Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-08-01
TELLS OF THE
ROOSEVELTDAM
WILL FORM A VAST LAKE HOLD.
ING FOUR HUNDRED Bill.
LION GALLONS.

The most gigantic of the govern.
ment irrigation constructions in pro-
gress is the Salt River or Roosevelt
dam in Arizona, and considerable crit
icism has been made of the course of
the secretary of the interior in set
ting aside between three and four
million dollars for this project which
will irrigate no public lands, but al
ready those in private ownership,
vastly increasing of course, their val.
ne. The work which the government
will do under this project will double
and quadruple land values, and in
fact make much land that is now prac.
tically useless worth from $50 to 500
an acre. Some 100000 acres will be
irrigated under these works, and the
artificial reservoir to be formed by
the Roosevelt dam will be by far the
largest in the United States, with the
incredible capacity of nearly 400 bill
lion gallons. This is three times the
capacity of the great Wachusett res
ca WILL WulCA 10 " supply DootcA, AAAu
twice that of the famous CrOtOn dam
of New York's new water works.
The criticism referred to of build
ing government works to supply wa
ter to such section as the Salt River
valley, where the lands are all in pri-
vate ownership, instead of going out
into the desert and retaining public
lands, is one which will not hold upon
Tho Col pjuor l.
ley has been a famous section of the
arid west. Twenty years ago it was
vast, fiat plain, skirted by mountains
rejecting the wonderful colors and
tints of the southwest, but nourishing
only the cactus and other desert
plants. The Salt River cut its cen.
ter. a sparkling, lifegiving stream
and private capital undertook to util.
ize it's waters for irrigation and build
up a great community. Dams were
built, canals were constructed, and
thousands of acres We're planted to
oranges, lemons, figs, dates, raisin
and wine grapes, almonds. pomegran
ates, and all the fruits and flowers
of the semi-tropics, not to mention
broad fields of emerald alfalfa where
fat cattle stood knee deep in the lux
VI truI -IoWlu bul tllt NdllcN NpNdf
is crippled and sick The canal sys
TEN laid out was based on the heavy
annual rainfalls which prevailed at
that time. and sufficient data had not
been gathered to show that the period
was one of fat years and that the lean
years of drouth would surely follow
They came, however, over the whole
southwest. as can be seen by a study
Of hn fol cbar # that
and the result has been that thousands
of acres of orchard and farm have re
turned to aridity The Old Man OF
the Desert came in and claimed back
his own. 1t is simply question then
in the Salt River valley, and in some
other sections, as to whether it is not
as good or better policy for Uncle
Sam to save the homes of severa
thousand pioneers, who are perishins
for want of water. as it is to reclaim
new raw lands and put new settlers
upon them.
From Brook to a Torrent.
The flow of the Salt River valley is
variable in the extreme. At low wa
ter periods it runs something like 100
cubic feet per second. In one great
food the river swept down the valley
at the rate of 100000 cubic feet pei
second. The twelfth annual report OF
the geological survey describes the
flood of 1891 as follows. all of which
ran uselessly to the seat or lack Of
storage:
ION February II, the discharge was
1886 cubic feet per second, increasing
the next day to $4,000 cubic feet anG
on the 10th to 276O0O cubic feet. This
was followed by second greater
swell, until on the gath a maximum Of
100000 cubic feet was reached"
The Roosevelt dam is to control ant
store such floods. About 60 miles
from Phoenix, the Salt River enters
a profound canyon, with lofty. precip
itous walls and narrow floor, il
which is located the dam site. Above
the dam the canyon opens into wide
valleys, providing the most capaciou'
reservoir in the west.
1T would probably be impossible
to find anywhere in the arid region,
said Government Engineer Arthur P
Davis, the protector of this magnifi
cent enterprise. "a storage project II
which all conditions are as favorable
as in this one. The capacity of The
reservoir in proportion to the dimen
the lands to be watered are of re
markable fertility. with climate
which may be classed as almost semi
tropic.''
Mr.. Davis also made the importan
discovery that material for maxim.
good Portland cement and bricks lie'
Immediately by the dam site. HI
states that the masonry dam now un
der construction will be absOlutel.
permanent-"safe, solid and secure
for all ages to come, a part of tn,
everlasting hills of which it will be
come an integral part"
Finding that the prices bid by tn
cement manufacturers would add al
increased burden of half million o
more dollars to the payments of thu
irrigators. the government construct
ed an immense cement mill and will
itself manufacture the 100000 or NOR
barrels of cement needed for the dam
A splendid roadway, rivaling tn
mountain roads of the Incas, has beer
built from Phoenix to the dam, at ;
cost of over hundred thousand dol
lars. The cost of the entire construc
ton, three million and half dollars
will be apportioned among the lands
receiving the water, to be paid bacl
to the government in ten annual in
stallments, and no water user car
hold more than 100 ACRES.
The River to Build Its Own Dam.
An interesting feature of the con