New-York tribune., 1903-03-24
TRRGlTION'S VAST COST.
WAY DOUBLE ESTIMATES.
Uncle SANS Hage Project Far More
Expensive than Was Expected.
rur rEIEo1Arz TO TIE TRIBUNE.


Rress, According to q statement made oy sec
ratarv Hitchcock to-day, the cost. instead OF
hs,rr Ss an acre as has ell along been estl-
nateA will not be less than $11 66 an acre, and
q IA nv no means certain that the expense can
ha kspt within that figure. As the cost OF IT.
rieation is to be added pro rata TO the custom
srv 81 Is an acre charged for public lands the
vyexteru settler will not secure the bargain ne
may have expected.
The occasion for the discrepancy between sne
estimates made whan the law was under con-
stderation and those now made by the govern
rnent experts is said to be attributable 70 three
causes: First, the cost of IS was arrived A
by averaging the expense incurred by private
eornorations which had performed similar work.
h,,t Il In now discovered that the private COM
panies have secured possession OF ell the sites
where cheap irrigation can be practlseo' anu
those which the government Will have 10 I'M
prove are ell Of more expensive anu ui'iio
character: second, the economical showing ii'Aoe
bv nrIvste companies Is due in many instances
to the temporary character OF the WORK. "I'ie"
II has been intended to replace with more per
usnent and expensive plants when the Proh'S
began to accumulate; third "heh cohs
passed the Irrigation law 1t incorporated there
., a r-ovisJon that all work should be done un-
der an eight hour labor contract and that no
Mongoliau labor should be employed. Ihese
provisions have resulted in materially lhcleas
ing the cost OF the work to the federal authori-
ties.
According to the instructions OF the oecl
of the Interior, acting with the aoVlce ol sNe
officials of the Geological Survey, every poI ''oi
OF the engineering work undertaken oS 'l7 s.
ernn1ent will be OF the highest grade ana oui't
to last for centuries. No risks OF "dSHeu o
dams will he taken, and no errors in calculation
y1o{To "a fHan
At the present time it is believed that the "oIA
=, tho FIVE nroiects already selected can oe
cornn,eted for the average price an acre Named
b,+ there is still possibility of further increase
PEMARKABLE PROJECT IN MONTANA
Perhaps the most remarkable undertaking VI
tba work thus far outlined will be what Is
known as the St. Mary's River project. in Mon
+ana IF IL here proposed to divert the greater
nortIon oF the St Mary's River, which rises III
the Rocky Mountains in Montana. ana no"s
through Canada to Hudsons Bay from lts
natural channel, and. by means or a canai'
empty 1t into the Mix River, tributary OF inc
Missouri so that its waters will eVentually hhu
their way into the Gulf of Mexico. 10 ACCOM-
rIish this It will be necessary to construct q
dam fifty feet in height across the 81 Mary g
River thus forming q reservoir, Tor "hhch 'ile
Ct Marv's Lake will be the basis, twenty-five
acre feet Of water-that is, sufficient to cover
osn nnn acres to a depth of one foot. A canal
twentv-seyen miles long will connect the reser-
vor with the North Fork Of the Mix River
and the water thus obtained will, II Is est-
mated prove suficient to irrigate 24OOOo acres
of land along the Milk River between HaVre
and Glasgow, Mont. 1t is not expected 70 ol-
vert the entire flow Of the St Merys River, as
there are some irrigation canals on the CANADIAN
side of the border whose rights must be re-
snected For one hundred miles the North Fork
Of the Milk River flows through Canadian ter
rjtory but only at one place would it be pos
stbls for the Canadians to tap 1t, and II this Is
done II will become necessary later on to build
a longer canal by which the st. Mary's will be
diverted to the MarIas River, another tributary
of the Milk River, wholly in American terri
tory.
LIKE AN IsTHMIAN CANAL SCHEME.
A project which resembles on a miniature scale
the Darien isthrnian canal scheme will be under
taken at Gunnison, Col, where a tunnel, ap-
proximateIy 10 by - feet, will be bored for six
miles through solid rock to the valley of the
Uncompahgre. The point on the Gunnison from
which the tunnel will start is in the Grand
Gorge, which IS 1900 feet deep and probably 40
feet wide A dam will be constructed across this
gorge to form & reservoir. and the water will
be distributed at will along both sides Of the
Uncomphagre Valley, and will irrigate an area
estimated at 10000 acres. At the Devils
Gate of the SWeetwater River, in Wyoming,
the natural gorge is to be utilized by the con-
struction OF great dam 100 feet high, 80 feet
long at the bottom and 300 feet long at the
top, 81 feet thick at the base and 25 feet thick
at the top. By means OF this dam it will be
possible to store 326965 acre feet of water
which win be fed out for irrigation purposes
through the dam. The dam will be of solid
masonry. This site is described by Captain
Hiram NJ Chittenden. OF the engineer corps, as
the most favorable site In the world for great
masonry dam" It will be remembered that
it was through Devils Gap that the Astorians
passed on their return trip in 1872, and for
many years II was part Of the overland trail to
Oregon and California.
Inc fourth Irrigation project already deter
mined upon by the government will be located
on the Salt River, in Arizona. An immense
reservoir will be constructed by means Of a
dam approximately 600 feet long and 200 feet
hieh the surface Of which Will be 10 feet broad
and which will be used as a roadway. This
face being upstream. The total capacity Of the
reservoirs SO created, If 1t is found practicable
20 carry the dam to the height stated, will ap-
OF this dam the energy OF the water Will be
used to furnish the power needed, not only in
constructing the immense pile of masonry, but
In manufacturing the cement, concrete etc.
STORING WATER OF TWO RIVERS
Tne last ana most complex irrigation project
thus far determined upon by the government is
in Nevada. Is known the Truckee-Carson
project and has for its purpose the storing oc
the waters Of the Truckee and Carson rivera
While no engineering enterprise striking as
those outlined above is involved, the presence
OF numerous private irrigation companies adds
materially 10 the difficulties which will be en-
couateTed: series of reservoirs, several by
means OF dams, is to be constructed, and
eventually an area Of not less than 1916
acres VIII be rendered susceptible OF rriRati
Speaking Of this project F. H Newell the
hYdroRranher charoe sas,s. .arhis is nra oR