Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1904-07-23
= 4AA4Al 4
4. Story Of the Franz
e ing and Passage Of 4
the irrigation BiH
+ + r r + r + r r r + + 3.


Wy NHNNNNN| ID ~ Ah'.N." ~
Some one will yet realize the im.
portancc OF writing the history of the
work that led up TO the framing and
7 the PASSAGE of the reclamation act
and viii do GO from The Official records
/ what ! shall DO lu that regard here ls
I mere uiihand statement of my re.
collection Of the matter, as look
/ part la 10 and saw 30 in The a1th con.
erpss The law itself has often been
I justly characterized as tHo greatest
since the homestead act ! desire to
give credit 90 those members uf
/ congrcas Go whose energy thc nation.
and me west 90 particular. are Injcbt.
I ed Tor the passage of the Dim
The BIN became "a law ON June ian.
I 1909. % consists OF ten sections and
occupies hut little more than two and
one hall pages OF the laws OF that SOS.
sion % does not apply to iho whole
| United states. hui only to tho arid
/ and scmlarid sections OF thp country
! lt Us not applicable to Texas because
| that great state is itself the owner OF
/ all the public lands % contains
The act provides that an moneys
received from the sale and disposal
Of public lands Ia Ar.zonio California.
| Colorado. Idaho. Kansa., Montana So.
| braska. Novrda. New Mexico North
Dakota. Oklahoma. oregon, South
l Dakota Utah. Washh. con and Wyo.
ming beginning with June 3u'h 1901.
| excepting certain fees aud other slight
deductions. are reserved and so' aside
lu One treasury and 90 bo known as
| the reclamation fund. 90 ho used for
the construction of irrigation works as
/ provided in the act 10 will Doe noticed
/ that the act was dated back q yoar.
and that 90 ga. therefore. now hut
/ three years old yet the fund already
contains more than S25.OO0Oo0 when.
ever an irrigation project ls undor'k.
en-, under The acr the people who set.
/ tlo the lands that are irrigated must
/ pay back to the government the entire
/ cost of the enterprise In ten annual
inHaIlmonts. without interest
Tho entire act was framed hy the
/ gentlemen here below mentioned Just
as 10 appears in the law. save that the
ninth section was added M confer
once. which provides that at the end
| ~ ercry tcnyear period the govern.
mont must have spent ln each state
or territory. if there are feasible pro.
| iocts there. at least the amount of
money that arose from the sale of
lands therein In about the month OF
December 1901, Representative Now
lands now senator. of Nevada. Sen.
ators Hausbrough of North Dakota.
| Dubois OF Idaho. Warren. OF Wyoming
| and Representatives Moudoll, of Wyo.
ming. ShafrOth. OF Colorado. Roodcr
90 Kansas. Jones of Washington. and
others. SEN, a notice ~ OH western
momhorH of congress 20 meet in Sen
ator Wurrons room. loo the north
end of tho capitol. on certain even
ing. 90 consid-. the matter of framing
proper irrigation law, a good many
senators and members OF tho house
responded 10 that invitation, including
! myself. and the members who there
anar continued to attend these meet
lnps we're those above mentioned. aud
Senators Gibson. OF Montana Ke0rn7
OF Utah. Foster. OF Washington. Pat
torsOn aud Teller of Colorado. Diet
rich. Of Nebraska. McCumhor. of
Norfh Dakota. Mitchell OF orc
eon. Kitredgo of South Ia.
koia. Bard. az california. an,
Representative Tongue and Moody
of Oregon. Martin. oft South Dakota
sutherland. OF Utah. BDll Of Colorado
and Delegates Smith, of Arizona. 70
dcy OF New Mexico. and Flynn. %
Oklahoma To these gentlemen. par
ticunrly 60 Newlands, Hansbrough
Mondcll. Warren. shairoih. Gibson
Bard. Patterson. Dubois Reeder
Jones ana myself can truthfully b
given the credit for having done th
most work 90 connection with th
framing and passage of the great LAYS
We met ln that room three times
Pei week. and sat Boz session from oclocI
until midnight uf each week. mcotIn
j. FOR as much as four months Duriu
p that time every word line and sen
tonce of the biu as DO was attorward
g enacted into Jaw. except fhc ninth so,
J. tIon. was thoroughly discussed In al
p. u8 possible bearing auI from 600 U0.
sibla viewpoints.
% must be stated here that Tor ma9
]. years previously several Of the ahoy
J, mentioned gentlemen particular
?, NDwshnds. Hansbrlush Mondoll Dr
/ BoIs, Warren and shaifoth, had hllI
!, before congress on thp irrigation que.
J, tion. but nearly rrI uf which diliere
: radically, aud none of which camprl.
:, ed tho idea of using tbe moneys %.
J. rived from tho sale of public land d
B. fund to reclaim other lands hu
D. nearly of which asked for q direct aI
q preparation from congress for that pu
!. pose, as is the case in the river am
harhor bill This committee. which q
met ia Senator Warrens offc
r throughout the winter of 1903. ha
"a an of these bills before it and "a
unlimited amount OF literature. COZ
/. tributed by the geological survey an
by all sorts Of Irrigation congresse
associations and hoiiea throughout th
nation. These bills and other info
nation before tho committee wei