The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-09-28
Taft Will Ask Congress to Issue $lo,0oO,0OO
in Bonds for Unfinished Irrigation Projects
=-=PinchotPraised and Ballinger Consulted

of federal jurisdiction and II should
! be undertaken by tho states. | do
not think that the states have taken
up the matter with as much energy
as they ought and have not improved
the opportunity which was given
them by way of example by the for
estry bureau of the United States,
The question whether the federal
government, With the purpose OF
equalizinG the flow of water in navi
gable streams. and 10 promote navisa-
lion during the entire year, may en-
ter upon plan OF regulating existing
forests and re-foresting certain de
nuded territory In the states, | need
not now discuss. The subject would
! involve wider discussion than /
have time TO give II.
The plan OF the government 10 re-
claim the arid and semi-arid lands,
manifested In the reclamation act,
has been carried ont most rapidly by
the bureau charged with its cXecu-
ton. ] had the honor I'm Colorado of
opening the most ambitious of these
proJects-at least the most difficult of
them-Gunnison tunnel which Is to
bring water into valley in Colorado
known as the UncompaghTe valley.
with some 100000 acres and TO put
II in a condition TO grow fruit and
cereals.
There are some thirty projects
| which have been entered upon by the
reclamation bureau. and I believe
that all OF them are to be commend.
ed for their excellent adoption OF
the purpose for which they were
erected, and for the speed with which
the work has been done. il IS said,
however, that in the planning OF
number of these improvements. the
enthusiasm of the projectors has car
rled them 10 a point where they be-
gin 10 feel embarrassed In the mat
| ter OF resources with which to COM
pletc the projects, and begin to show
that the strict limitations of the rec
lamation act were not closely observ-
cd oy those engaged in executing
them; that the projects were loo
many and more than could be COM
pleted in a reasonable time after
their beginning. because of lack
OF funds
The reclamation act provides for
the expenditures of funds made up
. from the sale OF public lands and re-
imbursed from time to time by the
installments TO be paid by the set
tiers who take up the irrigated land,
and also provides that no part of A
project Is TO be contracted for and
begun until the money for the com.
Pletion OF that part of the project con-
tracted for shall be in the reclama-
ton funds. Now, it appears that lt
will take $40 100000 or more. which
3 is not available in the reclamation
: fund at present. fully to complete the
projects. and 1t also appears that
great number OF persons, by reason
OF the beginning OF the projects. have
been led into the making OF settle
! ment5. the expenditure OF time and
labor with the hope, and upon the re-
lance. that such reclamation enter.
pTiscS would be carried through I'm
reasonable time.
II think that there Is no doubt that
IT was the intention of congress that
projects should not be multiplied in
such way that they could not be
completed within n reasonable. time
with the reclamation funds provided
by the sale of public lands, and II
would probably have been wiser to
adhere strictly to the limitation. thus
constructed even though the language
of the act by dividing up the projects
1 into PARTS on terms, seemed 10 per.
NIT the beginning Of more projects
! than there was likely TO be money
enough 10 complete Within a reason.
able time. The pressure was doubt
less very great and the reclamation
I service yielded to the pressure with.
/ in the letter OF the law and now find
/ themselves In the situation described.
! The work has been we'll done and re-
{ fleets great credit upon The engineers
who have had charge OF It,
But something must be done to re-
lIcye the present situation which IS
one of disappointed hopes to many
settlers upon the arid lands. who
counted upon an early completion OF
the projects undertaken and invested
their money and spent their time and
seemed to be no nearer the goal OF
satisfactory irrigation than they were
when the projects were begun.