East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-03-21

swept away by the government lh iNS
work OF reclaiming arid lands ana
making homes for farmers. The
name of this town is Roosevelt, says
an FL Paso, Texas, item.
In another three years, when the
present system, now under way, Is
completed to store the water for the
irrigation of the Salt River valley, the
only place in America where the date
palm grows as we'll as it does in
Egypt will be at the bottom Of lake
at least so feet deep. The place
where the date palm grows is Roose-
welt.
Roosevelt is a toI,n many years
old. 1t has been the postoffice and
general lounging place for the cow
bows and cattlemen in the mountains
thereabouts for a long time, but at
last it has to go for the sake of the
farmer who tills, or rather who will
till. the wonderfully rich valley be-
low. where lemons and oranges, olives
and dates. as we'll as almonds, grow
side by side with alfalfa, watermelons,
canteloupes and grapes. 1t is one OF
the richest valleys in the great west,
and the government is spending a
big sum of money to reclaim 1t.
} The site selected for the dam to
impound all the flood waters in the
Salt river is between mountains OF
solid rock, where the river finds its
way to the plains below, and the town
of Roosevelt being, unfortunately, in
the valley above the dam site, will
be covered with water when the riv-
er is forced above its present narrow,
sandy banks and out over the wide
stretch of country between the two
ridges of mountains that come rown
on either side and to a point at the
dam site. This valley is in cultiva-
ton around the town, and is full OF
bearing orchards, teemmg gardens
and productive little farms, but all
these, too, will sink to the bottom OF
the lake for the sake of the much big
ger and greater valley below.
The government has already spent
several hundred thousand dollars on
the work of erecting the dam, but it
has only just commenced. First the
townsite of Roosevelt had to be
bought out, and then the farms that
would come under the water. Then
the government had to bring out i'm
mense traction engines for Roosevelt
and the dam site, twenty-seven miles
from the nearest railroad station, the
little Mormon city of Mesa, and mules
were not capable of performing all the
work necessary in the transportation
line.
Then Louis c. Hill, the engineer,
through whose genius the great dam
is being constructed, figured that II
would be cheap for the government
to put up and operate its own saw
mill and cement plant, and the ma
chinery was bought and hauled to the
site by immense traction engines. The
sawmills were carried into the noun.
tains in pieces by the Indians and SCI
up to get out the timber, while the
cement mill was put up at the dan
as the rock on which the dam is t
be constructed turns out a fine quail.
ity of cement when properly treated
Then the problem of operating the
this a small dam-they call it small
in comparison with the one that Il
to store water sufficient to irrigat'
annually 100000 acres Of rich valley
land-was built, and a flume wal
constructed across the country, par
of the river diverted and the saw.
mills were put into operation. Al
this done, the government was ready
for work on the dam, and that Is jus
now for the preliminaries are onl!
just completed and the work is start
ing on the dam.
One should not become imbued witt
the idea that the government Is do
ing all this for the love Of the farmer
or out of paternal feeling. The trutl
is the government is only acting as
financial backer, architect and con
structor. In the end the farmers are
to pay for all this work, but 1t viii
be in the nature of tax and tht
benefits derived are expected t.
greatly exceed the cost. Something
like $7,OOO,OOO will be spent before
the present system is completed. TIL,
valleys to be blessed are considered
the richest in the world. 1t is esti
mated that 100000 acres will b,
made richer than the land of thu