The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-07-06
With Regard to Reclaim
alton Projects --Ihe
Method Of Financing
Need Reorganization
MONEY AVAILABLE HAS BEEN
TOO LARGELY SPENT BEFORE
LANDS WE'RE ACTUALLY
BROUGHT UNDER WATER.

WASHINGTON, July 5.-Acting
under the direction of an elaborate
opinion by Attorney General Wick
ersham, the interior department has
reversed one of the most important
parts of the Roosevelt administra-
tion's policy in the management of ir-
rigation and reclamation works.
Western members of congress, gov
ernors of states, legislatures, water
users associations and many thous-
ands of persons who are concerned
about the development of new recla-
nation projects or the completion of
old ones, are deeply concerned be-
cause of the new policy imposes upon
the whole business of reclamation
Incident to this new pOlicy's in
.auguration it develops that for some
time there has been a growing i'm
preston that the method of financ-
ing the reclamation work needs some
reorganization. The government, it is
declared, has undertaken more work
of this kind than it can carry on ex-
penditously or satisfactorily with the
funds now in hand.
1t has spread out its operations in
so many places that the money avail
able has been too largely spent be-
fore lands were actually brought un-
der water, and therefore before any
revenues could begin to come in
from the work.
The reclamation act provides that
the original appropriation should be
invested in reclamation work. The
money received from sale of lands
and from leases of water rights for
those lands was to go back into the
fund and be made available for carry
ing on new projects.
1t develops that the delays about
making the completed or partly COM
pleted projects return revenues have
been such that there is shortage of
funds and delay about completing
works.
The enterprise of settlers in home-
steading arid lands adjacent to recla-
nation projects has caused the diff
Guilty. AS soon as the government
has undertaken to carry out big
project in irrigation people have
tiocked into the territory which is to
be placed under water, homesteaded
or bought up the lands, and pro-
ceeded to occupy them in anticipation
of the time when, with water turned
on, they should be very valuable.
Many of the "sooners'' have wait
ed for years for their water, strug-
Cling against all conditions of life in
a desert or semi-desert country, in
the effort to preserve their holdings
against the time when they should
become valuable.
1t proved utterly useless to warn
people of the trouble they might
bring upon themselves by this course.
They were willing to take the chances
of the long wait. Privation and much
suffering have resulted.
When Mr.. Garfield was secretary
of the interior his attention was call
ed forcibly to these conditions, and
in connection with Director F. H.
Newell, of the reclamation services.
he worked out scheme of co-opera-
tion between the settlers and the
government, for Fastening the COM
pletion of certain projects, so that
the settlers could get water.
The government in certain cases
undertook to give as much money as
the Water Users association should
duplicate, and also to permit the
labor to be contributed.
Under this scheme the settlers or
ganized, and there was every indica
tion that excellent results would be
secured. The plan interested the
people in the government work as