The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-06-08
MCKEE AND RESERVATION
WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF
Letter to L. o. Janeck Makes 1t
Apparent the Redemption of
Lands Damaged by Seepage
and Sub-Irrigation is Certain to
Progress---Two Districts in Yak
ina Valley to Receive Attention

\ special engineer of the office ot
experiment stations of the depart
ment of agriculture at Washington
viii be in North Yakima this summer
to assist IN Il llinage work, especially
with reference to the Mckee VALLEY. {.
q. Elliott, chief of the drainage in
Vcatigations of the United States. will
also be here a portion of the time.
Not only that but work will be begun
n july in inauguration of the enter
priscs there. which vii! not conclude
until the entire area of 10000 acres
which have been damaged by seepaGe
have been reclaimed. These facts
were contained in letter received
from Washington Saturday from Mr..
Elliott by l.. O. Janeck, chairman of
the committee of the Mckee Improve
ment association.
Mr.. Elliott's letter is significant. 1t
demonstrates that the Mckee valley
and the Yakima county generally
have been much more closely OBJ
served by federal officials than the
average citizen had any idea of. 1t
shows also that this district is on tho
eve of a different phase of reclama-
ton work, namely that of drainage.
The letter of Mr.. Elliott which ex-
plains itself, is as follows:
United States Department of Agri-
culture, Office of Experiment Sta
tions, Washington. d. c. Drainage
investigations,
May 90. 1910
Mr.. L. o. Janeck,
Chairman of Committee.
Mckee Improvement Association.
North Yakima, Wash.
Dear Sir:-Upon my return to the
office l find your Letter of April 81
written in the interest of the drain
age of the lands in MoXee valley.
am very glad to hear of the interest
landowners are taking in this subject.
for the reason that | have watches
the development of the Mckee valley
s.nce 1903, when | first visited Yak
ina. At that time it was little sus-
pected that the lands of the valley
would become seeped and require
drainage. Later, Wnen this became
apparent to the Mckee company, Mr.
Jayne and myself went over a portion
of the lands and a survey and ap-
proXimate location of a needed ditch
were made, with our recommends
tons, which We're contained in the re-
port and map filed with Mr.. H. B.
Scudder in September, 1906. At that
time there appeared to be but little
appreciation of the necessity of be-
ginning drainage uIon these lands
The attempt of the Mckee company
10 organize a district under the state
drainage law failed Id the company
later began the construction or IL
ditch designed to benefit their own
lands. | was glad to learn, last fall
that this ditch was proceeding salts
factoriy, and that marked results
We're following its construction.
The report and recommendation
before refei red to were intended as
preliminary to an organization under
which the proposed work could be
financed and carried out under the
state law. | believe that the county
surveyor was employed to run out the
ditch line in detail, but to what ex-
tent that survey was made l am not
informed
Now, as to the special request CON
tanned in your letter, allow me to say
that we already have an engineer APP
pointed VINO will be assigned to the
Yakima valley. While quite marked
success has attended the efforts of the
people in the vicinity of Yak ma In
roclaimins seeped land. the efforts
made in the Sunnyside section aavo
not been especially encouraging 1t
is the Judgment of this office that by
placing n man upon the ground