26 CONSERVATION THROUGH ENGINEERING. 



it should be able to pay its own bills without placing fresh burdens 

 on the national treasury. It is in the confident belief that such is 

 actually the case that I suggest the policy of reclamation by means 

 of local districts, financed on the basis of their own credit but with 

 the fullest measure of encouragement and moral support of the 

 Government, practically expressed through the Reclamation Service. 

 In this connection it seems worth while to recall that with a net 

 expenditure of $119,000,000 the Reclamation Service has created 

 taxable values of $500,000,000 in the States where it has operated. 

 The ratio is better than three to one, and that is a wider margin of 

 security than is usually demanded by the most conservative banking 



n methods. There is no reason to doubt that the overflow lands of the 

 South, the cut-over areas of the Northwest, and the abandoned farm 

 districts of New England and New York and other States would 

 do quite as well as the deserts of the West if handled by such an 

 _organization. 



^What is the legitimate function of the Government in connection 

 with reclamation districts to be financed entirely upon their own 

 credits without the aid of national appropriations? I should say 

 that the Government, with great advantage to the investor, the land- 

 owner, the future settler, and the general public, might do these 

 things : 



1. Employ its trained, experienced engineers, attorneys, and econo- 

 mists in making a thorough investigation of all the factors involved 

 in a given situation, to be followed by a thorough official report upon 

 the district proposed to be formed. 



2. Offer the district securities for public subscription in the open 

 market. This, of course, would follow the actual organization of the 

 district and the approval of its proceedings by the Government's 

 legal experts. 



3. Construct the works of reclamation with proceeds of district 

 bond sales, and administer the system until it becomes a " going 

 concern," when it may be safely confided to its local officers. 



The most obvious advantage of Government cooperation is the 

 fact that it would assure the service of a body of engineers, builders, 

 and administrators trained in the actual work of reclamation. This 

 advantage, as compared with the management that might be had 

 in a sparsely settled local district, would often make all the dif- 

 ference between success and failure. Unquestionably it would ma- 

 terially reduce the interest rate on district bonds and greatly facili- 

 tate their sale in the open market. 



There are other advantages less obvious but really more impor- 

 tant. Experience has shown that great enterprises can best be han- 

 dled under centralized control. This control, to be effective, must 

 extend from the initiation to the completion of the project. There 



