THE WORK OF THE RECLAMATION SERVICE. 375 



Avith numerous other details.. After g'oiiij over all of these matters 

 on the ground the project board puts its recommendations in writ- 

 ing. These are transmitted to the chief engineer and by him to 

 the Director of the Geological Survey, and finally to the Secretary of 

 the Interior. These reconnnendations generally lead up to construc- 

 tion. Contracts are prepared after advertisements have been widely 

 distributed and bids are received after the usual manner. 



It must not be supposed that when the work of the reclamation 

 service was begun by the Government there was an untouched field 

 for its operations in the arid regions. On the contrary, private and 

 corporate enterprise had been for years at work in the West and had 

 considered nearly every opportunity which exists. In fact, one of the 

 chief arguments for the passage of the reclamation act was that pri- 

 vate enterprise had practically exhausted the field from the stand- 

 point of financial returns, and if the West was to be developed and 

 homes made for a great jDopulation it could only be done by the Gov- 

 ernment taking up the matter, not for direct profit in dollars and 

 cents, but on a basis of getting back the investment without interest 

 and without profit. The indirect gain to the whole country would be 

 far larger than the loss of interest on the investment. In going over the 

 ground, therefore, it has been found that the speculator has not been 

 idle. He has filed upon or now claims nearly every natural oppor- 

 tunity in the way of water rights or of reservoir location. The laws 

 of the United States are very broad, and practically any man can file 

 upon or lay claim to lands available for purposes of pow(M' develop- 

 ment or water storage. It thus becomes possible for tlic six'cnlator to 

 tie up and remove from use many of the great natural resources 

 of the West. For example, a corporation developing electric power 

 at one point can file upon and secure every other power site for hun- 

 dreds of miles, and at relatively small expense create a monopoly. 

 The Government coming into the field later is frequently put in the 

 position of being compelled to bu}' back at large cost the \;diiable 

 rights which it has recently given away. 



The State laws regarding water rights are in many cases very 

 indefinite and speculators can, by posting notice, lay claim to the 

 waters of various rivers, although they do not have the financial means 

 to utilize them, or they may make filings upon reservoir sites or enter 

 under the various land laws tracts of land which command the situa- 

 tion. It thus results that reservoirs can not be constructed without 

 buying out these rights at high prices. In short, the present land 

 laws and their administration favor monopoly in water, and the Gov- 

 ernment or the bona fide investor is at great disadvantage in attempt- 

 ing to develop the count I'y or to create homes for settlers. These 

 conditions have greatly hampered the woi-k of the reclamation service. 



If it were possible to find any considerable mnnber of localities 



