The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1909-11-19
INVESTIGATE
THE HONDO

The Senate Committee on Irriga-
tion have come and gone. They were
due at 1885 this morning on a special
over the Belen cutoff. as previously
reported in the Record. but did not
arrive until shortly after ten o'clock.
Owing TO the lateness of the hour.
the breakfast at the Gilkeson hotel
was abandoned and the members of
The Senate Irrigation Committee and
those accompanying them secured
breakfast on the train before arriving
in Roswell
A large number of Roswell people
met the distinguished party at the
railroad station and they were at
once taken to the rooms of the Com
mercial Club, the trip to the Hondo
reservoir site being abandoned at the
request of the committee.
The members OF the committee are
Senators, Carter, of Montana, War
rem of Wyoming and Jones. of Wash
ington. With them were Governor
George Curry. Traffic Manager Brink
ley. OF the Santa Fe. r. III. Newell and
Wendell NJ. Reed of the Reclamation
Service and a number of railroad. Re-
clamation Service and Territorial OFF,
cials. Territorial Engineer Sullivan
was also member of the party.
Upon arrival at the Commercial
Club the meeting was called TO order
informally and a short address of
welcome was made by Mayor Richard
son, who made the visitors all feel
they were in the midst of friends and
heartily welcome.
Senator Carter then stated, he be-
ing the chairman OF the committe ee.
tnat they had been on their travels
for fifty-one days ami would be glad
to have the meeting In an informal
n
pointed by the senate to investigate
into and inquire after the needs of
the irrigation projects and to see
what had already been done.
The committee then proceeded to
get down to business. taking up the
Hondo Reservoir project, and asking
many questions about H.
DIR. Dean, who owns land under the
reservoir, placed some interesting
facts before the committee. He tofd
them of the dry years we have had for
the past several years and referred
to the lack of water coming down the
Hondo river to the reservoir. DIR.
Dean then told of the large amount
of water in the Hondo about twenty
miles up the river from the reservoir
and stated that IL this could be bro't
10 the reservoir. water could be secur-
ed to irrigate the land under the big
dam.
Dr. Dean further stated that under
the present conditions, owing to the
lack of water. no one was able to
make living on the land, but that
il this canal could be constructed TO
bring this amount of water down to
the dam, the conditions would be tot
Elly changed. AS IL now Is this large
amount of water gets away be seep-
age, evaporation. etc, before 10 ar
rives at the reservoir. This year, he
stated. water had reached the reser-
voir but 81 days. Last year water
had gone down to the reservoir during
40 days.
The com-nittee then showed their
interest in the matter by asking the
Doctor a number of questions, to
which he replied Many of these ques-
tions were concerning the amount of
water farther up the Hondo, the char
actsr of the country there, the soil,
the distance such a canal would have
TO be brought. the character of the
country through which IL would run.
and other similar questions.
The members of the committee in
quired into the conditions under the
reservoir at present and were told
that but little of the land was being
cultivated owing to lack of water.
They were also Informed of what
could be raised with an adequate sup
ply of water and told OF the various
crops that could ba produced. the
cost of raising and marketing and the
returns. AL this Information was CIV
en- them. showing clearly that all
that was needed to bring into cultiva-
fion the 10000 or more acres under
the reservoir was water.
Senator Jones asked questions to
bring out whether or not II would be
necessary to cement the canal should
one be constructed. This would of