70 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



ature were sent out. and subsequently under the 

 guidance of Mr. H. I!. Henning much publicity was 

 obtained for Xew Mexico through the distribution 

 of literature and exhibits of the products of that 

 state at various land shows throughout the country. 

 It is our opinion that the government of New 

 Mexico should consider well before doing away 

 with an institution of this character. 



We have numerous inquiries from 

 Method for the secretaries and other officials of 

 Keeping private irrigation corporations, con- 



Irrigation cerning the matter of a satisfactory 



Records set of account books to be used in 



connection with their work. 



A letter recently received, states that one con- 

 cerns has 16,500 acres under a canal, with about 110 

 stockholders, and that they are anxious to find some 

 system of keeping accounts which has been tried on 

 a canal of about that size ; the system to be simple 

 and at the same time effective. 



The idea is to secure some plan which will allow 

 for the distribution of accounts under, say ten dif- 

 ferent heads for example, "headgate costs, lateral 

 maintenance, etc." 



The local officers of an organization of this 

 character usually work out some rough system that 

 will fill their immediate needs, but in many cases 

 these roughly framed systems are not satisfactory. 



Our object in calling attention to this matter 

 is to learn the best plan from some of our readers 

 who have a well-conducted system, so that the sug- 

 gestion may be offered to our readers for general 

 use. 



If anyone who reads this is acquainted with .1 

 stationer who prepares sets of books adapted to this 

 particular line of work, they will confer a favor by 

 sending the stationer's name and address to the 

 IRRIGATION AGE. 



Reclamation 



. . 



>mcials File 



On Govern- 



We have heard nothing recently con- 



cerning reports that came to us re- 

 .. . . . . C1 , ,i,_ 



garding land being hied on in the 



Fourche tract by officials of 

 Redamation Service . 

 Mr. lilanchard. of that service, 

 informed representatives of the Col- 

 onization Department of Western Railways at one 

 time, that this was absolutely necessary in the 

 Belle Fourche district, as it was impossible to rent 

 or purchase homes near that tract, and that the offi- 

 cials found it necessary to do this in order to estab- 

 lish a home while they were employed in that work. 

 On the other hand, the complaints that reached 

 us originally from there, stated that certain of the 

 reclamation officials had entered land under the 



reclamation law, more favorably located, owing to 

 their knowledge of the location of ditches, etc., than 

 was possible by a settler who was not familiar with 

 the plans under which the project was worked out. 



If this is contrary to the law it seems to us that 

 some better explanation should be given than that 

 made by Mr. Rlanchard. It can be readily seen that 

 a reclamation official in charge of the work of lay- 

 ing out ditches and laterals, could make a selection 

 more advantageously than could a settler who had 

 no knowledge of the plans under which the project 

 was developed. 



Mr. Newell has never seen fit to offer any ex- 

 planation publicly on this subject. Perhaps it would 

 be a good time now to go into it. 



George M. Bailey, president of the 

 Bailey Northwest Townsite Company, a 



Criticises concern that has done much to de- 



Reclamation velop property throughout the 

 Service northwest, particularly along* the 



new line of the Chicago, Milwaukee 

 & Pugent Sound Railway, is criticising F. H. Newell, 

 Director of the Reclamation Service, for saying 

 that after the United States has spent $75,000,000 

 in arid land reclamation work, yet the farmers of 

 the middle west and eastern states have not come 

 to take the land for agriculture. 



Mr. Bailey states that Director Newell con- 

 fesses his own incompetence by this statement, and 

 asks what people would think of any private cor- 

 poration that would spend $75.000,000 in reclaiming 

 waste lands, fitting them for cultivation and settle- 

 ment, and then sit down and wonder why American 

 farmers who live two thousand miles away, do not 

 come and take the land. 



The IRRIGATION AGE has repeatedly suggested 

 some kind of an organization for selling lands, and 

 this matter was brought to the attention of Mr. C. 

 J. Blanchard, of the Reclamation Service, at the 

 time of the meeting of the colonization agents of the 

 different railways held in Chicago, early in 1912. 

 Mr. Blanchard stated at that time, that almost all 

 of the reclaimed lands had been filed on under the 

 regulations of the reclamation act, and that there 

 were very few projects left, under government con- 

 trol, where any work was necessary for colonization. 



This statement does not "jibe" with what Mr. 

 Bailey informs us has been stated by Mr. Newell. 

 Director of the Reclamation Service. 



Mr. Bailey's idea is that a broad system of 

 publicity should be adopted to familiarize prospec- 

 tive settlers with conditions existing in various parts 

 of the West. On the other hand, Mr. Xewell in- 

 formed a representative of the IRRIGATION AGE,' that 

 it was extremely difficult to change the reclamation 



