The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1905-05-10
GOVERNMENT MUST CONTROL.
Suggestion Made That 1t Should Have
Charge of Entire Yakima
Irrigation System.

1AA1S W CsSA"'
A special to the Oregonian from
Washington says: "a clash be-
tween the state of Washington and
the federal reclamation service over
irrigation in the Yakima valley is
imminent. The state, satisfied
that private Irrigation IS successful,
is encouraging capital to build re-
clamation works all over Eastern
Washington, and just now is ask
ing for approval of its selection Of
$1,000 acres i'll Yakima county i'll
order that this land with the same
area Of Northern Pacific land ad-
joining, may be reclaimed under
the extension of the Snnnyside
canal, Euilt and owned largely by
Portland capitalists.
1T has long been the opinion of
the reclamation service that the
government should assume the
general management of irrigation
in Yakima valley, and today the
government, if it had the opportun-
ity, would probably buy up all the
private canals in the Yakima valley
and by building its own storage
reservoirs and new nighttime canals,
irrigate thousands of acres that
have not been touched by private
enterprises.
''But the government engineers
have repeatedly declared they will
not undertake any irrigation work
in the Yakima valley if the state
persists in perfecting its selection
i'll behalf of the Sunnyside CON-
pany. If the state selection is
approved, the st te will dispose of
its land at $40 an acre and realize
over $500, 900, this money in turn
to be. devoted to smaller irrigation
enterprises elsewhere in Eastern
Washington. If the state should
withdraw in favor of the govern
ment, it would lose this. revenue.
All along the government has con-
tended that it can irrigate cheaper
and more satisfactorily than private
enterprise, but the state denies this.
Government engineers report
that private canal companies have
already appropriated the flow of
the Yakima river many times over,
and predict that when the proposed
canals or those under construction
i'll the upper Yakima valley are
completed, they will practically alb
sorb the entire flow of the river and
deprive irrigators in the lower val
ley OF water to which they had
prior rights.
"As the government sees it,
there is endless conflict in store if
private enterprise is allowed full
sway. The government says irri-
gators in Yakima valley are vast
ing vast quantities of water by
over-irrigation. Under govern
ment canals, it is said, there could
be no such waste. Government
engineers believe and report that
there is water enough, if properly
used, to irrigate all the fertile lands
in the Yakima valley that are so
located as to be reached by canals,
but III order to provide enough
water it will be necessary to store
the food waters at the head of the
Yakima river and tributaries and
adopt some general system of con-
troll of the distribution Of water.
THE government would there
fore absorb all present canals, build
its own works and handle the en-
tire project as if it were new.
Where persons are taking water
from private canals they could con-
tinue to have all the necessary
/ water from the government canals
without additional cost bu: settlers
receiving only limited supply Of
water, or those who should take
up lands never before irrigated
would have to pay for water rights
the same as settlers under other
government projects.
1.-THE overwhelming sentiment
among the people of Yakima valley
seems to favor government irrigat-
ion, but, until the state and govern