New-York tribune., 1900-01-07

ways be of moderate extent and generally
quite small, reclaimable chiefly by spring,
underfow. little creek ''arroya." now used. il
at all. only for pastoral purposes. The entire
pastoral area proper may be set down at
350Q000O0 acres. One reclaimable acre in thir-
ty-hve will add 10, O0OO 900 to the irrigabe body.
AS 1t is generally assumed that an average ir-
rigated acre is equal in production under proper
cultivation and water service to three ordinary
acres in the humid regions. the value of this
addition when wrested from pastoral use also
can be easily apprehended.
The two cubic inches over the whole region
which Chttenden considers may be stored
make sum total in both water volume and
economic value that It is almost impossible to
present to non-experts in a form that can be
reasonably grasped.
CALCULATIONS IN "ACRE-FEET."
His calculations show that for every cubic
foot stored over two cubic feet made directly
available A cubic foot distributed over the
land surface some years since stated by
Major John w. Powell In term that fits-that
of acre-feet One solid cubic foot OF water to
each surface foot Of field would thus, when
covering an acre, be known as an acre-foot
This estimate of two inches Is less in some To-
calities and more in others. Chittenden allows
one-twenty-f fourth Of a foot-that is, one-half of
a cubic inch-as the limit of possible conserva
tion
Such limit would not need to be reached
within one hundred years. The total in cuoic
feet of water would require almost unthinkable
totals 4, ,161, 900, 100000. With a system which
would grow year by year. this comprehensive
effort to command vast supply could be made
to give each year an additional storage of
266, 800 acre-feet The usual calculation is one
acre-foot of water for one of land.
FIRST COST OF STORAGE.
For 266 300 acre-feet this will average. accord
ing to the Chittenden estimate 50 81 an acre
foot, making a total storage outlay annually of
81. .430,031, or. for period of hundred years.
a total of $143 003, 100 Maintenance per an
mum will not exceed 1 per cent of the original
cost or $14,303. For the hundred years it would
reach $1.43O,3O0. If the works were from the
first constructed TO meet the full requirements
of the sites (and the engineer is estimating upon
the basis of those he has examined the cost
would be about one-half But the first group
of cost figures are sufficient for the purpose,
Colonel Chittenden puts the present value OF
an acre-foot of water at an average OF 81 10.
This is probably understated, but on that low
estimate alone it is possible to get at the results
THE PUBLIC USE OF WATER.
In the Army engineers presentation all water
stored by the United States must be for the
free use of those who need 1t, and thus stand
the equivalent in the regions affected for
the benefits that accrue elsewhere from river
and harbor improvements. running at
cost of from $20,000,000 to $25.O00,O00 year.
The National benefit is to be derived from the
enormous increase of defensive tax paying, life
supporting power that will be gained The di-
rect gain in dollars and cents to the communi-
ties that would be thus benefited by such
water supply seems paltry compared to the
other vast increase Of benefits that would follow
the annual addition of such power.
Take, for example what has already been
achieved. The intermountain basin region. of
which the State of Utah is the organized repre-
sentative. will without question be accepted as
the embodiment OF the most sterile and arid
conditions. In 1850 the Mormons had begun to
scratch the narrow valley lands OF the Jordan.
Their availability for food production under irrt-
cation soon demonstrated.
The preface prepared by Captain George b.
Mcclellan to the great compilation he had made
under orders of all the Pacific Railroad and re-
lated expeditions through the Cordillerean region
of the United States stated that there were
not four hundred thousand acres Of land that
could be made serViCeable for agricultural uses.
Mormon settlers had demonstrated to the extent
of thirty thousand acres that in the worst sec
ton reclamation by irriga tion of many millions
of acres possible. In Utah alone there are to-
day twice as many acres under fine cultivation
by irrigation, and the total farm acreage to-day
is not less than 1,400,O00, the value of products
raised therefrom being at least $6,000.000. With
in the area condemned to perpetual sterility or
committed alone to spare pastoral use, there
not less than two hundred thousand
inclosed farms, embracing over one hundred and
fifty million acres with production moderately
valued at 1926, 100000.
On the plains region alone of the condemned
area there are 27.000 miles of railroad In all
the region there are not less than $4,000 miles.
There at least double that number Of miles
in telegraph and telephone wire, yet many can
recall when the overland wires were first being
strung in Nebraska. The proper valuation of
property, real and personal will not be less for
the region than S3.5O0,O00,000.
THE MEASURE OF VALUES.
Colonel Chittenden's contention as to value to
be created is beyond dispute. Several hundred
millions in money have been appropriated and
used for the Improvement Of rivers and har-
bors. The acquisition and management of our
public domain. with the cost Of wars, ETC., that
have arisen over the same, have cost at least
S5O0,OOOOOO more than the direct return there
from. But how shall the other advantages be
measured? Can the public land States be
weighed and measured along the debit and
credit line? If so, then the advantages
enormously favorable to the policies however
crude. which have invited settlement, created
railroads, built cities, covered the land with
schoolhouses, and brought, almost as If by the
rubbing Of an Aladdin's lamp, the enormous
forces Of wonderful material civilization into
being. RICHARD ]. HINTON.