The Lamar register., 1903-03-04
State Engineers Office.

In the new appropriation bill to pro-
vide salaries and funds for the off,
GERS and departments of the state gov
ernment the Office of state engineer has
been given some large advances. These
were all.made. the committee on appro-
priatiors states. on the recommends
tion of Professor Carpenter. who will
be the state engineer for the next two
years. Professor Carpenter was indif-
ferent to the appointment when II was
offered him. owing to the poor equip
ment of the office and the small
amounts allowed for salaries.
During the last two years a great
deal of engineering work has been nee
essary to secure testimony for the suit
of Kansas against Colorado for the wa
ters of the Arkansas river. Under the
appropriation of two years ago. there
was no money to carry on this work.
and it had to be either neglected or
done by outside parties Mr.. Carpen-
ter himself was called upon and fur
nished good share of the engineering
facts that have been already introduced
as testimony.
When Mr.. Carpenter looked over the
present facilities for doing the work
required of the state engineer he found
the appropriations of the last years to-
tally inadequate. How the other engi-
neers had managed to worry through
he did not exactly understand They
had done their best, he found. but were
work in any sort of form to be of use
unable to preserve the records of their
to following engineers. The reasons
Mr.. Carpenter urged for the increased
appropriations were continued in a
statement furnished the committee. He
asked that the appropriation for trav-
cling expenses be increased to $1,000 a
year, as $500 was found to be insufii-
cient even before the Kansas suit was
begun. The engineer asked for $4,000
to enable the office to carry out the
present requirements of the law in re-
spect to stream guaging. rating of
bitches. examination of dams and res
ervoirs and other work connected with
the irrigation system of the state. Two
years ago one assistant was taken from
the office. crippling its work. and he re-
quested that he be restored.
The item of stenographer and clerk
was added to the list because there is
more work than one can do in keeping
up the records and preserving them
for subsequent use. For the past two
years the office has been without a
draughtsman, seriously retarding that
work. There is more work now on
hand than one draughtsman can pos
sibly complete in two years. The sup
ply of instruments is so deficient that
all the money that can be DETECTED for
that purpose can be used.
These recommendations of the in
coming engineer were supported by the
statements of the last engineer. The
committee on appropriations granted
almost all that Mr. Carpenter asked.
The members told him that the state
would depend on his office to do much
of the work in proving that Kansas
had no claim to the waters of the Ar
kansas, and would, therefore, be one
of the most important branches of the
state government. Not only the Kan
sas suit. but the states system OF irri-
eating canals, bitches and reservoirs.
depended upon him. There are doz-
en- laws detailing the duties OF the
state engineer, and each of them gives
almost work enough for a separate
man during the entire year. The pol
icy of the present administration has
been stated to be to make the depart
ments of government effective or drop
them altogether.