Arizona republican., 1902-01-02
ON A FALSE SCENT
lrrigationistS in Congress May
 Lose Hard Earned Ground
They Abandon the Principle Which Brought Them the Support Of the Eastern Members Last Winter. No General Bill Likely to Pass.

| Washington, January L--Members of congress generally and especially those from eastern states have been studying with lively interest the pro posed national irrigation bill recently formulated by the committee of west ern members. This bill has not created q favorable impression; in fact. it has been a distinct disappointment.
 The increase of sentiment in favor of national irrigation which has been so noticeable in congress during the past year has been largely built up or the principle adopted in the Hansbor- ough-Newlands bill Of last session. This bill proposed that all money ex- pended by the United States in the reclamation of arid government lands should be returned to the treasury of the United States by those who se- cured the direct benefit. The new com mittee bill, as it will be presented to congress in January. proposes that the government should produce a wate.' supply for the arid lands at cost not exceeding S10 per acre for the land to be irrigated. and the homesteader should pay the government but So per acre as his quota of the cost of the reservoir or main line canal.
 Tine most serious objection to the pol icy of national aid to irrigation pre- scented by the humid regions was th. uncertainty as to the amount to be cx- pended by the government and the probability of the expenditure of many millions without adequate returns. The plan suggested in the original Hans brough- -Newlands bill in the Fifty sixth congress met this opposition by proposing that the west should reclaim itself That the product from the sales Of public lands should constitute an arid land reclamation fund to be used for irrigation works. That each tract of land as reclaimed should repay to the treasury the cost of such recIama- ton in ten annual installments, but without interest or profit.
 When this plan was proposed it was hailed throughout the country as an easy and logical way out of the diff culty and comment was generally fla vorable. The idea that the cost of this reclamation of government lands shall, so far as possible. be repaid by the set tiers who get the land has become so fixed in the minds Of the executive of ficers of the government and of a ma jority of the members of congress. that it is adopted by President Roosevelt in
  tary of the Interior in his most recent report. The president says: The land reclaimed should be reserved by the government for actual settlers and the cost of construction should so far possible be repaid by the land re- claimed The secretary of the interi- or says: ''The lands to be benefited by such works should be reserved for homestead entry. only in small tracts. each being subject to the payment be- fore the title is passed of a sum equiv alent to the cost of storing or conserv- ing the water such payment to be made. if desired, in installments eN- tending over a number of years"
 It will be observed that both the president and the secretary of the in- terior has recommended that the land itself should bear the cost of reclama tion The present committee bill. which will shortly come up for consid- era ation. abandons this idea upon which tine principal support has been secured in the east for the national irriga tion movement, provides that the govern ment shall not reclaim, lands where such reclamation will cost more than $1O per acre, and establishes d fixed price to the settler of 8 per acre for ali land reclaimed by the government.
 The idea of placing a limit upon the cost per acre for reclamation works is net based upon q business proposition. In the extensively arid regions, such as Arizona. Utah, New Mexico and many other places, it will undoubtedly cost more than $10 per acre to reclaim the land. and thus many desirable and much needed projects would be entire 1y excluded. There is another feature which must be taken into account, and that is the increased irrigating value of certain water supply. It is very (Continued on Tenth Page)