The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-07-22
SUCCESS OF IRRIGATION.
Government Reclamation Work Des.
cribed by Secretary Ballinger.


Seattle, July 15.-Secretary of
the Interior Ballinger who has just
returned home from the East, said
that he had come West to make an
inspection of the various reclama-
ton projects being carried out by
the government.
II have already visited the gov
eminent project at Mitchell, In the
north Platte Valley, Nebraska, the
work in the vicinity OF Cody, Wyo.,
on the Shoshone River, and the
project at Huntley, near Billings,
Mont" said the Secretary. after
visiting these projects 1 shall spend
a few days in the Yellowstone Ma
tional Park to settle certain diff
ficulties that have been standing for
some time in connection with It's
operation"
Since the federal government, I'M
der the reclamation act, took up the
business of irrigation, It has spent
about S42,000000 on it's various pro-
jects. The work which has been
accomplished is demonstration, to
the satisfaction of all concerned, Of
the success of the great enterprise;
but that there will have to be a good
deal Of reshaping of methods and
modification of administrative and
financial policy is also accepted as
pretty certain, The reclamation
work is based on the theory of an
endless chain Of money working at
the business of reclaiming arid
lands. It is assumed that every
project will in the end pay back all
the government puts into it. and
even more IL policy should be ad-
opted which would make profits
possible. Private enterprises make
big returns out Of irrigation; the
government, wanting no profits,
simply proposes, as soon as It's
money is taken out of one project,
to put it into another one and thus
keep the work going on indefinitely.
Just at present, because of having
too much of it's available resources
invested in uncompleted projects,
the service is crippled for need of
funds. The money has been coming
in satisfactorily from sales of lands
ard of water rights, but the de-
M nds for financing the big enter
prises under the construction have
outstripped the receipts. The first
difficulty Of the service, 1t Is ex-
planned, is in the fact that most Of
the projects have cost great deal
more than was anticipated Some
of them have cost twice as much
Against this is the fact that the
work was new and experimental,
and the further fact that the SER
vice has not the record OF a single
failure.
In the effort to straighten out the
I'll Tue otENuCe
want of ready money just at this
time, Secretary OF the Interior Bal
linger will have a convention at
Portland, Ore, the end OF this
month, when the project engineers
and others will discuss the whole
situation. and it is hoped a scheme
will be developed to meet the cur
rent eXigences. The attorney gen.
eral has rejected as unconstitution-
al a plan which was devised under
the Roosevelt administration for
cooperation between government
and settlers to hasten completion of
some Of the projects.
The India agencies also will be
included in his itenerary of inspec-
ton "The conditions in certain In
dian agencies" he said, ARE far
from satisfactory to the department
and they require the most rigid in
vestigation."