East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-12-09

between three and four million dol
lars for this project which viii irrl-
gate no public lands, but only those
already In private ownership, vastly
increasing. Of course, their value.
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
practically useless, worth from $40 to
800 an acre.
Some 100000 acres will be irrlgat-
ed under these works, and the artlfl-
cial 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
ervoir which is to supply Boston and
that of the famous Croton dam Of
New York's water works.
The criticism referred to of build
ing government works to supply wa
ter to such a section as the Salt River
valley, where the lands are all In pri-
Vate ownership instead of going out
onto the desert and reclaiming public
lands, is one which will not hold upon
second thought. The Salt River val
ley has been n famous section Of the
arid west Twenty years ago 1t was
a vast, flat plain, skirted by noun
tains reflecting the wonderful colors
and tints of the southwest. but nour-
shing only the cactus and other des-
ert plants.
The Salt river cuts its center, a
sparkling, life-giving stream, and pri-
vate capital undertook to utilize its
waters for irrigation and build up a
great community. Dams were built,
canals were constructed, and thous-
ands of acres were planted to oranges,
lemons. figs, pomegranates, dates,
raisin and wine grapes, almonds. 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 luxurlant
growth.
But the valley is today crippled and
sick. The canal system laid out was
based upon a series of years of 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, - thn rni oh ~ nf TINT n
gion, and the result has been that
thousands of acres of orchard and
farm have returned to aridity.
The Old Man OF the Desert came
in and claimed back his own. 1t Is
simply a question then, in the Salt
River valley, and in some other sec
tions, as to whether 1t is not as good
or better policy for Uncle Sam to
save the homes Of several thousand
pioneers. who are perishing for want
of water, as II is to reclaim new raw
lands, and put new settlers upon
them.
From n Brook to Torrent.
The flow OF the Salt River is vari-
able in the extreme. At low water
periods It runs something like 100
cubic feet per second. In one great
flood the river swept down the valley
at the rate of 100000 cubic feet per
second. The twelfth annual report
OF the geological survey describes the
flood of 1s"' as follows. all OF which
storage.
"On February II. the discharge was
s35 cubic feet per second, increasing
the next day to $4,000 cubic feet and
on the 10th to 276.000 cubic feet
This was followed by a second greater
swell, until on the cath a maximum
Of 500, 900 cubic feet was reached"
The Roosevelt dam is to control and
store such floods. About so miles
from Phoenix, the Salt river enters
a profound canyon, with lofty precip-
Nous walls and a narrow floor, In
which is located the dam site. Above
the dam the canyon opens into wide
valleys, providing the most capacious
reservoir in the west.
at would probably be impossible
10 find anywhere In the arid region"
said Government Engineer Arthur p.
Davis, the protector of this magnif-
cent enterprise. "a storage project In
which all conditions are as favorable
as in this one. The capacity of the
reservoir In proportion TO the dimen-
sions of the dam is enormous and
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 important
discovery that material for making
good Portland cement and brick lies
Immediately by the dan site. He
states that the masonry dam now un-
der construction will be '1'olutely
permanent-"safe, solid and secure
for all ages to come, a part OF "e
everlasting hills of which It will tc-
come an integral part"
Finding that the prices bid by the
cement manufacturers would add an
Increased burden Of half a million or
more dollars to the payments OF the
irrigators, the government construct
cd an immense mill and will itself
manufacture the 100000 or more
barrels OF cement needed for the
dam. A splendid roadway, rivaling
the mountain roads of the Incas, has
been built from Phoenix to the dam,
at a cost OF over a hundred thousand
dollars. The cost OF the entire con-
struction, three and a half million
dollars, will be apportioned among
the lands receiving the water, to be
paid back to the government In 10
annual installm ,nts, and no water
-user can get a right from the govern