152 



THE IERIGATION AGE. 



CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION ASKED. 



(Continued from Page 144.) 



mittee on Expenditures in the Interior Department, 

 held a partial investigation in Phoenix in April, 

 1912. 



When Franklin K. Lane was appointed Sec- 

 retary of the Interior, the farmers of this valley 

 thought he would adjust at least the above men- 

 tioned abuses ; but, so far, one cannot see much 

 change for the better. What the farmers of this 

 valley hoped to see was the removal from office of 

 F. H. Newell and L. C. Hill, who are considered the 

 cause of the extravagance and waste on the project. 

 It is generally believed in this valley that Senator 

 Newlands and Mr. Newell have great influence over 

 Secretary Lane. 



It is the impression here that there has been 

 grafting going on in this project, but little has been 

 uncovered. 



The small farmer is not getting a square deal. 

 The Reclamation Service so far has been favoring 



the large land owners and speculators. The small 

 farms around Phoenix still have their old irrigating 

 systems they had when the U. S. R. S. commenced 

 work on the project. At their own expense they 

 maintain their system. 



The speculative lands have a complete, new 

 and up-to-date system, in which their water is de- 

 livered to them and all pay the same for water. 

 We have a very fine, productive Valley. The U. S. 

 R. S. has run the price of the project so high that 

 many land owners are discouraged and many pros- 

 pective buyers of land coming into the Valley, find 

 the cost of the project per acre so high that after 

 paying the first cost of the land, they will not pur- 

 chase, and leave, disgusted. I notice in some of 

 his talks, Mr. Newell said people had ceased to come 

 to Western projects. The above mentioned facts 

 will readily give reasons. The people of this Val- 

 ley would like to see a thorough Congressional in- 

 vestigation of the Reclamation Service. 



MANY FOREST FIRES, BUT 

 WELL CONTROLLED. 



During 1913 the forces on the na- 

 tional forests fought 4,520 fires, or 

 nearly twice as many as started in 

 1912, the best year the forests have 

 ever had. 



Notwithstanding the great increase 

 in the number of fires, Forester 

 Graves considers that the showing 

 made by the forest service was quite 

 as favorable as that in the preceding 

 year, because the damage done and 

 the costs of fire fighting were no 

 greater, proportionately, than in 1912. 

 In both years pratcically 50 per cent 

 of all fires were detected and extin- 

 guished before they burned over a 

 quarter of an acre, and 25 per cent of 

 both years' fires were put out before 

 they covered ten acres. Of last year's 

 fires, 3,278, or considerably more than 

 the whole number of fires in 1912, 

 were confined to areas of less than 

 ten acres, and in 1,080 additional fires 

 less than $100 damage was done by 

 each. In o.nly twenty-five fires did 

 the damage amount to $1,000. 



The aggregate loss in timber is es- 

 timated at nearly 59,000,000 board 

 feet, valued at about $82,000, and the 

 damage to young growth and forage 

 is estimated at about $110,000, making 

 a total of about $192,000. About 18 

 per cent of this loss, however, was 

 incurred on private lands within the 

 forests, where 16 per cent of the fires 

 had their origin. 



Care with Engines Increasing. 



One encouraging feature is that the 

 total number of fires set by railroad 

 locomotives was scarcely more than 

 in the preceding year, and represented 

 only 12 per cent of all fires, as against 

 nearly 19 per cent in 1912; also, the 

 proportion set by sawmills and other 

 engines in the woods was consider- 

 ably less than in 1912. This indicates 

 very plainly, Mr. Graves says, that 

 the public is awakening to the need 

 of spark arresters and care with en- 

 gines in the woods. 



Looking for the reason of the in- 

 (Continued on Page 154.) 



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471 Crary Bldg., Seattle, Wash. 



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