Arizona republican., 1903-10-04
Some Interesting Observations by
 Mir. Newell.

SOAAS SobthS OOSSA NSSsS~>S "
 Mr. Newell.
 In an interesting article written for the Kansas City Star on the problems which confront the government in carrying out the provisions of the na- tional reclamation act. MT. Frederick Haynes Newell, the chief engineer of the geological survey, clearly defines the scope of the great work in which he and his associates are engaged
 Every community for which storage works are to be constructed is vitally interested in having the work per formed under the direction of the very best engineering talent. It is gratify- ing, therefore. to know that the gov ernment is exercising unusual care in the employment of engineers.
 Tn order to carry out the purpose of the law an engineering corps has been organized. under civil service rules, each man being selected through com petitive examination" says MT. Newell. These examinations have been based largely on experience in actual plan lllh6 1iiQ COIlStt uCliOil O1 works. About 250 experienced men have thus been obtained. together with some younger men, with good technical education. From time to time other men are being added to the force. especially from the graduates of pro- fessional schools. The attempt Is be- ing made to obtain a. force of the most competent men of high principle and undoubted integrity, as 1t is be- heyed that the great hydraulic works can be planned and built only by men of the highest type.
 In each of the states and territories a general study Is being made of op- portunities for reclamation, and two or three projects. especially noteworthy are selected for careful survey. From Q comparison of results one of these is chosen by the district engineer. When he Is ready to report upon the work, with recommendations, the facts and figures are submitted to board of en- gineers, who pass upon these Some times additional information is sought or the conclusions are modified When agreement is reached the results are transmitted to the secretary of the in terior. with definite recommendations for immediate action and with full facts as to cost and benefits Final action is thus taken only after the most critical examination of existing conditions and comparison Of these with other projects
 ? He announces that actual construc- tion\ has begun on one project Gin Ne vada). and says. Tt is hoped that con- franfc will sooy, ba lat For ,,,orl, ;,, several other states He points out, however, that it is not alone in the solution of engineering problems that the government encounters knotty questions. and he undoubtedly has the Salt River valley in mind in saying:
 Under the terms of the law the works, when built, are to be paid in ten annual intsallments, and are ulti- mately to be owned and operated by the people using the water. The prob lefns before the reclamation service are thus not nearly all engineering in char acter. but are also largely legal and pertaining to the organization of the trrtgators into associations, such that the management can be placed in their hands. This is, perhaps. the most diff f1cult part of the work, namely, to bring together the discordant elements of community. torn by conflicts over water, and weld these into a compact organization sufficiently strong to maintain the works built by the gov ernment and distribute the water equitably."
 Conditions peculiarly familiar to this x-oflav dfoa,yScal hxyN Nfr his treatment of the problem of deal ing with lands in private holdings:
 Much of the best land In the valleys has. however, passed into private own ership. and along every stream is a continuous succession of claims taken up under the homestead or desert law The public land, as a rule, Is on the bench land, adjacent to the valleys Nearly every scheme for the reclama- tion of government land must of necessity involve the irrigation of lands in private ownership. The pro- visions of the law are such that the lands owned by individuals can be ir- rigated in small tracts, not to exceed 160 acres being allowed for each in diyidual. Great care Is being taken to have this feature of the law enforced in such a way as to require continu- Ous residence and cultivation of the land. whether originally in private or public ownership, the chief purpose being to bring about immediately a dense settlement in small, self-sustain- ing farms"
 "In the various projects under con- sideration are all extremes. from those where nearly all of the land is in public ownership, 10 those where most of the land is now owned by individuals. In the latter case the lands are now, for the most part vacant. cultivation hay ing been attempted with an inadequate supply of water, and failure ensued. If the land in private ownership were already irrigated, there would of course. be no need of governmental in reference, but in the ma ajority of in- stances, settlers have come in, with good faith and tried to make homes. In any event. whether they have or not. they can now obtain water under the law only by residence and cultiva-