564 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



December 



nevertheless the importance of their 

 judicious Husbanding by the nation is 

 equally as great. 



If the national government will look 

 after the great watersheds and natural 

 reservoirs of the country, the states 

 will gladly improve and enhance their 



forest policies and resources. If, how- 

 ever, the larger and more important 

 conditions that are necessary for best 

 success are left uncared for the harder 

 and less successful will be the efforts 

 to maintain and develop what are 

 really dependent conditions. 



APPORTIONMENT OF THE RECLAMA- 

 TION FUND 



BY 



H. M. SUTER 



HE apportionment of the Reclama- 

 tion Fund is naturally a matter of 

 great moment to the several Western 

 States and Territories within whose 

 borders national works of irrigation 

 are projected. 



Recent comments and criticisms in 

 leading western papers concerning this 

 subject indicate that a misapprehen- 

 sion exists in the minds of the writers 

 especially in regard to the interpreta- 

 tion given to the act of the Secretary 

 of the Interior in setting aside certain 

 money for a project. It is not to be 

 inferred that by "setting aside" or ap- 

 portioning money, it is actually taken 

 out of the treasury or put by itself. 

 On the contrary, the amount is simply 

 entered upon the books as the pro- 

 posed limit of future expenditures. 

 The difference between this appor- 

 tionment and making an actual con- 

 tract to pay money has often been mis- 

 understood. They are entirely dis- 

 tinct. To illustrate : When the surveys 

 are completed and the feasibilitv of a 



project ascertained a concise report is 

 made to the Secretary with the recom- 

 medation that the scheme be approved 

 and the amount required in construc- 

 tion be set aside contingent upon the 

 fulfilment of certain conditions which 

 usually relate to vested rights and the 

 co-operation of owners of lands under 

 the project. 



In making this allotment the Secre- 

 tary has incurred no legal or moral re- 

 sponsibility. If. however, a contract is 

 let for an integral part of the work, 

 the Secretary then assumes a legal re- 

 sponsibility for that part only. He 

 must be absolutely certain that there is 

 sufficiently money in the treasury to 

 complete this contract even though 

 final payments may not be required for ' 

 several years. At the present time 

 actual construction is in progress on 

 portions of eleven great projects re- 

 quiring about three years for their 

 completion. The estimated cost of all 

 parts of these projects is about equal 

 to the total amount now in the Recla- 

 mation Fund. 



