The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1909-07-08
MORE ABOUT SCRIP SYSTEM
Ballinger Gives His Legal Rea-
sons for Revoking
Same.


scrip system, which has caused so
much unfavorable comment by the
government irrigation projects affected,
Ballinger has given his legal views of
the question, which he claims precludes
the exercising of the system. This
paper gave mention of Ballinger's ac-
tion many days in advance of any paper
This change grows out of the Sec
retary's disapproval of the scheme de-
vised by Director Newell, of the Re-
clamation Service, under which settlers
on uncompleted projects were permitted
to work on canals, bitches, ETC., and
receive in payment for their labor, a
certain kind of scrip, which was later
accepted by the Reclamation Service in
payment for water rights.
In devising this cooperative scheme,
Mr.. Newell was undertaking to tighten
the burden upon settlers who went
upon projects long before water was
available for irrigation. He sought to
give them employment during the time
when their farms yielded little or moth.
ing, and at the same time to lessen the
burden imposed upon them by the pay
ments for water demanded during the
early years of their settlement, when
their expenses were heaviest.
But it turns out that in his effort to
assist the settlers, Mr.. Newell devised
system that the law did not authorize
or contemplate, and thus ran counter
to the views Of Mr.. Ballinger. II
system Of cooperative construction is
to be taken up, Congress must amend
the reclamation act SO as to legalize
it. The cooperative scheme formulated
by Mr.. Newell and approved by Secre-
tary Garfield. was in brief, this:
The Reclamation Service entered into
an agreement with the Water Users As
sociation on given project, then under
construction, under which the associa-
tion would furnish some of the money
and some of the labor necessary for
building purposes. The association. in
turn, with the approval of the Re-
ciamation Service. gave employment to
early settlers on the project, some as
teamsters. some as ordinary laborers,
others in lines TO which they were
adapted. Instead of paying these sett-
lers in cash, the association paid them
in ''scrip, issued under the direction of
the Reclamation Service.
Later. when water was turned onto
the project, the settler could make his
payment for water in scrip rather than
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 per-
formed, and the cost of the labor was
shown on the books. When scrip came
in. cash was transferred from the
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 reclama-
tion fund.
Dul tutIc tc Ho law iOi SuNu
system. No more agreements will be
entered into with water users associa-4
tions, 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 intowith
the sanction of 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
torney- General, who reported that there
was no warrant for this cooperative
system of building Government irriga-
ton works. In the future, according to
the ruling of the Attorney-General, no
Continued on Page a.
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