THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



397 



fiajaiaMiiiiaiSiiiKlGilSI^ 



Too I |X D 



lament JOevotod to tiv 

 j Interests of the Farmers_on the 

 Irrigation 



EDITED BY GEORGE J. SCHARSCHUG 



THE WATER PAYMENT EXTENSION PUZZLE 



Federal Water Users Baffled by Tangle of Law, Words and Decrees 



SECRETARY of the Interior Franklin K. Lane 

 was on his way west when this was written. 

 Perhaps during a visit to the Truckee-Carson proj- 

 ect in Nevada, which he announced he would make, 

 he will clear up the Chinese puzzle which Federal 

 \\ater Users seem unable to solve. 



The puzzle is the entanglement of law, words, 

 facts and ideas presented by the twenty-year water 

 payment extension bill, Secretary Lane's public 

 notice concerning this law, his letters to various 

 Water Users' Associations concerning the public 

 notice and special communications which settlers 

 or their organizations have subsequently received. 



What is the answer? 



The Secretary's public notice was a novelty 

 among Reclamation Service documents of this na- 

 ture because it was quite clear in its language. The 

 notice must be read, however, in connection with 

 the law and the Secretary's communications. 



The Belle Fourche Valley Water Users' 'As- 

 sociation has refused to elect the third member of 

 the board, which Secretary Lane has ordered to 

 revalue their project. This organization has issued 

 a letter to Federal Water Users demanding that if 

 any revaluation be made, it should be done by a 

 non - partisan 

 board. The pro- 

 posed boards 

 are to be made 

 up of two mem- 

 bers named by 

 Secretary Lane 

 and one elected 

 by the Water 

 Users. The 

 Belle Fourche 

 settlers are no\v 

 pressing a suit 

 to attempt to 

 straighten out 

 many of the 

 kinks and un- 

 certainties in 

 the Reclama- 

 tion laws. It is 

 the opinion of 

 many oj these 

 settlers' that 

 similar suits 



. 111 Making the automobile earn its hire. The e 



SllOUld DC Start- by this enterprising farmer 



ed on all other Federal projects. 



The Shoshone Water Users' Association has 

 named S. A. Nelson, a prominent settler and very 

 capable man, to serve on the Shoshone revaluation 

 board, but the Water Users there are in doubt, 

 nevertheless, as to the exact meaning of the public 

 notice. 



The Powell (Wyo.) Tribune, one of the organs 

 of the Shoshone Water Users, says concerning the 

 public notice: 



"As a public document, it is no doubt one of 

 the most important that has yet appeared, at least 

 so far as this project is concerned. As a specimen 

 of good English, it is pretty fair, but its greatest 

 claim to unquestioned preeminence lies in its skill- 

 ful handling of words so as to leave the reader in 

 the dark on a certain important point or group of 

 points. 'Language,' said the great Talleyrand, 'was 

 given to man to conceal his thoughts.' 



"According to the notice and the letter of Sec- 

 retary Lane, it appears that the cost of the project 

 is to be determined by a board of survey and the 

 price per acre to the entryman under the new law 

 will be finally decided upon from the findings of 

 the board. This is perfectly clear. The thing that 



is a source of 

 perplexity to us 

 all is whether 

 the unit-holder 

 will have to 

 sign his accept- 

 ance of the 

 new law before 

 he knows what 

 his land is 

 going to cost 

 him. The Sec- 

 retary's letter 

 states very 

 definitely that 

 the charges 

 will have to be 

 paid only when 

 a majority of 

 the Water 

 Users shall 

 have signified 

 their accept- 

 ance of the 



:igine of the bubble wagon is being used - 



to drive his silage cutter. new terms, but 



