Churchill standard. (Fallon, Nev) 1903-1908, 1906-12-29
continued from LIST page

arid west We're OF uniform quality, and
OF equal smoothness, and surrounded
by like conditions as to market and the
like there would be more justice in that
view than there is under existing con-
ditions.
The writer happened to be riding
along by a government canal recently
with a man from Baker City, Ore
gon. This man was familiar with irri-
cation conditions along Snake river in
that country. He pointed out the diff
ference i'm the surface conditions OF our
! Truckee-Carson land and that along
Snake river. lie said that land Of this
character would not be taken up there.
That it is too rough. The same testi-
mony from others who are famil-
lar with irrigation movements. The
lands Of this project, are generally so
rough hat they deter the average irri-
gationist who has reclaimed land under
more favorable conditions. This is
known to all the people who live here,
and is known to tie many who have
come here, examined the land and
gone away. The writer has personal
knowledge of these facts, and it is not
hearsay. But all this is no indication
that the Truckee-Carson Project is a fail
urc, as many persons are beginning to
say. 1t is not Il failure.
1t has presented many obstacles, both
in the construction and maintenance of
the canal system, which have been met
by skilllul engineers and successfully
solved. What We have here now in the
Carson Sink Valley, is a great inland
empire, with Il canal system not excell-
ed elsewhere in the world, with two
great rivers united by Il magnificent ca
nal 81 miles long, and costing over a mil
lion and Il hall OF dollars, with ample
water to irrigate this great territory;
with a climate unriyaled in the world,
with Il soil ready to ~iructifv and produce
all that Il man can ask, and afew dozen
settlers actually residing upon and cult
waiting the government land, and some
OF them utilizing lands which had been
cleared off under private irrigation be
fore the government canals were built,
but found onsurvey to be on government
land.
This is an abnormal situation. There
must be Il reason why men who know
the value OF irrigated land will go away
from this land without taking it. We
are OF the opinion that two conditions
OF the Reclamation Act are at fault.
The first, and great one Is that the Gov
eminent appears to be conducting the
Reclamation Of its arid lands for profit,
OF reimbursement. That is not Il proper
function OF the government. We are
asked how does the government profit,
when it only seeks to be reimbursed for
its outlay. The fact is the government
more than any II will profit indirectly
in the reclamation OF these lands. Men
live Il few years and die, but the govern
ment goes on lOreVer-or at leaStWe hope
this one will-at any rate the race does.
y - 'ld - W liiA9 Ntiti II 5ON
eminent has given millions of acres free
requiring no irrigation. Why then at
tach Il condition 10 the gilt OF land to-
day, that is at variance with the gift OF
other good lands yesterday. No one
will dispute that non-irrigable lands,
that Is lands requiring ne irrigation TO
yield pIentilully, are preferable to lands
which have to be irrigated. Then why
charge for the element which God Al
mighty has given freely, which alone
can place these gift lands on an equality
with those given yesterday. The situa-
ton calls for plain speaking and we are
Stain" what we believe to be a cardinal
principal in national economies, when
We say that il it is right to give lands
free which are productive without the
necessity OF irrigation, that it is equally
right to give lands free together with
the free gift of that element which will
make them equally or more productive.
The plain fact that 5000 an acre for
Il water right coupled with the addition
al cost Of l~eveling and retaining the
lands under the Truekee-Carson project
presents an impossible condition for the
average man, unless he has several
thousand dollars to expend in the work
OF reclamation, and If he has so much
money he will prefer to spend it where
he can get more than II maximum of
100 acres OF land without having to wait
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