430 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



already begun to talk about what Santa Glaus is 

 going to bring to them, he is inclined to forget any- 

 thing except the financial feature of the law. 



If a horse or a cow has just died and another 

 one must be purchased immediately in order to 

 keep up the farm work, the farm regulations which 

 the Secretary of the Interior can enforce under the 

 new law, or the twelve per cent a year penalties, 

 seem of little consequence. 



If the wife or one of the children is ill or crops 

 have been bad well, what is he going to do? 

 Twenty-four dollars an acre or eighty-four cents 

 an acre? 



In the face of a war market for their cotton, 

 which still threatens many of them with ruin, set- 

 tlers on the Yuma project in Arizona gathered in 

 the largest meetings ever held on the project, and 

 after three hours' discussion of the Extension law, 

 voted unanimously not to accept it. The settlers 

 voted equally unanimously to refuse to appoint a 

 member of the board _________^_^^___^^_ 



of review of project 

 costs "for the reason 

 that we do not wish 

 to be put in the po- 

 sition of giving 

 seeming consent to 

 the findings of the 

 Board by participat- 

 ing therein, when 

 we have a special 

 contract determin- 

 ing the cost, and 

 further, that the 

 original law stipu- 

 lates the basis of 

 charges." 



This action was 

 taken in the face of 

 letters by the Sec- 

 retary of the In- 

 terior and the Recla- 

 mation Commission 

 attempting to assure 

 the Water Users 

 that they would not be assessed any increase in 

 project costs unless "a majority of the settlers 

 agreed to such increase." 



Earl B. Smith of Somerton, Ariz., chairman 

 of the Executive Committee of the National Fed- 

 eration of Water Users' Associations, was one of 

 four speakers designated by the Yuma Water 

 Users' Association to address the settlers concern- 

 ing the new law. Before delivering his talks, Mr. 

 Smith addressed a letter to W. A. Ryan, comp- 

 troller of the Reclamation Commission. The letter 

 is remarkable because of the analytical penetration 

 with which it handles the new law. The letter 

 follows : 



"Somerton, Yuma Co., Arizona, Nov. 9, 1914. 

 "Hon. W. A. Ryan, 



Comptroller U. S. Reclamation Service, 



"Washington, D. C. 

 "Dear Sir: 



"The Board of Governors of the Yuma County 

 Water Users' Association have requested me (with 

 others) to address three separate mass meetings of 



Irrigating potatoes. 



A field on the Lower 

 Courtesy Northern 



the Water Users on the subject of whether we 

 should accept the Extension Act as it has been 

 presented to us by the Secretary. 



"Strange as it may seem to you, the sentiment 

 seems to be that we are not in position to accept, 

 but I am of the opinion that the objections to ac- 

 cepting can be removed by a better understanding. 

 Therefore, I write you for further information, 

 thinking it more proper to seek your expressions 

 rather than that of the Secretary, who undoubtedly 

 has his hands full of more important matters. 



"While these meetings have been called for this 

 week, I can only advise delay until we can hear 

 from you, hoping that your reply may clear the 

 situation so that we can accept. 



"I will do my best to present the situation as 

 follows : 



"Section 2 of the Act provides that the first 

 payment shall be due on Dec. 1 of the year that the 

 first public notice is issued under this Act, and as 



such notice (170) 

 was issued Septem- 

 ber 24, 1914, our 

 first payment will 

 fall due within about 

 thirty days from the 

 date the notices 

 were mailed to us. 

 This situation is met 

 by Section 4 of our 

 Articles of Agree- 

 ment with the Sec- 

 retary of the In- 

 terior of May 31, 

 1906 (a copy of 

 which is herewith 

 enclosed), which 

 provides that the 

 first payment shall 

 be payable at the 

 time of the comple- 

 tion of the said pro- 

 posed works, etc. 



Yellowstone Federal project 111 Montana, m. XT . 



Pacific Railway. 1 he November issue 



of the Reclamation 



Record (p. 428) announces that our project is 69.5% 

 completed, consequently if we accept the Act 

 under the notice we thereby waive a very, if not 

 most, important feature of the contract, which is 

 our main reliance on securing a speedy completion 

 of the works for which we have so long and earn- 

 estly petitioned. Therefore, in view of that clause 

 of the contract we cannot help thinking that No- 

 tice 170, so far as it relates to the Yuma Project, 

 has been issued prematurely and with apparent 

 oversight of the terms of that contract. Again, for 

 us to assume to pay 2% of an uncertain amount is 

 a jump in the dark. 



"The only suggestion I can make at this time 

 is that Notice 170 be withdrawn by the Secretary 

 so far as it relates to this project, with the view 

 of reissuing it in some subsequent year when the 

 project has been completed. I think there is a spe- 

 cial law permitting such withdrawal. 



"In writing to you as I do I have not lost sight 

 of the proposed cost revision which may be ter- 

 minated long after the first payment has been due 



