Rocky Ford enterprise., 1904-10-21
Example Of the Working Of Re.
cent National irrigation Act.
HIGHEST DAM IN THE WORLD
Gigantic Reclsmstlos Works 10 Aslsoaa
How lrrisation Fund Is Created
sad How 4 viii Be Used-Esd.
less Chain Of Arid Mosey.

Hon. Alexander o. Brodie. Governor
Of Arizona, In an article on irriga alton.
appearing In the October number Of the
Cosmopolitan. referring TO the operations
Of the National Irrigation Act In the
arid regions Of the West, says In part:
''rhe first application Of the new lrri.
CATION law has fallen to the territory OF
Arizona. Three millions Of dollars have
been set aside by the Secretary Of the
Interior from tho reclamation fund for
the construction Of n dam at tho mouth
Of the Tonic creek on Salt river. Work
upon this dam Is now under way. Ce-
mcnt works to manufacture the cement
needed In the construction Of the great
dam are being built. also an electrical
power plant. The river is being d.
vcrted by the construction Of tun-
mel through the mountain In order that
there shall be no interference from that
source during construction.
imm-nss Kessrvoir.
"Tho Tonic reservoir. when created by
the construction OF the dam. will cover
1900 acres. The height Of the dam
will 10 3iS feet and the depth Of the
water stored ut the dam will be 100
feet; the dam will he it5 feet thick at
the bottom nnd 10 feet thick at the top.
In length IL will bc zoo feet at the base
and G53 feet at the top. This will be
the highest dam In the world. The stor-
age capacity Of tho reservoir will bc
greater than that Of almost any three
artificial reservoirs ever built. xufficicnt
to cover 800. 900 acres Of land one foot
In depth.
The reservoir will supply water sum
cieut TO Irrisat. 10000 ncres Of land.
There arc In Salt River Valley about
10000 acres Of land suitable for irri-
cation. Under tho present system OF un-
certain water supply. only llh,0oO acres
arc under criiivnti tion-morc land. how
ever. than tho supply Of water warrants.
II was estimated that tho dow Of wa
ter last year would bring q full yield OF
crops from aboat 1900 acrs.
Crops Aiways sase.
THE benefits To accrue In Salt River
Valley can thus readily Ia seen. When
wc consider that fn'n four to seven cut.
tin.s Of alfalfa are possible during the
year In the Salt River Valley. what will
bc the yi-id-nin,ic cerinin by water
stored aud ready for u-~-und~r the con.
di,ions cr~at.,i Icy III. T.nio ism7
'wIth ;hr certainty of pisinrssc In the
valley. cattirm-u will engage more ex.
trnsir-iy IN stock raising: hay. rrain and
vegetables will seek an open ncw market
In tho interior mining districts. and thou.
sands Of farm. Will become more profit.
able. IL Ia -s,imntc,i that q million
and half dollars worth Of alfalfa hay
aud fat cattle Rrc exported from Salt
River Valley annually. With a full crop
OF from 10000 10 1000 acres. the
wcai,h.pFoJucinE capacity Of alfalfa
alone will H. sufficient To pay for the
reservoir In less time than ls allotted ~
laws TO the farmers.
ot ilsn.-s s~it thu, the creation Of TN
aid Of irrigation ~ .t.-'..-ihc forcrunncty
ually upon all streams In the tst.n.li4
where proper sii-s eau bc found. irrira/
iion works will lee constructed: II
where the iioa,i water supply Ia and
sufficient to guarantee. more than ono
reservoir will bc created upon single
surplu. water may Lc had.
The new cra II progress In the arid
region of the United States has set In
with an enthusiasm that means success:
for, as Emerson wrote. Nothing great
was ever achieved withou, enthusiasm
."
htAN
crcncc to this ono project. what the gov
crnmcnt IL already doing In the arid
States of the West. There are about
s:1.0oo.opo now in the reclamation fund.
as a result Of the sale Of government
lands In the arid States. where irrigation
operations arc to bc established. II takes
hut little stretch Of the imagination to
perceive the incalculable benefits des-
tined 10 come to "Arii America" during
the next quarter Of u century under the
operations Of this wholesome American
project.
Explanation Of Irrigation Fund.
We frequently see mentioned In pa.
pers not thoroughly informed on this
subject. that such aud such fund has
been set aside for rcclaiming the arid
West. Other publications, equally igno.
rant Of the true status. bcwaii the fact
that the people Of the entire United
States arc TO be taxed for the benefit
Of the sparscly populated West. Both
positions arc untcnnblc and are equally
widely divergent yf the facts pertain.
ing 10 the situation MS Il exists.
Again let 1t be said for the informa.
tion of all interested. and nll who care
10 become Interested. that no definite or
specific amount Of money has been voted
by Congress for the reclamation Of the
arid West. The act provides that all
moneys received from the sale of pub.
lie lands In tho thirteen States aud three
Territories described arc TO bo turned
into the fund for irrigation purposes. less
. per cent.
gn.y to own "a Home.
Tie Act further provides that the land
shall be sold 10 actual occupants, who
shall return TO tho government, in ten
equal annual instnllmcnis. the cost Of
bringing water to the land; that IL the
reclnmat tion of body uf 100000 acres of
land should cost 100000. Of SO per
acre, then the actual occupant would he
expected to reimburs" to Uncle Sam the