Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-10-24
Oncisis u, Reclamation Nervice
Make Final Report on
lrrigation Project
NATURE OF REPORT
IS KEPT 'SECRET 7
%'YOur Proposition Has Not Been
Turned Down." Hope For
Favorable Decision.

Will Las Vegas secure a government
reservoir out on the San Guijuela
site? Will ten thousand acres of now
almost barren land on the mesa to
the coutheast be converted into one
great fertile farm by the potent
hand Of the United States Reclama-
tion Service?
This is the qestion which is Of
most vital interest to the people Of
this community and this is the ques-
tion which the board of government
engineers, who have several days
past here, have been attempting to
settle. The result of their investi-
cations were sealed yesterday after
noon and mailed to Chief Engineer
Newell in Washington. 1t will be re-
membered that when Mr.. Newell pas
sed through Las Vegas during the
summer he was interviewed by an
Optic representative who pressed
him to know when and how the news
of the fate Of Las Vegas project would
be broken" to the people. He stat
ed that after the report of the engi-
neering corps then in the field was
submitted to the department it would
be duly considered As soon as pos
sible after that, board Of the con.
sulting engineers Of the reclamation
'-service would visit Las Vegas, go
over the ground again and make the
final report on which the ultimate
fate Of the project would rest. The
gentlemen who have just been on the
ground constituted this board. Their
reports made and its nature Is not
even limited at by the gentlemen in
question.
The Optic man held long and en-
joyable conversation with them. He
secured volumes of information about
other projects were Of scanty inter
est compared with the one in ques-
tion. But when that matter was ap
preached, however delicately, and
never a hint as to the favorable or
unfavorable" nature of the report
was sought, the gentlemen smiled
and refrained from speech Ordinar-
lily some sort Of an impression would
be gained from an extended, discus
sion which involved the verious
phases of the question involved, but
in this instance, The Optic man con.
fesses his entire inability to farecast
the nature of the disclosures in the
sealed envelope which will seal the
fate of the reservoir project The
most he can do is to quote the part
ing words of one of the distinguished
engineers who. as he was about to
board the train, sair, You may tell
your people that their project has not
been turned down.
The nature of the report sent in
yesterday win undoubtedly be made
public within the near future. This
will either be done by Chief Engineer
Newell in correspondence with Of
ficials of the Grant board of the Com
mercial club, or possibly by perso-
nal visit to Las Vegas on the occasion
of his westward trip to the National
Irrigation congress in FL Paso. the
middle Of next month. At that time
the principal yearly meeting of the
board of engineers Of the Reclama-
ton service will be held in FL Paso
and the Las Vegas project will un-
doubtedly be finally decided unless
IT has been previously settled.
Probably the only open question
in connection with the feasibility OF
the project at Las Vegas, whether or
not the farmers settling the land
could make living beside paying
back to the government, every year
for ten years, one tenth Of the per-
acre cost of reclamation. This ques-
tion involves the nature and value of
the crops to which the land is adapt
ed and may call for additional inyes-
tigation by the department, assisted
by the local people who are able TO
furnish reliable information on these
points.
The following gentlemen eonsti-