1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



247 



Warning to An organized band of 

 Homeseekers. swindlers is actively at 

 worj: in several western 

 states, notably Utah, North and South 

 Dakota, and also operating to a lesser 

 extent in the East. These sharpers 

 have selected as easy victims prospect- 

 ive homeseekers who are greatly inter- 

 ested in the various reclamation projects 

 undertaken by the government. 



By means of advertisements cleverly 

 worded, in which they claim to have 

 secured inside information regarding 

 the plans of the engineers, and by the 

 display of alleged copies of government 

 maps and surveys, they have been suc- 

 cessful in duping many unwary home- 

 seekers. For a consideration of from 

 $50 to $200, these swindlers guarantee 

 to locate settlers upon the best irrigable 

 lands under the government works. 



Notwithstanding that the government 

 some time ago issued a circular warning 

 the people against being taken in by just 

 such frauds, the swindling goes right 

 along, and the sharks are reaping a rich 

 harvest. It should be clearly under- 

 stood that these sharpers have no inside 

 information. Their maps are mere 

 township plats, or rough drafts, such 

 as can be obtained from the land office. 

 The swindlers have no data other than 

 any intending settler can obtain upon 

 request of the Department. 



The lands under these government 

 projects are withdrawn from all entry 

 excepting homestead before any actual 

 work of construction is ordered, and the 

 Secretary is by law required to outline 

 the size and location of each farm. 

 Until the plans are completed for con- 

 struction and the contract has been let 

 for the works, it is impossible to state 

 with any degree of accuracy what the 

 cost of the water will be or what lands 

 will be irrigated. Settlers who make 

 filings based on the information received 

 from these swindlers will not only lose 

 the money paid out, but are liable later 

 to find the lands are not included in the 

 government's proposed system, and thus 

 will have exhausted their homestead 

 entry upon worthless land. When the 

 proper time comes for throwing open to 

 homestead entry the lands under these 

 great irrigation projects, the Secretary 



of the Interior will give due notice 

 through the public press. Until such 

 announcement, it will not be safe for 

 settlers to locate upon these lands. 



Study of The Reclamation Serv- 



Water Laws, ice has recently received 

 from various officials of 

 the Western States sets of law books 

 giving the statutes relating to the appro- 

 priation and use of \vater. Special 

 studies are being made of these subjects 

 in connection with the requirement of 

 the reclamation law, that the work of 

 reclaiming the arid West shall be car- 

 ried on in conformity with state laws. 



The legal experts of the government 

 are devoting particular attention to the 

 questions of law, and are advising state 

 officials, where necessary, of conditions 

 which may interfere with the execution 

 of various contemplated projects. 



In the States of Oregon and Wash- 

 ington commissions have been appointed 

 to study the water laws, and the officials 

 of the Reclamation Service have been in- 

 vited to confer with these commissions 

 and suggest legislation of value in the 

 development of the state. 



To Utilize The recent withdrawal 



Grand River, from entry by the Sec- 

 retary of the Interior 

 of a large body of land in Colorado 

 marks a very important step in the de- 

 velopment of the irrigation possibilities 

 of the Colorado River. The withdrawn 

 areas embrace what is known as the 

 Kremmling reservoir site in the canyon 

 of the Grand River, the largest tribu- 

 tary of the Colorado. 



The government engineers, finding 

 it impossible to provide storage in the 

 lower reaches of the Colorado for the 

 extensive systems of irrigation they 

 have planned, have investigated the 

 valleys of the principal tributaries and 

 decided upon the Kremmling as the 

 most valuable site available. This in- 

 vestigation and the withdrawal which 

 followed are only an indication of the 

 far-sighted and practical policy which 

 characterizes the government work of 

 reclamation. These works are not be- 



