THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



147 



be to aid irrigation in the several States and Territo- 

 ries in such manner as will enable the people in the 

 local communities to help themselves and as will stimu- 

 late needed reforms in the State laws and regulations 

 governing irrigation." 



This, to the practical irrigator, seemed simple and 

 feasible; the expenses could be allotted to water-users 

 who were benefited by the conserved waters. The or- 

 dinary machinery of the various State governments 

 could have been adjusted to meet the improved con- 

 ditions and the development of irrigation on the tor- 

 rential streams carried to a maximum. It was not the 

 intention of the framers of the law to usurp the field 

 that could be filled by the individual or by private 

 capital. The Carey act had already enabled the States 

 to encourage and cooperate with corporate capital, and 

 in Idaho had resulted in the inauguration of enter- 

 prises which will ultimately reclaim over 400,000 acre* 

 of arid lands. It was, therefore, with considerable 

 surprise that, as soon as the engineers of the .Reclama- 

 tion Service began active operations in this State, con- 

 flict of interests became apparent, and an antagonism 

 developed against the Carey act enterprises and devel- 

 opment by private capital. The good faith of the pro- 

 moters of the Carey act enterprises was not questioned 

 when we had to depend upon them for the develop- 

 ment of the larger plans. If fault were to be found 

 with them, the law was provided with sufficient safe- 

 guards to prevent the formation of "fake" schemes. 

 They were obliged to file an application, with plans 

 and specification; the State laws provided for inspec- 

 tion and thorough investigation of all the features of 

 the plan, and, finally, the whole matter was investi- 

 gated by the Department of the Interior before ap- 

 proval, and before a contract could be entered into 

 by the State and the promoting company for the con- 

 struction of the necessary works for irrigation and 

 fixing of prices and terms at which the water rights 

 should be sold to the settler. When the laws and the 

 various regulations had been complied with and the 

 work begun, the State became a partner in the enter- 

 prise, interested in the settlement and cultivation of 

 the land, and had, to a certain extent, proclaimed the 

 feasibility and merit of the scheme. 



The antagonism of the engineers of the Reclama- 

 tion Service to these enterprises has resulted in the 

 abandonment of one by a company which was pro- 

 ceeding to perfect its surveys and preliminary investi- 

 gations, and had already expended several thousand 

 dollars on the work. This was on the so-called Mini- 

 doka tract. When application was made by the State 

 for the segregation of these lands, in compliance with 

 the provisions of the Carey act, the information was 

 received that these lands had been withdrawn from 

 the public domain at the request of the Reclamation 

 Service. There was no method of recovering the money 

 expended ; no previous notice given of the withdrawal of 

 the lands, although the lands were open and subject 

 to the operation of the Carey act at the time the en- 

 terprise was inaugurated. 



The Canyon Canal Company was organized to ir- 

 rigate about 22,000 acres of land on the west side of 

 the Payette Eiver, near the town of Emmett. The com- 

 pany is under contract with the State to construct 

 irrigation works and furnish water at a fixed price to 

 settlers upon Government and State lands, and all 

 proceedings of the company have been approved by 

 both the State and National Governments; but they 



have suffered much in their financial negotiations, due 

 to the direct opposition and interference of the em- 

 ployes of the Reclamation Service of the United States 

 Geological Survey. 



Add to this the fact that nearly all the available 

 irrigable land of the State (amounting to over three 

 million acres) has been withdrawn from the public 

 domain, subject only to the uses of the Reclamation 

 Service, under such regulations as its officers may from 

 time to time establish, and we have a state of affairs 

 that offers no inducements to private or corporate cap- 

 ital or enterprise, and has entirely checked irrigation 

 development in the State along these lines, except in 

 the case of enterprises too far advanced to recede. 

 It is not now probable that any new Carey act work 

 will be undertaken while present conditions obtain. 



As a substitute for this great activity, from which 

 so much was expected and so much already accom- 

 plished, we now have a cessation of development of 

 larger enterprises and an atmosphere of expectancy 

 among all classes of citizens that the "Government;" 

 will somehow improve the conditions of irrigation in 

 all sections of the State. The farmer stands ready 

 to sign any contract that is presented to him on be- 

 half of the Government, and has abandoned individual 

 effort. 



It is well to bear in mind during all this hue and 

 cry in favor of "Government aid" that so far every 

 particle of work done in digging ditches and irrigat- 

 ing land in the State has been by private capital or 

 individual effort, and to remember that not an acre of 

 ground has as yet been irrigated by Government aid. 

 It is well to remember that all our splendid develop* 

 ment under the provisions of the Carey act was begun 

 before the Reclamation act was passed, and to remem- 

 ber further that there would have been still more work 

 under way had this act never been passed. It would be 

 well for sober minded citizens to pause in their hur- 

 rahs long enough to inquire in what particular they 

 will be benefited by a substitution of the apparent 

 policies of those having charge of the work of the Rec- 

 lamation Service. Will they get something for noth- 

 ing? The law provides that every dollar shall be 

 paid back to the National treasury. Will they get 

 works constructed more cheaply? Compare the methods 

 of organizing an irrigation district under our State 

 laws and of organizing an association to seek Govern- 

 ment aid. Will they get irrigation works constructed 

 quicker? Compare the time of starting work under 

 the irrigation district system with the progress made 

 under Government aid. 



I do not see the advantage to the State of the 

 Reclamation Service becoming a competitor on a 

 stream where the water supply is already insufficient 

 for its needs; nor do we wish to encourage the settle- 

 ment and development of the arid portions of the 

 State until our citizens who have taken up land in 

 good faith are supplied with water and taken care of 

 to the best of our ability. It is my opinion that the 

 first act of the Federal authorities should be to assist 

 the settlers who have by their purchase of Govern- 

 ment lands at $1.25 per acre furnished this reclama- 

 tion fund. It seems to me that the settlers in our 

 valleys who have been allowed to purchase Govern- 

 ment land at $1.25 per acre and to settle on streams 

 under the supposition, in the absence of definite in- 

 formation, that the water supply would be sufficient 

 for their needs, and who now find that they have but 



