130 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



The businessman who has been listening all the while asks 

 a question. "Where is the money coming from?" 



One suggests the federal government. "Let the Bureau of 

 Reclamation do it," they say. Another thinks that a private 

 company might be organised to bear the costs. It is finally de' 

 cided to establish a conservancy district. 



We will assume that this irrigation project is going to be 

 built in New Mexico, and that the people who have been 

 discussing it live in the town of Guadalajara. They and a 

 group of fellow townsmen apply to the state legislature for the 

 establishment of what is to be called the Guadalajara Con 

 servancy District. The rules and plans for the district are 

 drawn up. The people who live in the area to be included in 

 the district are asked to vote on whether or not they want to 

 have the district established. The merchants of Guadalajara 

 are all for it. They reason this way: If we irrigate the land 

 around here, that will bring in more farmers, and the more 

 farmers there are, the more trade there will be for us. The 

 small tax we will have to pay to meet the expenses of the dis' 

 trict will easily be covered by our additional business. 



When the farmers hear about the proposed district they 

 are not so sure about it. After all, they have to bear most of 

 the costs, and those costs are fairly high. The amount of water 

 they will need for their crops will cost them about $4 a year 

 per acre. Besides that there will be a tax of $2 an acre for every 

 acre that can be irrigated whether it is to be used or not. This 

 tax is to pay for the original cost of establishing the district 

 and will continue for twenty years. All in all it means a cost 

 of $6 an acre a year, and where is that going to come from? 

 "Why," say the townsmen, "from the added crops this irri' 

 gation system will enable you to grow." "And who'll buy 

 these added crops?" the farmers ask. "We're already growing 

 as much as you will buy from us." "Any businessman can see," 



