by:
Although many people and cultures
have attempted to control, redirect, and overcome the natural order of
events and circumstances occurring in their immediate environment
through the use of technology, up to this point in history, not one
group of persons has maintained dominance over any single aspect of
nature without gaining the attention of external parties possessing
economic or political interests. In Rivers of Empire, Donald Worster
contends that from the middle to late 19th century, the Mormons, led
by the hierarchy of the church and driven by the voice of God, were to
some degree able to control and manipulate an irrigation system
through the diversion of small streams which emerged from the Wasatch
Mountains. In addition, he feels that in order for the agrarian state
to progress, some governmental regulations are a necessity. When he
states, "The continued threat of the federal government stepping into
local affairs and giving power to the non-Mormon residents was one
reason for the change"(82), Worster points out that the downfall of
Mormon agrarian society stemmed from rising government intervention.
This change that Worster refers to denotes a change in Utah law which
ultimately allowed individual ownership of water resources and, in
turn, destroyed the Mormon communal order. Throughout his findings,
Worster fails to fully emphasize the unique characteristics of Mormon
society which enabled them to develop into an agrarian state in the
first place. Furthermore, these same attributes are those which may
have allowed them to progress into the 20th century and beyond.
Through the examination of the tithing redistribution system, the
board of trade, and conjoint enterprise, all working in conjunction
with the irrigation system, I will describe how the Mormon population
in the Great Basin may have continued to thrive and develop without
government intervention.
As a result of the decline in agricultural production due to the loss
of irrigation in many areas of the great basin, tithing distribution
became an integral part of Mormon society. I would like to discuss
not only the tithing of wages which were forwarded to the church, but
also tithing stock: product which primarily remained in settlements
themselves. Tithes, or donations, usually amounted to ten percent of
the Mormon family's income, and were sent to the central church in
Salt Lake in order to subsidize necessary activities such as
immigration, colonization, education, welfare, irrigation systems, and
temples. Tithing stocks, on the other hand, functioned to
redistribute the surplus produced in a prosperous region in order to
offset production deficiencies in different regions of the Great
Basin. Although the Mormons relied heavily on their irrigation
systems as a mode of subsistence, many of these irrigation systems
would have never been constructed if it had not been for the tithes.
Capital that accumulated due to tithing often subsidized many of the
dams. Also, when irrigation systems failed as a result of broken
dams, which they often did, the Mormons relied on the tithing system
as a means of back up, or supplementary income. In his writings "Dam
That River", William S. Abruzzi emphasizes the importance of the
tithing system when he says, "Clearly, the most important function
performed by tithing redistribution from the perspective of
establishing viable agricultural communities in the basin was in
subsidizing those strategically important projects that were essential
to the survival of individual settlements"(153). According to
Abruzzi, tithing distribution was a tremendous asset in the
development of a culture that existed within extremely arid
conditions. Abruzzi goes on to relate the importance that tithing had
with respect to the essential irrigation system when he says, "...the
single most important public works among the Little Colorado Mormon
settlements were the vital irrigation systems", and then continues
with, "the destruction of these systems threatened an entire
community, making their immediate reconstruction essential. Because
such undertakings were frequently beyond the resources of individual
settlements, most notably the smaller ones, it was in subsidizing dam
reconstruction that tithing redistribution performed its most
effective adaptive function" (153). With the importance that tithing
possessed, along with its ingenious utilization when it came to the
formation and reformation of the irrigation systems in the Great
Basin, I feel it is safe to conclude that tithing was a valuable asset
within this culture that may have had a tremendous impact on Mormon
hydraulic development continuing beyond the 1900's.
In 1878, the Mormons established Zion's Board of Trade, an
organization intending to sustain their quest for self-sufficiency.
To succeed in this goal the board functioned with a mission to nullify
competition presented by non-Mormon business interests. This is one
of the obvious reasons that the government stepped in to challenge
Mormon societal order; but the government failed to see that programs
such as this were the foundation and the stability of this entire
society. The first functions of the board were to encourage and
direct cooperative production. By cooperative production I mean that
the producers in this society were able to avoid any direct
competition with each other which could result in price wars and
business failures. It appears that capitalism, in any form, was
intentionally avoided to ensure the survival of the commonwealth. The
board also regulated any prices or wages that took place in
transactions with non-Mormon business agents which insulted their
society from the effects of external price competition. In a broader
view, the Board of Trade worked hand in hand with the tithing
redistribution system which Abruzzi notes when he says, "Since both
tithing stocks and a cooperative store's inventory largely reflected
local surpluses, stake offices as well as individuals could exchange
surplus goods on hand or those which were scarce locally (provided
they were abundant elsewhere) and at prices that were not harshly
responsive to market fluctuations" (154). In essence, the Mormons had
created the perfect marketplace where food was not uncommonly
available. Furthermore, the food remained at a fixed price even
though irrigation systems were constantly failing in many regions of
the Great Basin at random intervals, which made life very difficult
for self-supporters. The Board of Trade provided a service to the
Mormon people that was essential to their social order and living
conditions in an arid region, and its survival could have helped carry
this irrigation society into the next century without the need for
government intervention.
As a result of the unreliability of the dam and irrigation systems,
the Mormons looked for sources of income and subsistence outside of
agriculture. From this search arose four conjoint enterprises: a
sawmill, a dairy, a gristmill, and a tannery. The philosophy behind
the formation of the enterprises was that each settlement would have
some influence in the operations conducted and benefits rendered.
Abruzzi notes the rewards behind the formation of the conjoint
enterprises when he says, "Not only did those enterprises established
to exploit specific resources away from the Little Colorado River
furnish their provisions at times when, due largely to dam failures,
agricultural productivity along the river was a complete failure, but
the per capita productivity of these supplementary operations was
frequently greater and more stable than that achieved through
irrigated farming in the lower valley"(144). Not only was there money
to be made outside of the treasured irrigation systems, but Abruzzi
says that there was literally more money to be made in areas other
than agriculture. This proposition goes directly against Worster's
theory that irrigation was the sole lifeblood of the Mormon community.
To put this concept into perspective, I believe that C.S. Peterson
best describes the influence of resources outside of irrigation when
he states, "economically, the life of all the Little Colorado united
Orders was dependent upon an extensive use of surrounding resources
rather that an intensive agricultural use of the village grounds"
(205). Once again, we see that the Mormons possessed the diversity to
progress as an agrarian state without help from any organization
including the government.
Although the Mormon settlement of the Great Basin was primarily
established on the formation of an irrigation system in an arid
region, the tithing redistribution system, the Board of Trade, and the
formation of conjoint enterprises all contributed to the success of
this society. As previously noted, tithing and the Board of Trade
worked hand in hand to ensure that Mormon society had somewhat
abundant resources at fixed prices, and that the society was insulated
from outside economic agents which could result in devastating
competition. Conjoint enterprises diverted financial dependence from
the unreliable agricultural industry due to dam failures, to more
stable sources which served to supplement agricultural productivity.
In recognition of these facts, I wish to infer that Mormon settlements
in the Great Basin could have gone on to exist as they had in the 19th
century without the help or intervention of government agencies. But
more importantly, I would like to argue that perhaps irrigation
systems were not as important as Worster would like us to believe.
Furthermore, I submit that the factors which enabled the Mormons to
build an irrigation system, and to live in a region of aridity through
self-subsistence, were not technology and the things they were able to
possess and control, but instead hard work and ingenuity. Perhaps
Austin E. Fife, in his book Exploring Western Americana, can best sum
this concept up with a final verse from a song in which the Mormons
hummed during one of their many difficult projects:
KRIS GOTZMER
"It's only by plodding and working
And laboring up the steep hill
With faith in your heart never shrinking
And saying, "I can and I will" (21).