East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-10-29

tor East OreConian,l- attention
has been called to an article In your
paper of the 2Oth instant. In which
you assert that am wrong in my
contention that the government irri-
cation works should, in every instance,
be let to the lowest bidder and con-
structed by contract, and you state
that the people suspect that Senator
Fulton opposed the action of Secre
tary Hitchcock to build the Umatilla
dam simply because it is being done
by Secretary Hitchcock"
I shall continue to believe. until
further testimony is produced to the
contrary, that the people do not large
ly so suspect and that YOU would find
ii extremely difficult to produce
substantial reason for entertaining the
suspicion yourself. if. indeed, you
really do entertain it.
Whenever l have any criticism to
offer against, or attack to make on
Mr. Hitchcock, or any other person,
I shall not proceed indirectly. l will
make it so entirely clear about whom
am talking that it will not rest in
suspicion. l am in the habit of call
ing things by their proper names.
have, It is true, on occasion ex-
pressed regret that Mr.. Hitchcock
should entertain such bitter hostility
against Oregon, and Oregon interests,
as he does. but 1 had no thought of
that in criticisng the policy of nom
contracting the irrigation work. You
say "Oregon's money has gone into
the reclamation fund by hundreds of
thousands of dollars, and the state
| should have been enjoying the fruits
Of that fund long ago" agree with
you.
Whose fault is It that we have not
been enjoying the fruits of that
| fund.-" Other states and territories
that have not contributed one-tenth
part of the amount to the fund that
Oregon has, have had assigned to pro-
! jects within their borders several
times the amount that has been ap-
portioned to Oregon projects. The
| secretary of the interior is charged
with the duty of appOrtioning the
| fund. This is one fact that I have
many times cited as evidencing his
| hostility to Oregon. Still l have not
supposed that the adoption of the pol
| icy of government construction was
| due to any such hostility, nor do I
| ascribe it to any improper motive.
do not suppose, indeed, that Mr..
Hitchcock had much, if anything, to
| do with the adoption of that policy.
| He approved the project, and subor-
| dlnate officials are charged with car
rying it to completion. In protesting
against that policy l was moved en-
| tirely by a desire to secure the COM
pletion of these works at the lowest
possible cost, in the interest of the
settlers who will, in the end have to
pay the cost.
You say, "The people want the dam
built as quickly as possible" True,
but they want it as cheaply as posi-
BILE, as well, do they not? Now you
doubtless know that whatever protest
against the policy of not contracting
the work may be entered, will have
no influence in the matter of the con-
struction of the dam in question. The
|
that work and will, of course, prose-
cute it to completion. MY protest is
against a continuance of that policy.
Settlers Must Pay.
You are aware. of course. that the
entire cost of the project is assessed
against the land reclaimed hence
every dollar saved in construction is
! f,Yf, Iar
Is 1t not my duty to watch and see to
it that the cost is kept down to the
lowest possible figure? I have been
told that in the klamath country some
of the government representatives are
telling the people that no matter
what the actual cost of that project
shall be, the cost to the settler VIII
not and cannot exceed the original es-
innate of s1S and some cents per
acre.
cannot believe that any represen-
tative of the government is response
BILE for the statement, as 1t is entirely
untrue. II the cost shall ultimately
amount to s25 per acre, that Is what
It will cost the settler. But some peo-
| pie ask, do you want to delay the
work. or cause the project to be aban-
doned?" I answer, certainly not and
| there is no danger of causing either
the one or the other, by insisting on
the policy of contracting. The Una
tilla and klamath projects have been
approved, entered upon and will be
carried to completion. The question
| is. at what cost? I want that 1t shall