418 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



anything in the United States, and comparing the selling 

 price and terms upon which irrigated lands are sold, with 

 the regulations and charges encountered under the Recla- 

 mation Service Act of the United States, one must admit 

 that the Canadians hold out inducements that we cannot 

 hope to duplicate." 



These statements coming from Mr. Newell in his 

 official capacity, was intended to induce American farmers 

 to abandon their intention of buying irrigated lands in 

 "The States" and to leave the United States with their 

 families and their money to settle on the irrigated lands 

 of Canada. 



It is stated that this document, under Director New- 

 ell's official name and title, has been sent to hundreds of 

 thousands of farmers throughout the middle west and its 

 influence in setting the tide of immigration away from our 

 own country is not easily estimated. 



IRRIGATION ACE has always heretofore given Mr. 

 Newell credit for an honesty of purpose, while criticising 

 his methods, yet we confess to a feeling of something 

 greater than surprise in this exhibition of mercenary dis- 

 lovalty to the interest of the people he pretends to 

 represent. 



tion of title to the land upon which the Ames monument 

 is erected. There is enough stone in the monument to 

 erect an immense castle, and it is a pity that so remarkable 

 a landmark has been left, through turning the course of 

 the railway, so far away that overland passengers may not 

 secure a good view of it. 



All of those who have gone across the 

 Continent over the Union Pacific Rail- 

 of History wav d ur i n g the past years have no doubt 



About the had their attention called to the famous 



Ames Monument. Ames monument on Sherman Hill, Wyo- 

 ming. This monument was at one time 

 close to the railway and was easily seen by all passengers. 

 When, however, it became necessary to move the line of 

 railway to secure better grades the monument was left 

 so far behind that it is now only discernible from passing 

 trains at one point and then only for a moment. 



There is a little history connected with this monument 

 which is not generally known. At the time it was erected 

 the railroad company evidently overlooked the fact that 

 it had been constructed on vacant public lands. In Sep- 

 tember, 1885, Wm. L. Murphy of Laramie, who was aware 

 of this fact, filed on the 40-acre tract of land upon which 

 the monument had been erected. He subsequently advised 

 the railroad people that it would be pleasing to him to 

 have the monument removed from his land, and they be- 

 came suddenly very much alive to the situation. 



An agent was sent to Laramie to secure his title or a 

 relinquishment thereof. The agent, so it was currently 

 reported, was instructed to spend $10,000, if necessary, to 

 secure title. He offered Murphy in trade for his 40-acre 

 tract, two town lots in the Union Pacific's original hold- 

 ings in Laramie. Murphy evidently misunderstood the 

 value of the lots, or blundered some way in the settlement 

 and thereby lost what might have proved a snug sum for 

 his declining years. 



It was, however, a serious mistake for Murphy to 

 locate a desert filing on the land. While it certainly was 

 desert, there was no actual means of securing water for 

 irrigation, as the eminence upon which the monument is 

 located is higher than all the surrounding country. Had 

 he located the land with any kind of land script instead of 

 making a desert filing, his position would have been 

 greatly strengthened. It is possible that his knowledge of 

 the situation prompted him to accept the offer of the 

 Laramie lots, yet the fact remains that he could have got- 

 ten from the railway company's agent $10,000 had he been 

 keen at a bargain. 



It is safe to say that there will never again be a ques- 



Is Carey Act 



Administration 

 Fair to 

 Westerners? 



The IRRIGATION Act has published 

 the Carey Act Law in former numbers 

 because it is desired that all interested in 

 irrigation matters should be acquainted 

 with its provisions. We trust that this 

 national statute has been read. It is sim- 

 ple in its terms and it seems to be a wise piece of legis- 

 lation. We believe that it is and we feel that Congress 

 intended that it should be simple in administration. It was 

 not difficult, ten years ago, to conform with the require- 

 ments of the law. Today every branch of the Interior 

 Department that has been able to break into .this particular 

 administrative work seeks to have its views heeded. 



The Carey Act law plainly places the responsibility 

 for the design of irrigation works, the adequacy of the 

 water supply and the reclamation of the lands on the 

 States. The States have engineers who understand all of 

 these matters. The States have more complete records 

 of the discharge of streams than has the Interior Depart- 

 ment. The States are to be injured or benefitted by the 

 development that is promised under every Carey Act pro- 

 ject yet the various bureaus of the Interior Department 

 attempt to give the Secretary of the Interior advice when 

 he should accept the statements of State officers and make 

 the States responsible for success or failure. 



The bureaus obtain their information from special 

 agents and employes who are not familiar with irrigation 

 matters. There is not a single man that we know of who 

 is relied upon by these bureaus to report on irrigation pro- 

 jects that has ever had experience such as would render 

 him capable of making a report that would be accepted 

 anywhere except by the government. 



No private interests would employ such men to fur- 

 nish them with reports which would guide them in making 

 investments. No western State would employ such men 

 to assist in the State administration of the Carey Act. 

 Regardless of this, the information upon which the Sec- 

 retary of the Interior is presumed to act, must come from 

 such a soflrce, when the law plainly places the responsibil- 

 ity upon the States alone. The tendency of the national 

 government to regard the States as incompetent and their 

 officers as dishonest, must sooner or later result in a 

 contest which will bring about an interpretation of national 

 statutes which will place the States on the footing that 

 Congress intended that they should have. 



The investor in Carey Act enterprises knows well the 

 difficulties that are now presented. He must deal with 

 several sub-departments of the Interior Department. He 

 must lobby with clerks and cheap department attorneys. 

 He must follow up the application for segregation and get 

 the assistance of his delegation in Congress. He must 

 resort to every method known to the politician, the society 

 leader and the marshal of troops to secure what the law 

 intended he should have when he has satisfied the State 

 that his project is properly planned and that the water sup- 

 ply is adequate. 



The irrigation engineers of the West are the most 

 capable men that the world knows today. They are hon- 

 est in their reports and understand fully what is necessary 



