296 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



fiSJHJSJiiMiSIBJSISlGM^ 



A Department -Devoted to the 

 Interests of the Farmers on the 

 Government Irrigation Projects 



EDITED BY GEORGE J. SCHARSCHUG. 



ilJSISfiniSfiiKKlB^^ 



CONGRESSMEN PLEDGE FAIR DEAL TO PROJECTS 



THE Congressmen who have been inspecting the 

 United States Reclamation Service projects 

 found considerable time for speech-making while on 

 the Shoshone project in Wyoming. As they are 

 members of the House committee on appropriations, 

 which will fix the future appropriations for the vari- 

 ous projects, and as nearly all are Eastern men, al- 

 most totally unacquainted with irrigation in the 

 West, their views are interesting. 



* * * 



REPRESENTATIVE SHIRLEY of Kentucky 

 said: 



"We have been hard at work ever since we 

 started out on this trip. We hope that the trip will 

 be of especial benefit to the people of the project. 

 When the Reclamation fund was turned over to the 

 committee on appropriations, we were at sea as to 

 how much money should be granted to the different 

 projects ; most members of the committee are east- 

 ern men who know nothing at all of irrigation and 

 are not in position to appreciate the existing condi- 

 tions on the projects. Therefore it was decided to 

 visit the projects to find out their needs that we may 

 deal with them fairly and do them full justice. We 

 want to help you ; we want you to be successful and 

 we are going to help you to help yourselves. Be- 

 fore starting out on this trip we were instructed not to 

 make promises, but can assure you that each project 

 will be judged without prejudice and according to 

 its full merit. It is our duty to see that all moneys 

 from the Reclamation fund are expended for worthy 

 projects and that the settlers reimburse the United 

 States within the specified time." 



* * * 



REPRESENTATIVE GILLETTE of Massachu- 

 setts said : 



"I was surprised to find such a high standard of 

 American citizenship on the projects. It takes the 

 highest degree of intelligence and a "vast amount of 

 courage on the part of settlers to have transformed 

 this raw land into such a beautiful valley as I have 

 found here. If the farmers of the east would exer- 

 cise only an ordinary share of the energy posesssed 

 by the people of the Shoshone project, the eastern 

 farms would produce a great deal more." 



* * * 



DEPRESENTATIVE BORLAND of 'Missouri 

 N said : 



''When the government wished to turn the 

 western country into a money paying proposition it 

 was decided that the very best investment that 

 Uncle Sam could make was to open the land to 



entry and the establishment of good American home- 

 makers. Uncle Sam has made no mistake in this. 

 He has not been disappointed with the investment, 

 but feels that he is being well repaid. To the home- 

 steader is due the credit of the West's great prog- 

 ress. 



"On the irrigation projects the government for- 

 merly gave the settlers ten years in which to pay 

 back into the treasury the sum advanced for putting 

 the project in condition for settlement. However, it 

 seems that through unforeseen circumstances this 

 period of ten years was not sufficient time to allow 

 the settler to meet his obligations with the govern- 

 ment. The United States is willing to do all in its 

 power to help the settler in making a home, for suc- 

 cess in the west means success in the east. There- 

 fore, the United States has extended the time of pay- 

 ment from ten to twenty years. 



"The cost of a project is enormous, making it 

 necessary that the projects now being settled should 

 be paid for in order to carry on the work on other 

 projects for future settlement. Therefore, your con- 

 tracts with the government should be as binding as 



though it were made with a private party." 



* * * 



REPRESENTATIVE BYRNS of Tennessee 

 said : 



"This is my first visit to the projects and I am 

 more than deeply impressed with the character of 

 their citizens, the thoroughness of their work, their 

 courage and above all their high degree of success. 

 In regard to appropriations all I can say is that when 

 the needs of the projects are brought up each will 

 be dealt with impartially and without prejudice and 

 will be judged according to the merits." 



T> H. P. MOTOR WATERS 10 ACRES 



Irrigating 10 acres of olives, oranges and 

 peaches in California with a 3 horsepower motor 

 was made possible for R. L. Fuller by the use of 

 underground pipes and a dozen hydrants. Three 

 of these hydrants were on high points far distant 

 from the well, but the water was forced thither very 

 easily. The well is 140 feet deep and the pump has 

 a 3-inch discharge, forcing the water to whatever 

 section of the place Fuller wanted to cultivate a 

 few days later. There is no loss of water on the way 

 and no seepage which would prevent cultivation be- 

 tween the well and the farthest high point on the 

 place. The hydrants enabled him to use a large or 

 small stream of water as desired and to shut off just 

 when enough had run onto the land. 



