264 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



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Wnfror Ussrs 



A Department Devoted to the 

 Interests of the Farmers on the 

 Government Irrigation Projects 



EDITED BY GEORGE J. SCHARSCHUG 



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WHY NOT THE FRAUD LAW? SETTLER ASKS 



WATER USER RANKIN told the Revalua- 

 tion board on the Boise project in Idaho that 

 if any private citizen had issued the glowing litera- 

 ture, published over the signature of the United 

 States Reclamation Service to attract settlers, that 

 private citizen would now be languishing behind 

 prison bars for using the mails for fraudulent pur- 

 poses. Water User Hubbard and several others 

 backed up Mr. Rankin's statement. 



Mr. Rankin explained to the board that he had 

 been induced to settle on the Boise project through 

 reading the booklets of the Reclamation Service, 

 offering free land and water rights at $25 per acre. 

 And now the Reclamation Service insists upon the 

 settlers paying $75 per acre for the water rights. 



Mr. Rankin added that if the government was 

 cognizant of the facts shown in the literature which 

 was sent, it ought to be subject to the same treat- 

 ment which would be accorded an individual or a 

 private company. At least the government ought 

 to recognize the moral obligation it owed the set- 

 tlers to be fair with them in the matter of fixing 

 the cost of the project, and that within a reason- 

 able range of the original $25 representations. 



It was pointed out that by reason of certain 

 contracts entered into between the government and 

 the Pioneer Irrigation District and other districts 

 at the very time the $25 per acre estimate was made 

 proves that the government understood that that 

 was the estimate they had recognized and that the 

 government through the Reclamation Service, led 

 the people to 

 conclude that 

 $25 per acre 

 would be 

 charged. 



The real 

 construction of 

 the physical part 

 of the works, 

 less overhead 

 charges, p r o b - 

 ably would not 

 be more than 

 the $25 per acre, 

 but it was stated 

 that the over- 

 head charges 

 have been four 

 times the cost of 



Velocity Area Gaging Station, Wiahole Stream, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. 



the actual construction. 



A committee was appointed by the president 

 of the board, Mr. Hubbard, to gather information 

 which will prove the contention that the govern- 

 ment did represent to settlers that the cost would 

 be $25 per acre. 



And in the matter of ownership of the Arrow 

 Rock storage dam. The settlers seem inclined to 

 urge the government to retain that dam, and not 

 to charge its cost up to this project. There was 

 some opposition shown to the matter of the set- 

 tlers owning the power and light feature. Many 

 preferred that the government retain that feature. 

 Secretary Lane appointed a "settlers represent- 

 ative" on the Yuma (Ariz.) project to act on the 

 Board of Review for that project, after the water 

 users had voted practically unanimously against 

 participating in the revaluation. The "settlers' rep- 

 resentative" is reported "not satisfactory to the 

 water users." 



The revaluation proceedings on the Umatilla 

 project in Oregon revealed the fact that the set- 

 tlers were charged by the Reclamation Service for 

 a canal on the site of which a Baptist church and 

 a public school now stand. Charges, altogether, for 

 about fifteen miles of large pipe lines, now aban- 

 doned, were uncovered. 



Several of these canals never carried a drop of 

 water. 



An item of nearly $200,000, known as mainte- 

 nance, is being carried on the books against the 



project. This 

 covers land to 

 the extreme 

 north of the 

 project and 

 which has never 

 been opened for 

 settlement. 



Charged a s 

 examination, and 

 \v h i c h settlers 

 are expected to 

 pay. is an item 

 of $29,000, in- 

 curred before 

 there was any 

 project, and for 

 work done in 

 the Blue Moun- 



