Rocky Ford enterprise., 1904-11-04

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water can be had from tho government.
Thus. coiiu-ion or evasion Of the purpose
Of the law IL to a large extent prrr-nted.
In . rapidly growing country II Is hard
iy credible that my coliusion to obtain
water can hold throughout long period.
especially with danger Of forfeiture at
the eni of that time.
The main feature Of the Law is to &C.
cure the development Of the arid region
and the utilization Of the great resources
which experience has shown cannot he
put TO beneficial usage by private en-.
tcspri.c. aud which. u properly u'ilis-
si. may become thr greatest source of
s,rvns,h To tho commonwealth through
III. creation Of homes. II matters little
whether the land thus utilized happcn-'i
Co be. at the time OF construction. Of pub.
lie or private ownership. The main thlns
IL 10 secure ultimately the building of
homes and the placing OF these In tho
hands OF people who become scls.supfaEt-
Ing and who can and will rcfuni TO
the government the cost Of reclamation.
This IL an object In which not oniy the
government. tat oil classes OF citizens
and most Industries are diEvc;iy Inter
cssei.
~, Pv.luess viii he Nsas ased.
Tho sran.contin-ntai railroads rcros.
nlse that they will be irs; brneaciarics
ansi the perpetual gamers by this home
iuiiiins movement and they arc wisely
contributing largely TO the success OF
tho movement. II IL truc some OF them
have land to .cii. but the profit from the
sale Of such land !. as nothing compared
60 the annual sraiflc resulting from che
establishment Of innum-rahls homes.
The railroads could sell the lands to cat.
tismcn. but as a matter Of business they
know IL is much better 60 eren donate
then to settlers who will live on the
farms aud make homes Of the newly irri.
gated heritage. The manufacturing and
tpbbinT Interests Of the East have al>o
contributed to this work to no small
degree. as they believe that In the West
l. the greatest home market for manu-.
factured products of all kinds.
IL has sometimes been held up - .
reflection nrain.e the advocates Of Na-
tionai Irrigation that the great railroads
and manufacturers OF the Eas; are In.
tcrc-tcd and have contributed time and
influence to the cause. but In this dire--
ton the interest of the people Of the
country aud that of the railroads and
Industrial organizations are idcn,ical-
namely: to bring together the man who
IL seeking a homo. and the opportunities
fvs making one.
Private Capital Inadequate.
Private enterprise is still active In the
arid region. and there are many locali.
tic. where irrigation works are being
built by individuals and corporations.
but the great problem can never be made
commercially successful and vast tracts
OF fertile land will be condemned TO
sicrility unless the government takes
charge of such projects through the
operations of the new reclamation law.
II this law IL successfully administered.
which IL will he under Republican admin
is,ration. millions OF prosperous homes
will he built In localities now waste
and dcsoIate and the republic strengthen.
ed by myriads of conservative. prosper
Gus. hiEh-mindcl citizens.
Rir proJscts Under Way.
Among the important projects APPROX
ed and now being constructed by the
government. may be mentioned works at
Swectwatcr Dam. Wyoming: Gunnison
Tunnel. Col: Truckee and Carson Rivers,
New: Milk River and st. Mary's Lake.
Mont. and Tonto Creek. Ariz. Roughly
estimated. these will make possible the
irrigation of something over one million
ncrcs of land at a cost of seven and a
half million dollars, or an average of
$3.50 an acre. As a matter of fact. much
OF this area Is unsuitable or unfavorablc
for cultivation. Probably only about GO
per cent. of the total will be found
worthy of a reclaimine: this will increase
the average cost TO something like $12.5O
an acre.
Swectwater Dam is on Swectwater
River. at Devils Gate. forty miles west
of Casper and forty miles north Of Raw
lius, wyo. This project will reclaim
about 100000 acres. ihe Gunnison Tun-
mel scheme will reclaim about 100000
acres and is located near Montrose, in
Central Colorado. In Nevada II Is pro-
posed to divert water from Lake Tahoe,
Cal, and its outlet-the Truckes river