Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-09-29
reclamation office Explains.

Reclamation Office Explains.
| A. p Davis, acting chief of the re-
clamation service. denies that the gov
eminent is lending itself to a Job
of any kind, is trying to influence land
buyers in any way or is discriminating
in favor of one section of the country,
or one state, as against another. Mr..
Davis says:
II believe that there is no section of
the country, except that lying in the
extreme northwest, between the Rocky
mountains and the Pacific ocean, that
would not be benefited by irrigation.
Take Illinois. There is a crop failure
there every few years because of
drought, and believe that in course
OF time irrigation works will be estab-
lished there You will find irrigation
works in all of the states Of the east,
small ones 1t Is true. but built be-
cause the farmers recognize their
value. 1 believe that no one can deny
that irrigation will be, of more value
in North Dakota and other states in
that section, where the average rain
fall Is comparatively small, than 1t is
in the states further east. Certainly,
with this condition obtaining, no one
can accuse the reclamation service Of
branding any part of North Dakota as
worthless because it has announced
that irrigation works may be estab-
lished in several places there.
Irrigation Asked for.
'In North Dakota great cry went
up year or so ago, because 1T was
charged the reclamation service was
sighting that state and not spending
in the state any of the money con-
tributed by IL to the irrigation fund.
Senator Hansbrough was one Of the
chief fault finders. but now that work
has been commenced, he has been CO.
operating in every way with the re-
clamation service to make 1t a success.
".rhe reclamation service is entirely
unprecedented in its selection of loca-
tions for the establishment of irrigas
tion works. After a very thorough in
vestigation in North Dakota, it was
determined that good many thousand
acres near Bismarck could be irrigated
by pumping. The lands were with
drawn and the people notified that the
project was feasible.
Opinion Is Divided.
"Information which comes to us from
the neighborhood of Bismarck is to the
effect that some of the people want ir-
rigation and others do not. The gov
eminent is not trying to force them to
accept irrigation, except to the extent
that the reclamation service believes
that the establishment of these works
will insure the production of crops
each year Should there be evidence
submitted here that the, people who
own land under the proposed irrigation
works do not want the government to
20 ahead with the work 1t will be
stopped short. If a majority of the
people want their lands irrigated, and
are willing to pay $18 or $40 an acre
for putting the water on the land, and
a yearly maintenance charge of from
50 to SO an acre, the government will
continue to hope that all will join the
water users association and turn
their land over to the association and
the government, in trust, so that ac-
tual construction may be commenced.
So long as any considerable number
Of owners hold out, however, nothing
will be done.
'.As to limitations that there may
be job in this particular project, /
do not see how that can be. The work
is all done by competition. After the
board Of engineers decide upon the
plan, the work is advertised and the
contract awarded to the lowest re-
sponsible bidder The contractor is re-
quired to give a heavy bond for the
faithful performance of his contract, !
and every precaution is taken to sea
hot ic napnr6iOcr n q Il
specifications