The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-24
WELCOME GOVERNMENTS AID.
Means Permanent Water Supply and
Will Cause Influx of Settlers.

Nernal. Nov. 19-The people of Uintah
county are becoming very much interest
ed i'm the work of Howard S. Reed. of the
United States geological survey. who has
taken an active personal interest in tie
question OF water storage on the head
waters OF Ashley creek Mr. Reed atten-
tiOn was called to the possibilities in this
direction during the EasU summer, while
taxing measurements of the flow of Ash
ley creek in connection with the bureau s
work of ascertaining the flow of the sew
eral streams of the Uintah reservation,
ana ne at once set 20 work to interest
the government in the matter along the
lines of the irrigation act The recent
action Of the department in issuing IN
struCIiOnS to Mr.. Reed TO forward a de-
tailed statement of the conditions here is
halled with great & a OF satisfaction,
as il is looked upon a. a step IN the di-
TectiOn of government aid in the matter
OF increasing the water supply. which IS
Of such vital importance TO every man.
woman and child in the county. All
throughout the county the fact is keenly
realized that government aid i'm building
and maintaining storage reservoirs on the
doubling of population and the creation of
twice as many homes. On many Of the
farms already under cultivation the dOuD-
ling up of the water supply would mean
the doubling of the amount of crops pro-
dUCed. 1t is safe TO say that with the
surplus water stored for use i'm the low
water season double the acreage would
be planted, and the material prosperity
of the county assured. With the advent
or railroad IuCllLleS, which now seems as
Sufed there VIII ne no better location Tor
a sugar factory in the west. as the bench
side of the Ashley valley has been dem
onstrated to be admirably adapted 20 the
culture Of the sugar beet where the
W;ger supply is sufficient - insure n
crop. Tt is "a peculiar fact that the lands
best adapted for beets have the least
water u1Eer the pref ent conditions, buC
with ideas of Mr.. Reeds practically ap-
piled all these lands that are now short
of water, and thousands of acres that are
not yet under ditch at all. can be made
valuable. and many more l&1mes ADDED to
those already established under present
conditions. A couple Of years ago local
reservoir company was formed for the
purpose Of accomplishing the same ends
that Mr. Reed now seeks to bring about
by government aid. The company was
formed by the canal companies now IN
existence consolidating for that purpose.
but obstacles were met with ut the out
set by reason of the sites of the pro-
posed reservoirs being upon she Tintah
forest reserve. which neccssita ted the us
ual red tame and tedious delay. Tt was
found also that the cost. added TO the eX-
pense of maintaining the present water
system would fail heavily uDOn the al
ready Over-taXed settlers. In view Of the
facts. the interest taken in the matter by
Mr.. Reed is hailed with no small degree
of satisfaction by the people genera lly.
who realize that if the government takes
hold of this matter the results viii be i'm
mediate and permanent and two blades OF
grass viii be made to grow where only
one grew befOre-d very much desired re-
suit i'm the west where Irrigation is the
foundation of the wealth of all the peO-
pie Mr.. Reed is certainly to be com
mcuded for the active interest he is tax
ing i'm the matter.