The Globe-republican., 1903-09-24
Government Should Settle the
UnderAow Question
by MAKING PRACTICAL TEST
Senator Smith Thinks That
100000 Would Be suf.
ticient for the Test.

Fred Dumont Smith, Of the Kinsley
Mercury, is agitatinga d Government tesI
Nof the Arkansas river underfow. He
says In the Mercury:
p It Isl known fact that there Is an In
exllauslible supply of water in the sand
and gravel, to The depths of hundreds Of
feet, In lbe Arkansas valley extending
from bluff to bluff.
If any means could be devised to raise
this water by gravity or underdrain, SO
that there would be A continuous flow,
the whole valley in Kansas, as well as
the table lands on each side for miles,
could be thoroughly irrigated and yet
have no effect on the flow In the river
bed only 10 increase by the drainage back
into the river from the irrigating bitches.
That this supply is inexhaustible has
been demonstrated In Edwards county,
Kansas, where Geo. W. Watson, Of
Kinsley, Kansas, (knOwn in The state by
the name of "Colonel UudelfOw'0 a few
years ago for The purpose of testing the
question, put down well Two miles
from the river in the valley, but on a
knoll or slight rise Of ground. He used
an old smoke stack three feet In
diameter, punched this full OF holes with
q pick for three feet Of Its length then
sunk 1t until 1t was twelve feet In the
water, then put in centrifugal pump
that would throw one hundred thousand
gallons per hour, put on a ten horse
pow0,s engine, built a reservoir covering
a half acre, and after getting the bottom
water tight commenced pumping and
pumped night and day for one week and
1t was impossible to pump The well dry.
After stopping the pump the well
would fill up 10 water level ina few min
utes, then when the pump was started
up it wculd empty the well down ten
feet IN one or two, minutes. Then the
water would come in so rapidly through |
the holes punched In the casing, and
with so much pressure, 1t made cataract
extending clear across the three feet
space. This was caused of course by the
heavy pressure of water and not by sue.
tion Of the pump, as the pipe to which
the pump was attached hung loose in the
middle of the well.
A test hole was put down fifty feet
from the well and when the pump had
been running for hours AMI throwing
one hundred thousand gallons per hour;
the surface level Of the water, only fifty
feet away, was only lowered an inch or
two.
The river valley In Kansas has a fall
Of I feet per mile. Now with a siphon
laid until the lower end was as low as
the suction pipe in this well, there would
be a natural and continuous flow of
water that would have filled a ppea foot
In diameter or more. Now II this Is
true, then with well 20 feet In diane.
ter and twenty feet into tho water, with
a four foot pipe laid down The river val
ley to pOiut where thelower end would
be lower than the bottom Of the said well |
and the air pumped out of said pipe,
there would bc a continuous flow OF {
water the full size Of the foot pipe. II
there was any danger Of the accumula- |
tion o. air at the elbow that could be q
overcome with small air pump and a Q
small windmill. IL
If the government would furnish the 4
money to test this proposition by putting b
in one plant and this theory proved cor /
tect, there could than be sufficient capi- n
tai raised to pnt in plant every mile, II n
necessary, as every half mile would more t
lhsn supply the water to I'LL a pipe 5 feet
10 diameter. :
This arrangement would not In the
least interfere with the State, county or
Individual rights In the natural flow Of :
.be river, but as before stated would In.
crease the natural flow by bringing
water to the surface which would seep 0
back into The river bed at a higher loyel Il
han from which II was raised, and v
very draw or dry stream along the river !
would, when all the land was irrigated, Il
become running streams. 81
One hundred thousand dollars would b
certainly be enough to put In a plant L
With at least a foot pipe. p
And II this proved a success on the Ar. In
,ansas river the same process might ap. Il
Ny to Plat and other streams with sufil- q
lent fall and with sand and gravel sub v