150 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



ity. The heterogeneous mass of settlers when first 

 brought together on a new project evidently do not 

 have sufficient acquaintance in business to handle in 

 a successful manner a large irrigation system. After 

 a few years, however, the social order gradually 

 establishes itself, experience teaches many important 

 facts, and it becomes possible for irrigators to pass 

 upon certain problems. This they should be urged 

 to do, otherwise they have no conception of the diffi- 

 culties involved nor appreciation of the efforts and 

 results attained by the project manager. 



The immediate conveniences or economies of 

 administration should not be permitted to overweigh 

 the necessity and desirability of giving the settlers 

 experience in these matters, so that when the time 

 arrives when they must operate the canal system as 

 an incorporated body, they can do this upon the 

 basis of actual results. This experience, however, 



credits for the water they claim to have, and that 

 the price per acre is to be determined by dividing 

 the actual cost of the project when finished by the 

 number of acres subscribed on the first of August 

 plus the irrigable acreage of public land. This will, 

 in my opinion, boost the construction charges way 

 above what they would have been if the committee 

 had never gone to Washington to get them reduced. 

 I do not have any idea how much land the associa- 

 tion will release or how much credit they will allow 

 on old priorities, but whatever these items may 

 amount to, the other land holders will have to pay. 

 Without doubt the water users, excepting those 

 whose interests are directly involved, will do better 

 to let these matters be adjusted by the Reclamation 

 service. Their legal department is especially pre- 

 pared and equipped to handle just these kind of 

 cases. 



' 



A California Irrigation Scene Showing Water Distribution. 



should be obtained in a small way at first, where 

 the outcome will not be destructive. It is better to 

 endure the disappointments or occasional hardship 

 of community management of certain details on a 

 small scale, if by so doing experience is gained which 

 ultimately leads to safe operation of the entire 

 system. 



There are in the United States few large irriga- 

 tion systems except those recently constructed by 

 the government and Carey projects, which are not 

 operated under the co-operative plan by the irri- 

 gators, and it is doubted whether it is practicable 

 for an irrigation system to be operated in the United 

 States for any very long period of time on any other 

 basis than directly by the settlers. 



You will notice that provision 3 permits the 

 association to release subscriptions, fix present 

 priorities to land held by these owners, or give them 



I do not think the association should try to 

 adjust these cases, because it is a practical certainty 

 that any board of directors of the association or any 

 special committee appointed by the board or asso- 

 ciation will have some members who are themselves 

 interested, either directly or indirectly in the matters 

 at issue. The legal fees and other expenses incurred 

 in making these investigations, etc., also will be 

 excessive. 



The suggestions here indicated are of such good 

 nature, that they do not in any way conflict with 

 the interests of the government, and therefore, .there 

 can be no good reason why the secretary should 

 object to them. On the other hand, they are of a 

 beneficial nature to the water users, and therefore, 

 in direct line with the object for which the Reclama- 

 tion Service was organized, namely, to make a 

 success of the project. 



