes in the cycle theory—and has studied his climatological data carefully, he is able to feel that the next 23 years will be a period of increasing average moisture. Also the government has discovered us and I am just looking at the motion pictures that I took of president's visit here on Aug. 27. We have a feeling that the president, if elected, will come out for diversion of the Missouri River with dams and irrigation projects, which will be helpful for the Missouri River, since before the time of Lake Agassiz, has carried an average of 23,000 cu. ft./second—occasionally as high as 75,000 cu. ft.—into, through and past our state to others who don't want the water. I would think that irrigation would solve the problem in part. The main reliances are the "lows" that bring up moisture-laden air from the lower Mississippi states and the gulf, and an occasional northeaster that brings us moisture laden air from the Great Lakes.
Mathematically the drought of 1936 resulted from the fact that nature short-changed us 13 billion tons of water during the growing season. We now have 11,000 urbans and 33,000 farmers on WPA, representing approximately 160,000 individuals. The Resettlement is taking care of 44,000 individuals who are too far from projects to be easily employed or whose budgetary deficiency is so low that an emergency grant is probably better, since there is no particular reason why, if $6 per month will get a farmer along, it should not be given him rather than $44 per month. You notice I apply this to farmers since drought or no drought, a farmer always has work on his farm to keep him physically and morally alert. Although that may not be just the word for it.
Letter to the North Dakota Delegation
1937
To Governor William Langer, Senator Gerald P. Nye, Senator Lynn J. Frazier, Congressman Usher Burdick, and Congressman William Lemke
Gentlemen:
In the past few weeks I have seen irrigation projects in states having a total of 10,000,000 acres of land under irrigation. I have seen the leaders of those states working in almost frantic haste to bring local and federal aid to bear in putting additional acreage under water. What is North Dakota doing to bring local and federal aid into the solution of the water problem in this state?
| Colorado | 3,308,000 acres |
| Idaho | 3,181,000 acres |
| Montana | 1,594,000 acres |
| Wyoming | 1,350,000 acres |
| Utah | 1,324,000 acres |
| South Dakota | 67,107 acres |
| North Dakota | 9,392 acres |
President Roosevelt has three times crossed North Dakota since he entered the White House. Are we moving to get federal aid in our dilemma? North Dakota cannot do the job alone. We haven't much money. We haven't many dependable streams. Certainly the Missouri River will have to be used—much used. Tapping it by gravity flow as is done in the mountain states can hardly be done owing to the flatness of our surface in comparison with the sharp slopes in the mountain states where streams can be tapped only a few miles above where the water is needed.
The Missouri River diversion project at Garrison should be begun. Huge dams built with federal aid must be constructed. Several large projects should be organized so that all parts of the state will benefit.
What if the rains come back? They always have. They will again. The moment they do the chances are that getting federal aid will be much more difficult.
If early increases in moisture averages means abandonment of large-scale plans for irrigation developments it might actually be better if the drought were to continue some years yet in this state.
North Dakota will have a population of 1,000,000 or more in a few years. The next major drought will therefore be even a worse disaster than this one. Irrigation will tend to guarantee steady yearly cash crops and in time of cyclic or prolonged drought will enable the state to avert bankruptcy.
Now I do not wish to be misunderstood. I know the difficulties. We are not a mountain state. Our problem is a harder one to solve than the states to the west. But, I submit, that is all the reason why concentration of effort on irrigation should be the task of every leader in North Dakota for many years to come.
Paul S. Bliss
Scoria Lily Ranch
Hettinger, N.D.