176 OUR FEDERAL LANDS 



"The experiment of the United States in rec- 

 lamation has also demonstrated the necessity for a 

 careful and exhaustive study of soils and the selec- 

 tion of settlers. These are matters which are now 

 even more closely analyzed than engineering features 

 by the Bureau of Reclamation. 



"Another feature neglected in past enterprises, 

 to be considered in future development, is the part 

 towns and cities within the borders of reclamation 

 projects have to play. In the past settlers have been 

 required to bear the total cost of construction, while 

 towns and cities within the projects have escaped 

 liability, although their growth and prosperity have 

 been dependent upon project development and suc- 

 cess. The United States now seeks to contract with 

 the project as a whole and not with individual set- 

 tlers, so that the entire area and every acre within a 

 project shall be responsible for repayment of con- 

 struction costs. By the creation of an irrigation dis- 

 trict, with power of taxation, levies can be equitably 

 made on all property benefited by construction. A 

 part of the burden of cost can thus be taken from 

 the settler and producer and placed on the shoulders 

 of others benefited. 



"Modern reclamation takes into consideration 

 engineering, soil, settlers, markets, social conditions, 

 and taxation of all property benefited. The immense 

 prospective projects mentioned, like the Colorado 

 and the Columbia Basins, can be safely undertaken 

 by the Government, with assurance of tremendous 



