The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1909-06-30
TEN to Md Irrioators.


z turns out that in his efforts
to = the settlers. Mr. Newell de
wise : system that the law did not
aut =, u or contemplate, and thus
rar 3 : lter to the views of Mr.. Bal
on is System t" be S taken S'S "r son
gri ust amend the reclamation at
sos legalize it. The cooperative
SC = formulated by Mr.. Newell and
approved by Secretary Garfield, was in
brief, this:
The Reclamation Service entered
intel an agreement with the Water
Users association on a given project.
then under construction under which
the association would furnish some of
the money and some of the labor nee
essary for building purposes. The as
ISOLATION, in turn, with the approval
of the Reclamation Service, gave en-
| ployment to early settlers on the pro-
ject, some as transfers. some as or
| binary laborers, others in lines to
which they We're adapted. Instead OF
paying these settlers in cash. the as
sociation paid them in scrip" issu-
ed under the direction of the Recla-
| nation Service.
Later when water was turned onto
he project, the settler could make his
',ayment for water in scrip rather
i :han cash, the Reclamation Service
having agreed to accept this scrip in
lieu of cash. The service lost nothing
| by this practice, for the work was
actually performed, and the cost of
| the labor was shown on the heoksI
When scrip came in, cash was trans
ferred from one building fund to the
reclamation fund. and the accounts
balanced, just as if the settler had
been paid in cash and later turned
his cash back into the reclamation
fund.
Law Does Not Allow 1t.
But there is no law for any such
system No more agreements will be
entered into with water users associa-
lions. and no more scrip will be paid
out save in those instances where pro
jects built on the cooperative plan are
nearing completion However, all out
standing scrip will be honored, and
settlers who have been paid in scrip
will lose nothing. Scrip now in their
possession is as good as the day it was
issued, and will be accepted because
the secretary does not intend to dis
credit any agreements entered into
with the sanction or his predecessor.
1t is only as to future works that his
order applies.
In taking the position he does, Mr..
Ballinger has the backing of the At
itorney-General, who reported that
there was no warrant for this cooper
ative system of building government
irrigation works. In the future, aC
cording to the ruling of the Attorney
General, no new project or unit of
project can be undertaken until there
is available in the reclamation fund
enough actual cash to defray the en-
tire cost of building that project or
unit. This, too, is an innovation, for
under the late administration, pro-
| iects were undertaken on the assump-
ton that the fund would grow, and
that all necessary money would be on
| hand before any adopted project was
conf leted. The effect of this ruling
Will he to retard work somewhat.
| Rapidly. the working of the Recla-
nation Service is being made to con-
form strictly to the word and intent OF
/ the law, and practices and customs
not authorized or contemplated by the
law are being set aside.