The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-03
THE WORK or THE REoLAMA-
TION SERVICE

NAbHiN0TON, April At "a estimated
that there are in the United States 900 900 Ooo
acres Of so-callod arid lands, valueless
empire whose chief products are sand,
sage brush and cactus. A. mere state
ment by itself 6OOOO1OOO acres suggests
only vague immensely. They are the
euuiva ent Of more than aOO,OO0 square
miles, or nearly one-third Of the entire area
Of the United States Out Of such an area
there might he carved four countries the
size Of France or Germany, with two States
like New York added to MI mp the corners
AZ II is, this vast region is practi Cally worth
less Some day ia value will be estimated
in billions Of dollars
Private enterprise has already reclaimed
nearly 100000 acres Of this region But
private enterprise, az q rule. has done its
work for the day only, with a view TO profit
"A the result OF a land speculation It's
methods are wasteful both Of land and Of
the water used for its irrigation. The work
has now been undertaken as a national
enterprise, and Government will make It
produce dollars where private enterprise
would get only pennies out OF II
The adoption Of the work by the nation
is the result Of evolution. The present
temptation. Inthatit resembles some Of our
most important modern inventions, like
the Bell telephone. for instance, which grew
out Of experiments instituted for quite a
different purpose. A national system Of
irrigation il an outgrowth OF the survey
Of public lands and photographic research.
The Third Annual Report Of the Reclama-
ton Service Of che Department of the In
terror states that the work is the outgrowth
OF the explorations Of Major :. w. Powell
throughout the arid West, reported to Con-
gress in his book entitled Lands Of the
Arid Region For more than a decade
after this report was published Major Powell
continued the agitation for governmental
action, and in 1883 he, as Director Of the
Geological Survey, was authorized 10 in
Nestigate the extent to which the arid re-
gon might be reclaimed by irrigation
Major Powells hobby will some day Id
$1,000 10000 to the taxable real estate
valuation Of the United States.
Prom 1888 until the passage Of the Rec
lamation at in 1902, the work Of survey
was pushed with such energy as was pos
sibe with limited appropTia tons for the
work. Two important points required a
clear determinations First, i'd areas which
could be irrigated; and secondly, are5
which could not be irrigated on account
Of the absence Of available water supply.
The vastness OF this investigation is little
appreciated by the general public. Water
courses must be definitely located through
out an enormous area, and their volume,
in flood and in drought accurately meas
ured TO determine the acreage over which
he mil he 81 In
itself involved a double problem. In some
cases there was involved only the diversion
and distribution Of river current by means
Of canals and lateral bitches. Other cases
involved water storage and regulation Of
flow and supply.
The latter condition introduces engineer
ing problems Of no little complexity. Mas
sive dams must be built 10 conhne the foods
which in the sp ring time come from the
melting SHOWS OF the mountain sides. The
water stored in basins among the hills must
be conveyed through canals Of permanent
structure TO the arid fields often many
miles distant.
Thus, in the summary Of work done on
the Truokee-Carson project, in Nevada,
Engineer Taylor reports the mapping out.
on a scale Of four inches TO the mile, Of 555
square miles OF territory, large part Of it,
at least, being irrigable land The maps
also gave the land contour He reports
the location OF thirty-seven miles Of main
canals for delivering water TO lands in
Carson Sink Valley, and preliminary sur
veys for sixty miles OF extensions of these
canals. This valley alone contains 3lA
square miles Of irrigable land. or a tract
eighteen miles square. On such a tract
200, 900 people might live in ease and COM
fort He also reports the location Of $50
miles Of lateral irrigation and waste bitches
and the location Of twenty-four miles Of
main canal for the regulation Of the food
waters Of the Carson River This is only
one Of a number Of systems which are al
ready under way. In Colorado water will
be carried to the Uncompahgre Valley
through six mile tunnel from the Gunnison
River.
The reports in regard TO these various
enterprises are voluminous, and like most
such productions are expressed in terms
and filed with descriptions which carry
little or no meaning to the average lay
man. One huge project, now under way
is the Roosevelt Dam on Salt River. in Arr
zona. The height Of tbs structure, from
It's foundation to the top Of the parapet
will be 30 feet. When il is constructed
the water behind it will form lake twenty
Eve miles long and from one b two miles
wide. The storage capacity will be greater
than that OF any other artificial reservoir
in the world This is one Of the most in
teresting enterprises Of the entire system
The water thus stored will be utilized
through canals by gravity pressure, for
the irrigation Of a large area. II IL also
proposed 20 utilize the discharge for the
development Of power TO drive hydraulic
and electrical machinery for various pur-
poses, including transmission for distance
Of fifty to seventy miles to Salt River VAL
ley, where It will be used In connection with
pumps for raising the underground water
It is estimated that each horsepower de-
veloped at the Roosevelt dam will furnish
power sufficient to irrigate nearly ten acres
In the valley sixty miles away.
Notable among both present and future
enterprises there stands the scheme known
So the Pathfinder, on the North Platte
River II is named in honor of Gen. Ere.
mont because Of his connection with the
region many years ago This plan involves
operations for a distance Of 40 miles along
the course Of the river. II includes the
construction Of three dams, and more than