THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



239 



POINTS WEAK SPOT IN RYAN'S REASONING 



Earl B. Smith 

 Sommerton, Ariz. 



BY EARL B. SMITH 



Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Federation of 

 Water Users' Association. 



HON. W. A. RYAN, one of the government Irri- 

 gation Commissioners, has a very finely writ- 

 ten article in the April issue of the Reclamation Re- 

 cord on the extension bill, covering the point pro- 

 viding for the incurring 

 of additional indebted- 

 ness by vote of major- 

 ity of the landowners. 

 He illustrates as fol- 

 lows: 



"A majority votes 

 to incur a drainage 

 debt of $25 . per acre 

 provided it may be 

 paid in added install- 

 ments after the twenty- 

 year period as provided 

 in Section 4 of the 

 bill." 



Then he works out 

 in detail how the pay- 

 ments are to fall due 

 on a certain tract of forty acres. 



Mr. Ryan's illustration is clear, able and very 

 satisfactory providing other conditions permitted 

 his illustration to be carried out, and I think Mr. 

 Ryan has inadvertently lost sight of the ruling of 

 the department that will cause his illustration to 

 utterly fail. Suppose we vote an additional expen- 

 diture of $25 for drainage or other improvement. 

 This must be based upon an estimate of the cost by 

 government engineers. The ruling which kills the 

 whole illustration is found in the answer to ques- 

 tion 91 in the booklet of "Questions and Answers" 

 which is that the estimate for the construction 

 charge shall be made when the work is sufficiently 

 advanced to make an accurate estimate of the cost 

 instead of the estimate made in the beginning and 

 upon which the vote ivas obtained. Yunia's vote to 

 have the project constructed was based on the esti- 

 mate of $35 per acre. The amount expended so far 

 is about two and one-half times $35 and the work 

 only about 65 per cent completed, and the Service 

 claims we must pay the total expenditures regard- 

 less of the original estimate. Now, if we vote an 

 additional $25 for some improvement and the Ser- 

 vice expends $65 or $75 per acre on such work, and 

 the same rule of construction prevails, then we are 

 obligated to pay $65 or $75 per acre instead of $25. 

 With this rule of construction what becomes of Mr. 

 Ryan's illustration? 



The above comment of course leads directly 

 into the great question of "estimated cost" which I 

 do not wish' to discuss at this time or until the 

 Commission makes some final determination of that 

 matter, except to say that such rule of construction 



of the words of the law that "the charges shall be 

 made with a view of returning to the fund the esti- 

 mated cost," unsettles all land values, blocks all 

 reasonable loans, puts a cloud on our titles and 

 keeps everything in a condition of financial uncer- 

 tainty. Is it any wonder that intelligent farmers 

 are afraid of government projects? Is it impossi- 

 ble for the government to construct works of this 

 character without financial irresponsibility to those 

 who vote the indebtedness? .Something must be 

 wrong. 



Because Mr. Ryan's article, in my estimation, 

 fails, is no reason why I think he may not become 

 a very useful member of the Commission and I do 

 not wish him to understand that I am complaining 

 of his work, but my motive is tb give him the views 

 of some Water Users for his assistance if such are 

 acceptable. Will Mr. Ryan try again to explain the 

 bill, in a way that will work out? 



DAVIS BLAMES SUBORDINATE 



Arthur P. Davis, chief engineer of the Recla- 

 mation Service, has apologized abjectly for his at- 

 tack on the financing of the Greeley-Poudre Irriga- 

 tion District in Colorado. He has retracted the 

 statements he made concerning the project. He 

 blames a subordinate for his misstatements and 

 untruths. 



The Davis retraction came after Delph E. Car- 

 penter, attorney for the district, had announced that 

 he would file charges with Secretary of the Interior 

 Lane. 



Just what class of Reclamation Service em- 

 ploye, this "subordinate" who misinformed Davis 

 was or by what right Davis uses government offi- 

 cials, whose salaries are paid by the Water Users, 

 to collect information for. his articles in magazines, 

 neither Davis' official retraction nor a letter from 

 Attorney Carpenter state. 



454 U. S. PROJECT FARMS STILL OPEN 



A census of the farm units on the several irri- 

 gation projects of the Government shows that in 

 the twenty-five projects there are approximately 

 26,000 occupied farms, varying in size from 5 to 160 

 acres each, and 454 tmits of 40 to 80 acres each, still 

 open to entry. 



These farms are located as follows : 

 Idaho. Minidoka project, 58; Montana, Hunt- 

 ley project 42, Lower Yellowstone project 18, Sun 

 River project 45; Nebraska, North Platte project, 

 23 ; South Dakota, Belle Fourche project, 65 ; 

 Wyoming, Shoshone project, 203. 



BEGIN NEW CAREY ACT PROJECT 



Consrtuction of the Leach irrigation project in 

 Routt county, Colorado, has begun. It will cost 

 more than $'1,000,000 and will water 60,000 acres. 



