Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1903-10-10
IRRIGATION LETTER.
GOVERNMENT IRRIGATION THt CHEAPEST

! irrigation, who would like to soc all
the resources OF the west reserved for
speculaticn. RE asserting that the
work which the government has nLder.
taken might be performed m)re ecor
0mlcaly by private enterprises. The
claim Is utterly untenable, and for
reasons which are obvious upon the
slightest consideration.
To begin with there Is scarcely a
| place whc'c important irrigation work
may he done without acquiring a Ger.
tain amount " private property as the
| foundation Rights OF way, reservoir
sites and. sometimes, prior approprla.
lions In the water supply. must be
purchased in order TO clear the way
for comprehensive undertaking.
II often happens that such proper
lies have been held for years with a
Wow Of selling ut high prices when
the time for development shall arrive.
The private promoter who has select
et his field OF operations Is easily
subject 10 n hold up" He Is dealing
with hut a single proposition. He must
have these privileges. or abandon his
enterprise.
The government is in a very differ
ont situation. The irrigation law
charges the secretary OF the interior
with the duty OF investigating oppor-
tunities for rcclaimlng in sixteen
tates and territories. in each OF
which there are many chances for the
profitable expenditure OF funds at his
disposal. when his experts have deter
mined what Is reasonable price for
the property needed in a given local
ity. he Is in n position 10 say Take
IL or leave e." And everybody un.
lerstands that he means business.
The decllnation OF his proposition
means simply that his field of opera.
tons will be instantly transferred
in the matter. II one locality does
not want the help of Uncle Sam, then
there are fifty others that do. He
can. OF course. proceed by condemna-
ton to acquire the property and have
the case tried in a community which
Ia quite certain TO treat him fairly,
hut his strong card Is the fact that
the demand for government aid far
exceeds the supply and that he may,
therefore, always make far better
terms than private parties could nope
"a do. thus etfecting considerable
saving in the initial cost Of the work.
But this advantage is far less i'm
| portant than the one which the gov
eminent enjoys on the financial side.
| II Is VIGOROUSLY difficult TO finance
/ private irrigation enterprises nova.
days. II Is never done except upon
| the promise of enormous profits. Eek
anime the average promoters pros
pectus. and you will find that the prop
osition runs about like this:
The land is worthless without water
The company controls the only posi-.
bic source OF supply. When this is
developed. the land will instantly be
worth from s25 to $50 per acre unlm-
| proved, or twice as much after i'm.
| DiONti IL Will NOHl OHlN ~ W
$40 per acre to bring land and water
together. The government price OF
the land Is s1.25 per acre. The diff
ference between he cost OF land and
water and the value OF these ele.
mt nts when they have been united Is
profit" And the prospectus usually
figures that this will range all the
way from 100 20 500 per cent. Usually
| these alluring figures are still further
inflated by the suggestion that the
company can obtain plenty Of dry land
itself at government figures and hold
II for speculation.
But the gllttering prospectus Is not
| vet done with the homeseeker who
| forms the basis OF all these cheerful
| expectations II will be noted that he
is 60 practically put the system at
several times what II cost, but he Is TO
! own II afterwards? Decidedly not
The company still owns II and collect.
an annual rental for the use OF the
water to pay dividends-on what? On
a purely fictitious capitalization
/ EAbNhn anu bhiiNH WHICH lfHifS'uA Nv
investment except the cost of paper
and ink.
This Is the way private enterprise
builds irrigation works in the west
And the opponents of national irri-
cation say 1t Is cheaper than govern
ment enterprise. Cheaper for whom
II Is certainly not cheaper for the
man who wants 10 get home on the
land, Even IL the glittefing expecta.
tions OF profit are never realized. ex-
orbitant interest must be paid for the
use of the construction fund Men do
not send their money into new coun-
tries on ordinary terms. They de
mand a part OF the fabulous profit
which their capital is expected to ere.
ATE.
II Is cheaper for the people OF the
| United States-for industrial interests
of every description whose prosperity
is TO be enhanced by the opening and
settlement OF a mighty empire in
which millions OF men will ultimately
make their homes?
| No. no! Nothing could be more
costly to the people of the United