The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-07-19
By gibson GARNER

WASHINGTON, July 19-Panie
and naturalization have been
caused among settlers ON the gov
eminent reclamation projects by
an order Just issued by Sec. Bal.
linger of the department of the In
terror. This sentiment is reflected
in thousands of letters which are
now pouring into Washington.
The trouble grows out of new
reversal of Garfield-Roosevelt
policy. A legal objection has beer
found to one of the practices insti,
tuted by Sec. Garfield and CHIEF
F. H. Newell of the reclamation
service.
Here is the situation:
People who take up the govern.
ment reclamation land undertake
to pay for 1t in installments. Mos
of these people have very little
money. The settler may have Q
team of horses and enough money
to get one crop in the ground, but
when he has done this and made
his first payment on the land he
has little left.
But the settler is willing to
work; and he generally has plenty
of time to work. If he could
do some work digging bitches and
helping to finish the reclamation
project it would help him lot in
paying for his land. That was the
situation so far as the settlers
We're concerned.
Now, on the other hand, the
government wanted work done
The government was very anxious
to make use of the men and their
teams. So. Sec. Garfield and Mr.
Newell figured out a plan by which
the government and the settler
could cooperate. They said to the
settlers, "You turn in and do this
work; we will keep tab and give
you credit and will issue to you
certificates for the amount of work
done. Then we will accept those
certificates on account of what
you owe on government land"
This scheme pleased the settlers
very much. They went to work
and have been paying for their
lands in part by digging bitches,
hauling dirt and doing other work
which the government wanted
done. 1t gave employment to those
who needed the employment and
nobody was harmed.
Bnt Sec. Ballinger now says the
whole thing is '.illegal." On his
own motion he asked the attorney
general for an opinion Interpreting
the law and has received 20 type
written pages from MIR. Wicker
sham declaring that the law does
not warrant the issue of certifi
Gates nor the acceptance of such
certificates i'm payment for the
land.
Probably Mr.. Wickersham is
correct. No doubt congress did
neglect to provide specifically for
such condition of affairs, but
Mr.. Ballinger is the first to find
any reason for interfering with the
workings of the plan which result
ed in material. benefit to the gov
eminent and which was satisfac-
tory to everybody-except Mr..
Ballinger.
The practical question which
confronts the settler is suggested
by this extract from Atty.-Gen.
Wickersham's opinion:
"These certificates having been
Issued under an unwarranted con-
tract, cannot be received as credits
for the charges imposed upon the
land under the statutes"
There you are. The poor settler
has gone out with his team in the
broiling sun and has worked day
after day digging and hauling dirt
until he supposes that he has earn
ed a hundred dollars. He has plan
ned 10 pay this money on account
of the next installment due the
government on his farm. He
knows that the money has been
earned. He knows that he has felt
the sweat trickle from his brow
and that his horses have had to bel
fed and housed and that he has
given his time and muscle to this
labor. But now comes the benev-
client secretary of the interior with
a volunteer intervention and I'll
gratuitous legal opinion that theI
certificates given by the reolama-
ton service is no good,
This is what Sec. BaIlinger calls
ssreform,r He is righting thel
wrongs worked by the Garfield
Newen-Roosevelt administration.
How many settlers are affected
by this ruling 1t is impossible to
state. Roughly estimated there
may be as many as ten Thousand.
1t affects settlers ON all the prin-
cipal government reclamation pro-
jects and there are about 80 of
these located all the way from
Washington state to Arizona and
east as far as Nebraska,
What will the settler do who
has relied on his certificate to pay
his next installment? Already
there are hints in Washington that
scalpers are on their way to thei
reclamation projects with offers to
buy up these certificates for 30
cents on the dollar. more or less.
The scalper will tell the farmer
that the eertificate is no good and
will show him the opinion OF Mr..
Ballinger and Atty. Gen. Wicker
sham to prove 1t. Then he will
make the farmer an offer and tryl
to get the certificate for what he
can. Eventually the certificates
will probably be redeemed at face
value.
The scalper will have the farm
ers' money. But the law and Mr..
BalIinger will be indicated.
Already the water users have
been getting together and passing