The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-08-24

with the administration at affairs on
this project and the completion II the
work. When these complaints were
first voiced the Review was rather In
clined to believe that they were the
natural concauitant Of pay day 50
But there is TAR more i'm it than the
statements If a hot nf pe<simfsts and
kickers." Some Of the best men in the
lower valley are back of these declara-
tons. and they cannot he gainsaid.
But this line of logic Is not exactly
answering the Standards Justified
cnmpiexity OF opinion concerning the
Lower yellow stone valley and its
government irrigation project
Reserting thereto We would say that
the settlers ate not exactly camplain-
ing because the land will cost too
much" They rebel. first of all. be
cause Of failure on the government :
part to fulfill what was more than an
implied contract
In the fourth paragraph of its cam
ment. the Standard has confused two
things. namely. title to water and title
tn the land The settlers want longer
time to pay for their water. hut they
want receivers final receipt for tho
land itself as Soon as they have COM
piled with the usual residence require
ments of the homestead law. But that
contention il eliminated now anyway
i'm view OF Secretary Ballinger's state
ment at Fridays hearing. to the effect
that he has authorized n new ruling.
granting just what the settlers desire
in this respect with receivers final
receipt. which Is in reality a patent tn
the land conditioned upon payment nf
the water right in yearly instruments,
the settlers can negotiate loans on the
lands. which viii be equivalent To Sec
ond mortgages,
The Standard comments upon the
question Of shipping facilities. as men,
toned in the settlers statement. The
Review is unable To understand why
that matter was ut all incorporated in
the answers made To the senate COM
mittee. for the building of the Mis-
souri, River railroad. now i'm process,
certainly solves the question Of trans
partation to the satisfaction of any
reasonably minded man in the valley.
Finally then. the standard is dead
wrong i'm its cumulatinn of the matter
when ii says: Even If the alleged
exactions and shortcomings of federal
authority Were corrected. the whole
settler project would better go into
receivership." There il no just war
rant for that assertion. nor is ii right
to ASSUME that the airing of these
grievances constitutes "A knock" on
the Lower Yellowstone valley.
There il no finer section Of country
than this on Gods green earth any
where; no richer soil; no better pros
poets for raising splendid crops. only
a few days ago district superintend-
ent of the Methodist church. one al
the most travelled and observant men
in the state, made a trip down this
same valley, and. on his return To
Glendive, he declared in unstinted
terms that there was nothing To equal
it in the whole state of Montana.
Louis w. Hill, president of the Greae
Northern railroad. at the banquet
given Saturday evening to the irriga-
ton committee and other guests by
the Glendive business men, was equal
~ eloquent and profuse in his declara-
tions concerning the valley.
man, were amazed at what they saw
during the trip to Sidney and return.
Magnificent fields of waving grain,
with much of IL already in the shock,
greeted tho eye on every hand. Most
of this was raised without irrigation
wheat that will easily make from
% to 40 bushels to the acre: oats that
will yield all the way from 80 to 100
bushels: flax. barley. potatoes, alfalfa
all the multitude of crops for which
other sections of Montana have be
come famous. They all produce mag
nificently in the valley without irrlgae
ton. With the water. it is declared
by compartment authority, these varied
crops will not only be absolutely GER
tain from year to year. but they vii.
produce from 10 to % per cent great
er returns with irrigation than with
out IL.
There isn't the slightest reason in
the world for any settler under the
Lower Yellowstone project TO be pes
simistic today. and very few. If any.
of them are the least discouraged.
They feel that there is question of
right involved. II the government
cannot or will not correct these
things. they will grin and bear it
and will keep on grinning from year
Ia year as the crops are garnered.
II senator Chamberlain's suggestion
were adopted. and the government
should this day cancel all the settlers
obligations: take over tho project,
complete il and then offer the water
for sale AT $3.50 per acre. il would
be taken like wilafire by the same
people who are complaining over con-
ditinns now, One must remember
that these people have lived for four
or five years now in the midst of un-
certainty. The least experienced of
all could see a hundred places where
money could be saved. They knew
that they. the settlers. must eventu-
ally pay every cent of it. And who
wouldn't grow FESTIVE and restless
under such conditions Is 1t the least
bit strange that an explosion occurred
AT the last. and that these long-suf
fering settlers gave full vent To Their
feelings The wonder Is that they
have been patient so long.
And now. what of remedy The