The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-03-26

+ Ex-senator Billy Mason told an inter-
viewer: I'm going home TO Chicago to
do little law, some politics and man
named Yates"
A special investigation of the 1000
claims against the judgment for S2.OOO,-
600. secured by the Six Nations. and the
Stockbridge, Munsee and BrothertOwn In
dams. is now in progress in the Office of
Indian Affairs in the Interior Department.
"A special investigator has charge of this
work. and it is expected that the wedding
out of invalid claims will occupy period
of six months. Claims have been received
from every State in the Union from peo-
pie who imagined they had a drop OF
Seneca blood. and the effort of the De
partment is TO eradicate this class before
the adjustment of the rolls is complete.
=
Some of the claims which come to the
Treasury for redemption and from well
educated people seem almost incredible
Treasurer Roberts says that hardly a
day goes by that Confederate money Is
not presented for redemption and fire.
Ouently there are several such requests in
!: single day. More rarely Continental
money is sent in for redemption. Some
times. a story spreads that the Govern
ment will pay a premium for the return
of certain notes or coins. These things
cause the clerks in the Treasury much
annoyance. The Government never pays
premium for the redemption OF any
money.
Once upon a time the North and South
nearly came to blows in the Senate
Chamber over the Rivers and Harbors
bill, when Senator Carter in the 56th
Congress talked the appropriation to
death. He said that there was nothing
in it for him or his people of the great
West and he could get nothing for irriga
ton, so the South should not have its
$10.Q00.000 for Rivers and Harbors. prac-
tically all of the appropriation going South
of Mason and DiXon's line.
Ex-senator Carriers soul must now be
delighted with the sum that is to be spent
in his pet scheme. The Interior Depart
ment has assigned to the Geological Sur
vey $7.000,000 of the 100000 which
Congress appropriated for the Public
Lands Committee, and all of this vast
sum is to be spent in irrigation schemes
and experiments. For 10 years the Geolog-
zeal Survey has been prospecting in the
arid regions of the West with the view of
determining where the least money could
be expended and accomplish the greatest
good.
That Department of the Government
has now outlined five projects which have
met with the approval of the Cabinet
The first is up in Wyoming. and is called
the Sweetwater project. 1t will be a mat
ter of damming the Sweetwater River.
The second enterprise is the Milk River
project. in Montana. This involves a stor-
age dam. diversion canal, and distribu
ting system. The third is the Truckee
in Nevada. which offers q problem similar
to that of the Milk River. The fourth
is the Salt River project, in Arizona,
where an immense storage dam is to be
built.
The fifth and last is the Gunnison pro-
ject, in Colorado. 1t differs from the
Others in that, instead of building a DAM
the irrigators will have TO bore a tunnel
u feet in diameter through four miles
of granite. No especial trouble is anti
cipated in building this tunnel, except at
the end away from the river, where shale
instead of granite will be encountered and
will require expensive Snoring.
y .
About 100000 acres of arid land will
be opened for cultivation if the five pro-
jects are completed. though the amount
of good accomplished will depend largely
upon the action of the land owners in
the sections where the work is to be DONE
Ten years have been spent by the geolo-
Slsts in surveying and mapping the arid
sections which are TO be improved and
the plans are now completed. One thing
that remains is to buy the land necessary
for the reservoirs. That will be the first
use 10 which the s7.000,000 will be put.
White the Government owns vast
quantities of land along the routes which
1t is expected will be improved, a great
deal of the land is owned by private in
dividuals, and these have 10 be consulted,
and In many cases, where the valleys are
to be converted into reservoirs, their land
has to be purchased. A great many of
these land owners have been already con-
suited and generally agree to the project.
w mere any are encountered who do not
agree 10 the terms, another route will be
selected and the plans changed to agree.
The scheme of the Government is to
make the Improvements pay for them
selves in 10 years. If 100000 acres of
private land are benefited and the dam
or tunnel cost 81 ,000, 600 each acre wouId
be assessed at $40, payable in 10 annual
instruments of 81 per acre, without inter-
est. If 10000 acres of private land and
the same amount of Government land
are improved the Government assumes
IT'S snare of the cost and holds il is a
lien against any purchaser Or homestead
er by whom it may be acquired.
-
i. III. Newell. Chief of the Division of
photography Of the Geological Survec.
says that some of the work may be I'M
ished in two years and that sons may
require i've years or more the plt,ing-
ness of the land owners to cooperate with
the Government being an important fea-
ture in reducing the time required.
Ex-Representative and Ex-Land Com
missioner Hermann, Of Oregon, is said to
be candidate for Representative from
the district left vacant by The death of
Representative Tongue.
Gov. De Forest Richards. of Wyoming.
says that President Roosevelt is antago
nizing the West in his irrigation plans. and
that 1t would not at all surprise him if
Goy. Cummings, of Iowa, were nominated
for President. My. My!
There are lot of people on earth who
seem 10 have paucity OF brains. vet they
go on living just as though they had a
fuil complement, and they make just as
much trouble. Now physician has taken
out piece of Il woman's brains. and she
seems TO be getting along just as well as
though she had lost none. The woman
had a tumOr in the brain, and it was
thought she would die anyhow, SO she
consented to the critical operation.
-