THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST 



343 



velt dam in Arizona, one of the most 

 massive in the world. It has completed 

 the Shoshone dam, in northern Wyoming, 

 the highest structure of its kind ever 

 built ; the Pathfinder dam, in southern 

 Wyoming, and the Laguna dam, in Ari- 

 zona. It will for the first time utilize 

 the Gunnison tunnel, whose completion 

 was celebrated by President Taft last 

 summer. 



The funds available for construction 

 are somewhat less than in previous years, 

 and the organization, which is very elas- 

 tic, has been cut down to fit reduced 

 expenditures. About 50 skilled men — 

 engineers, experts, and technical assist- 

 ants — have either sought private employ- 

 ment, have been transferred to other 

 bureaus of the Government, or put on 

 furlough, in order to keep the overhead 

 charges consistent with the expenditures. 



Reviewing the history of the Reclama- 

 tion Service as a whole, its maximum 

 activity and expenditures were in the 

 year 1907. In 1902 the expenditures 

 were less than $100,000, and in 1903 

 less than $1,000,000. In 1904 they 

 were $2,500,000; in 1905, $5,000,000; in 



1906, a little less than $10,000,000; in 



1907, nearly $14,000,000. Then the ex- 

 penditures decreased to $10,000,000 in 



1908, to about $9,000,000 in 1909, and in 

 1910 they will be a little under $8,000,- 

 000. It is expected that in 191 1 they will 

 shrink to about $7,000,000, which sum 

 will probably continue to be available 

 during after years, assuming that the 

 water-right charges are paid as they fall 

 due. 



If Congress should make a loan to the 

 fund it would, of course, be possible to 

 increase or even double the outlay and 

 finish extensions of various systems in 

 half the time otherwise required. 



This is the most critical period in the 

 history of national irrigation since the 

 passage of the Reclamation Act, in 1902. 

 By public notices of the Secretary of the 

 Interior, issued last year, hundreds of 

 water-right installments, involving ap- 

 proximately $1,000,000, became due on 

 April I, 1910. That date is a memorable 

 one, not only to the settlers, whose en- 



tries are liable to cancellation for failure 

 to make the payments due, but also to 

 the Reclamation Service, which is con- 

 cerned in securing the return of its in- 

 vestment in the engineering works. It is 

 also a matter of interest to citizens of 

 the number of sections containing feasi- 

 ble projects, the construction of which 

 cannot be undertaken without additional 

 funds. As the repayments are made 

 through the local land offices and not 

 directly to the Service, some time must 

 elapse before the actual amounts col- 

 lected are known. On a number of the 

 projects, like Sun River, Shoshone, and 

 Huntley, the settlers have already made 

 their initial payments, and will not be 

 delinquent on the second installment until 

 April, 191 1, which enables them to mar- 

 ket two crops between payments. On 

 several other projects, such as the Mini- 

 doka, Klamath, Lower Yellowstone, Belle 

 Fourche, Carlsbad, Truckee - Carson, 

 North Platte, and others, the first settlers 

 have had the use of water for two crops, 

 and it is probable that a majority will be 

 able to meet their obligations without 

 difficulty. 



Detailed reports from various sources 

 on each of the projects have been re- 

 ceived at Washington. The conditions 

 as a whole are described as favorable for 

 a large return to the Reclamation fund. 

 On several of the projects there will be 

 no delinquents. On a number of pro- 

 jects the engineering work is not fully 

 completed, but water is ready for large 

 areas, and is being supplied on a rental 

 basis pending the announcement of the 

 actual cost of water right. The Recla- 

 mation Service has derived considerable 

 revenue from these sources, and at the 

 same time the farmers have been enabled 

 to increase the areas in cultivation. The 

 following financial statement is interest- 

 ing as showing the status of the Recla- 

 mation fund and the amounts which thus 

 far have been credited to it through the 

 operations of the Reclamation Service: 



Total moneys received and transferred 

 to the Reclamation fund from sales of 

 public lands under Reclamation Act to 

 February 28, 1910, $58,342,617.02. Ap- 



