Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-12
FINE WORK DONE
In NJ
Director of United States Service
Tells of Strides Made to En-
rich Soil.
MUCH INTEREsT SHOWN Herr
Many 0mshans Ask About 0pportuni-
ties on Various Projects.

director L. 5. Reclamation S~ervice.)
Tn season now approaching a close has
been the most successful and at the same
time the one most filled with anxiety for
the reclamation service. 1t has been sue
cessful in that a large acreage lover 7OO,-
coo acres OF productive land has been
brought under ditch and at the same time
the anxleties have been great because Of
the fact that, among other things, there
were 5000 miles of canals and bitches in
active use for the first time.
All Of this earthwork is new, has not
had time as yet to settle and consolidate,
and the men engaged in operation and
maintenance have not had time to become
thoroughly familiar with all of the local
conditions.
Many. new structures nave been COM
pleted, notably the Pathfinder dam in CEN
trail Wyoming, the Laguna dam in south
ern California and Arizona, the Gunnison
tunnel, six miles long, in Colorado has
been opened and thousands Of smaller
structures, such as h~eadgates, fumes.
slphons and turnouts, have been put INTO
use.
Few Accidents Due to Works.
In spite Of the great number of these
works there have been few accidents. one
or two treacherous banks have given
away; others which have been under sus-
plcion have held exceptionally we'll. 1t is
interesting to note that wherever this
earthwork is built all of the b%urrowing ami
mails, apparently for hundreds Of miles,
congregate to dig in the fresh banks, and
unceaslng vigilance is necessary in waging
warfare against mice, ground squirrels
and other animals until the earth has be-
come hardened by settlement or carpeted
with vegetation.
The public lands under the reclamation
projects are being steadily taken up by on
excellent class of men,. The adoption of a
new rule to the effect that settlers must
pay in ADVANCE one-tenth of the cost Of the
water has kept out the improvident or
purely speculative entrymen. AS a result
the men who select farms do it with a
full knowledge Of conditions and a deter
mination to make good.
Many Show Interest.
At Seattle many thousands listened to
descriptions of the irrigation works built
by the government and by private parties,
and hundreds have obtained personal in
formation concerning the opportunities for
home making In the arid regions.
! The government not only tries to diffuse
information concerning it's own lands, but
furnishes facts, as far as possible. to in
vestors and engineers concerning the OPP
portunities for further reclamation of the
country. Millions of dollars have been in
vested upon it's impartial statements of
water supply and of land conditions, and it
may be claimed that for every dollar the
government has invested in reclamation
Individuals or corporations have invested
ten during the last year. This is significant
in view Of the fact that at the time of the
- = NnnD T.
r~igatlon development was practically stag
nant. and although the Carey act has
been on the statute books since 1894, few
Of the states had taken advantage of II
and nothing was being done in the way
of actual construction. The fact that the
government believed it wise to invest
money in reclamation gave all work of
this kind a standing in the eyes Of eastern
capitalists.
senate Committee Inquiry of value.
The Investigations which the senate COM
mittee on irrigation began by it's hearings
in Washington are being continued through
out the arid west and public attention is
being drawn even more prominently than
in the past to the opportunities afforded
throughout the arid region. Great good
is expected from the thorough study thus
made and from the published results.
The opportunities for settlers which ex-
list in each of the western states will be
far better appreciated when the facts are
brought out, as they must be in an In
v%estigation Of this kind, and it is expected
that as a result OF the United states land
and irrigation exposition at Chicago and OF
the publicity given to reclamation by the
trip Of Presid ent Taft throughout the west
and by the visit Of the senate conEittet
to the projects in the north and south,
as well as by the personal inspection o
the secretary of the interior, there will
be a movement of homeseekers to these
most productive lands, diverting, possibly
some of the current which is now setting
toward Canada.