THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



211 



REPORT DAMAGE SLIGHT. 



WELL! WELL! WELL! 



C. J. BLANCHARD. 



"The newspaper reports to the effect that the Path- 

 finder dam and the Government bridge were damaged 

 to the amount of $100,000 by the recent floods on the 

 North Platte are absurd," said Charles E. Wells, super- 

 vising engineer of the Reclamation Service, today. 



"It is true the floods were unprecedented. The 

 hydrographer of Wyoming stated to me that in his ex- 

 perience of about ten years in gauging the rivers of 

 Wyoming, he had never known the streams to break up 

 so early in tho season. The ice usually remains in plice 

 and is thawed by the action of the sun and passe- off 

 without injury. Although the high water caused much 



The Pioneer Press of St. Paul must be ia close 

 touch with "the remains" of the National Irrigation 

 Association if one is to judge by the following editorial 

 published in the issue of that journal of January 14, 

 published, evidently, after some representative of that 

 association had read in the day's news of the formation 

 of the American Irrigation Federation. 



In a former issue appeared a report of the 

 Federation meeting recently held in Omaha, and we 

 will let our readers judge after comparing the following 

 which organization stands for what is right and whether 

 a body of men organized to protest against what they 

 believe to be detrimental to public good is to be cen- 

 sured by a metropolitan daily, the editors or owners of 

 which are in sympathy with the plans of that associa- 



A Natural Reservoir, to be Drawn on for Irrigation. 



damage to the railroad and highway bridges, the Gov- 

 ernment works experienced little damage. 



"The cost of repairing the Government bridge, 

 which is a common wooden pile structure instead of a 

 steel bridge, as stated in the dispatches, will probably 

 not exceed $500. The damage to the contractors at 

 the Pathfinder dam by reason of the floods will only 

 amount to a few hundred dollars, the total amount of 

 damage to the contractors and the Government amount- 

 ing in all to about $1,000. The floods occurred two 

 months earlier than usual." 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 

 1 year, a.nd the Primer of Irrigation 



tion. Those who are acquainted with the literary style 

 of the head of the Irrigation Association is led to be- 

 lieve that that gentleman was either in St. Paul when 

 the article was written or assisted in framing the ar- 

 ticle by mail. 



Attention is called to the paragraph in which an 

 attack is made on the National Irrigation Congress 

 which was used to build up the association, which the 

 Pioneer Press champions. The reference to the Con- 

 gress "as a pirate craft cruising in the selfish interests 

 of speculators and monopolists as against the small 

 home builder" is so manifestly false and misleading as 

 to place the editor of the Pioneer Press in the position 

 of a man writing about topics of which he knows noth- 

 ing. The ignorance of the Pioneer Press is pitiful, to 

 say the least. It is safe to say that this editorial was 

 prepared under the guidance of either George H. Max- 

 well or his man Beardsley with the sole object in view 

 of reproducing the matter in bulletin form and scatter- 

 ing it broadcast among the papers of the country so 



