Samuel Fortier

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Samuel Fortier (born April 24, 1855 in Canada , † August 17, 1933 in Oakland , California ), was a well-known American hydraulic engineer.

Life path

In 1888 he married Helena Macleay of Québec , Canada, and had three children with her: daughter Winifred and two sons RM Fortier and Ernest C. Fortier. Ernest later became, like his father, a hydraulic engineer and worked in the United States Indian Service in Coolidge, Arizona .

In 1896, Samuel Fortier graduated from McGill University in Montreal , Canada, with a Master of Engineering . In 1907 he received his doctorate as a Scientiae Doctor .

In 1903 Fortier came to California, where he took over the Irrigation Investigation of the American Department of Agriculture for several US states on the Pacific coast and at the same time was assistant professor of hydraulic engineering at the University of California. Previously, he had taught engineering at the Utah State Agricultural College and headed the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station .

Fortier witnessed the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and the fire it caused and wrote a letter about it to his colleague Elwood Mead on May 1, 1906 .

In 1907 he went to Washington, DC, where he took over the management of Irrigation Investigation from Elwood Mead . He held this office until 1922, but moved his headquarters to Berkeley in 1918 . He was the author of a standard textbook on irrigation technology and numerous specialist articles.

In 1930, at the age of 70, he retired. He died in Oakland, California, hospital on August 17, 1933, at the age of 78.

Views

Fortier was apparently no stranger to racist thinking. For example, in an article entitled "The Greatest Present Need of Arid America" ​​in the Colorado Transcript of November 28, 1907, p. 2, he took the following views:

"[...] When one reviews the conditions which exist in the west to-day he is forced to the conclusion that the greatest need is to obtain a sufficient number of desirable white settlers [...]

It would not be so difficult to secure a million people if all were permitted to come without reference to means, credentials or color. The indolent and shiftless beings who crowd the unhealthy tenements of eastern cities might be induced to migrate, but only a small percentage of these have strength of either mind or body to become successful farmers. The large majority of this class would retard rather than advance the interests of western communities.

Again, if we were to open our gates to Asia's millions there would be no difficulty in placing a yellow family on every ten-acre tract. But the people of the west, and especially those of the Pacific Coast states, believe these productive plains and valleys bordering on the Pacific […] were destined by the Almighty for a white man's country.

It is true the west needs settlers, but its needs are not so great that it can afford to adopt every one who crosses either the Pacific or the Missouri. The opportunities which it has to offer […] are such as ought to make the best class of citizens eager to come. It is to this class of citizens that the west is extending the warmest of welcomes. It wants the sons and daughters of the pioneers of the Mississippi Valley […]. It stands ready to hand over its dairies to the Norsemen, its sugar beets to the German and its vineyards to the Italians. With one hand towards New England and the other towards the south, it extends an invitation to the children of both Puritan and Cavalier to settle in the west and blend forever into the highest type of civilization what is best in both races. "

Translation:

"[...] If you look at the conditions in the west [of the USA] today, one is forced to conclude that his greatest need is to attract a sufficient number of desirable white settlers [...]

It would not be very difficult to secure a million people if all were admitted, regardless of their options, their reputation or the color of their skin. The indolent and clumsy beings who populate the unhealthy tenements of the cities of the east could be made to migrate, but only a small percentage of them have the strength of either mind or body to become successful farmers. The vast majority of this class would hinder rather than promote the interests of Western communities.

Again, if we opened our gates to the millions of Asia, there would be no difficulty in placing a yellow family on every ten acre parcel. But the people of the West, especially those of the states on the Pacific coast, believe that the fertile plains and valleys bordering the Pacific were predetermined by the Almighty to be the land of the white man.

It is true that the West needs settlers, but its need is not so great that it could afford to take anyone who crosses either the Pacific or the Missouri. The opportunities it has to offer […] are such that they should make the best class of citizens eager to come. It is to this class of citizens that the West extends its warmest welcome. He needs the sons and daughters of the pioneers of the Mississippi Valley [...]. He is ready to hand over his dairy farms to the Norwegians, his sugar beets to the Germans and his vineyards to the Italians. With one hand toward the New England states and the other toward the south, he extends his invitation to the children of both Puritans and Cavaliers to settle in the West and forever to what is best of both races to merge the highest kind of civilization. "

Some publications by Samuel Fortier

  • Samuel Fortier, "Seepage waters of northern Utah", 1897, 50 pages
  • Samuel Fortier, "Preliminary Report on Seepage Waters, etc.", Bulletin No. 38, Agric. Exp. Station, Logan, Utah
  • Samuel Fortier, "Conveyance of water in irrigation canals, flumes, and pipes", 1901, 88 pages
  • Samuel Fortier, “The Irrigator. Equitable Distribution of Water ", by Prof. S. Fortier of the University of California at the Modesto Irrigation Convention., In: Pacific Rural Press, Volume 68, Number 20, November 12, 1904, pages 318/319, http: // cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP19041112.2.25.1
  • Samuel Fortier, “Irrigation in the Santa Clara Valley, California,” p. 77-91, in: US Department of Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations (ed.), "Annual report of irrigation and drainage investigations, 1904", Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin No. 158, under the Direction of Elwood Mead, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1905, https://archive.org/details/annualreportofir158unit/page/76
  • Samuel Fortier, "Practical Information for Beginners in Irrigation," US Department of Agriculture, 1906, 40 pages
  • Samuel Fortier, “Evaporation Losses in Irrigation”, in: Eng. News, Sept. 1907
  • Samuel Fortier, "Evaporation from Irrigated Soils", in: Eng. News, Sept. 5, 1912
  • Samuel Fortier, "Irrigation Requirements of the Arable Lands of the Great Basin," US Department of Agriculture, 1925, 56 pages
  • Samuel Fortier, Arthur. A Young, "Irrigation Requirements of the Arid and Semiarid Lands of the Southwest," United States Department of Agriculture, Washington DC, Technical Bulletin No. 185, June 1930, https://books.google.de/books?id=RpAJI366DxwC
  • Samuel Fortier, "The Border Method of Irrigation," US Department of Agriculture, 1937, 22 pages
  • Samuel Fortier, "Orchard irrigation," Washington, 1940, US Dept. of Agriculture, Farmer's bulletin No. 1518, 27 pages

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Individual evidence

  1. ^ Letter from Professor Samuel Fortier, Irrigation Engineer, to his colleague, Dr. Elwood Mead, Washington, DC, May 1, 1906, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/sf-earthquake-and-fire/records/samuel-fortier-letter-may1-l.jpg
  2. ^ Samuel Fortier, "The Greatest Present Need of Arid America", in: Colorado Transcript, November 28, 1907, p. 2, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=CTR19071128.2.9 # (Incidentally, the article contains a portrait photo of Samuel Fortier
personal data
SURNAME Fortier, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American hydraulic engineer
DATE OF BIRTH April 24, 1855
PLACE OF BIRTH Canada
DATE OF DEATH August 17, 1933
Place of death Oakland , California