714 



CONSERVATION 



has announced himself in favor of a bond is- 

 sue of $10,000,000. This will enable work which 

 would otherwise take two years or more, to 

 be accomplished in one year. The plans can 

 be readily adjusted, and the organization is 

 able to carry on the work. The Senate 

 committee discussed this matter informally, 

 and individually expressed the opinion that 

 it would be practicable and desirable to issue 

 bonds to the amount of $10,000,000 per annum 

 for a time, securing these not by the general 

 credit of the Government, but by the rec- 

 lamation fund, the investment_ of which al- 

 ready amounts to over fifty millions of dol- 

 lars. Western bankers express the belief that 

 bonds bearing a low rate of interest and 

 secured by the reclamation fund could read- 

 ily be floated at par. As a business proposi- 

 tion, it is unquestionably sound. Every 

 dollar invested in irrigation work returns ul- 

 timately a gross income to the country of 

 100 per cent. That is to say, every acre of 

 land reclaimed at a total cost of $40 will 

 yield each year at least $40 in crops when 

 handled intelligently. If money can be bor- 

 rowed at three or four per cent on prop 

 erty yielding an income of 100 per cent per 

 annum, there should be no hesitation in thus 

 expediting the work. The interest charge 

 could readily be included in the cost of the 

 works, as this is repaid by the settlers in ten 

 annual instalments without profit or interest 

 on the investment. 



Mr. Newell has been with Mr. Ballinger on 

 several occasions, going over the projects, 

 obtaining from the Secretary and the Sena- 

 tors advice and suggestions with reference 

 to the policy to be pursued in expediting 

 the work in the future. 



Mr. Ira W. McConnell, M. A. Soc. C. _E.. 

 supervising engineer in the Reclamation 

 Service, has resigned to go into private 

 practise. His most notable work for the 

 Government has been the construction of the 

 Gunnison Tunnel which was formally opened 

 by President Taft on the 23d of September. 

 He has also had charge of the large earth 

 dam near Belle Fourche, S. Dak., one of 

 the most notable structures of its kind in 

 this country. 



The loss of such a man as Mr. McConnell 

 emphasizes one of the difficulties under which 

 the Government labors owing to the rela- 

 tively meager salaries which are paid to the 

 higher officials. The work of the Govern- 

 ment itself is of such magnitude as to de- 

 mand the highest possible business efficiency 

 and engineering skill. The services of an 

 engineer who demonstrates ability along 

 these lines are in unusual demand at the 

 present time. 



_ The resignation of Mr. McConnell is a dis- 

 tinct loss to the Reclamation Service. 



The Secretary of the Interior has ap- 

 proved a contract entered into by the Recla- 

 mation Service and the officials of Spanish 

 Fork City, Utah, whereby the former agrees 

 to_ furnish the city of Spanish Fork elec- 

 tricity for lighting purposes in amount not 



to exceed 65,000 kilowatts per mouth. The 

 rate charged is eight-tenths of a cent per 

 kilowatt hour. 



Crop reports from Huntley, Sun River, 

 and Lower Yellowstone projects are exceed- 

 ingly satisfactory. The irrigation manager 

 on the Huntley project states that some of 

 "the better class of farmers are reporting a 

 net profit from forty-acre farms of from 

 $1,200 to $1,800. 



The Clear Lake dam of the Klamath project, 

 Oregon-California, as a whole is about fifty- 

 five per cent completed. Excavation for the 

 month of September amounted to 12,000 

 cubic yards, 10,000 yards being placed in the 

 embankment, making a total in all to date of 

 24,000 cubic yards. 



Construction of the dikes at the south end 

 of Clear Lake is proceeding rapidly. Sur- 

 veys for the low-line canals on the Upper 

 project and along the margins of the Lower 

 Klamath Lake continued during the month. 

 and fifty-five miles of plane-table topography 

 were taken. 



Plans are under way for the construction 

 of a new flume across Lost River, and also 

 for the building of a concrete check in the 

 main canal. 



The Lower Yellowstone Valley in Mon- 

 tana and North Dakota, where the Recla- 

 mation Service has one of its large projects, 

 furnishes a most impressive example of the 

 beneficence of irrigation. The transforma- 

 tion from a vast free range for live stock 

 to a thickly settled community has come 

 quickly. New towns have sprung up, a rail- 

 road is build'ng the entire length of the val- 

 ley, and as far as the eye can reach broad 

 fields of wheat, oats, and corn dot the land- 

 scape which a short time ago was marked 

 only here and there by habitation. 



Ten steam threshers have been constantly 

 at work during September harvesting a 

 bountiful crop. With oats yielding from 

 forty to sixty-six bushels per acre, and 

 weighing forty-four pounds to the bushel, 

 and wheat from twenty-five to thirty-five 

 bushels per acre, the farmers are naturally 

 rejoicing. Potatoes are being dug and it is 

 demonstrated that a superior grade can be 

 grown in the sandy loam soils of the valley. 

 A satisfactory crop of field corn was pro- 

 duced by a number of farmers. 



The opportunities for homeseekers in this 

 valley are unusually attractive, especially for 

 those who are accustomed to the climate of 

 our northern states. 



During the month of September 70,000 cu- 

 bic yards of material were placed in the Owl 

 Creek embankment of the Belle Fourche 

 proiect, S. Dak., making a total of 1,348,000 

 cubic yards to date, and about 40,000 cubic 

 yards were placed in the Owl Creek gap. The 

 fill has now passed the danger point from a 

 raise in the reservoir, since the waste can 

 be carried through the conduits. 



The project as a whole is about seventy- 

 five per cent completed. 



Good progress is being made in building 



