Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-06-17

| dam which will be the main structure
of an irritation system which will give
water to many thousand acres of land
in New Mexico, Texas and the republic
of Mexico all in the vicinity of Ell Paso,
! Texas. The construction Of this great
dam at Elephant Butte will be the chief
( work of the Rio Grande project which
will, when completed. restore 10000 acres
Of desert to fertility to be equaled only
in the valley of the Nile.
A thousand years ago, or four thousand
years ago. before the day of history and
before the American engineer and his
concrete dam construction had been
dreamed of, this part of the valley of the
Rio Grande was a huge, fertile field. 1t
| supported population Of thrifty and in
dustrial people. possessed Of high de-
gree of engineering and constructive
skill. Modern man does not know even
the name of this race of people. He does
not know what was the color of the skin.
what gods they worshiped, what history
they enacted. He does not know If these
people hourished before or after the
mighty builders of Egypt. He knows
only that these people, in the morning
OF the career of the human race. were
versed in the science of irrigation, for
their sole remaining monument is the
system of cut stone waterways which
were used to bring the water from stor-
age reservoirs to the thirsty land.
Some Of these ancient prehistoric canals
were cleaned out and repaired by the
Indians somewhere about the time Co
lumbus sailed into the west Spanish ex-
plorers, soldiers and. priests found this
valley inhabited by sedentary tribes, en-
gagged in agriculture by irrigation,
hundred years before John Smith came to
jamestown. The construction of an irri-
cation plant in this valley has the sane
ton of the most ancient and honorable
precedent and usage possible to be found
in the western world.
The land which will be reclaimed I'M
der this irrigation project lies partly in
the territory Of New Mexico, partly In
the state of Texas. and partly In the
republic Of Mexico. On this account the
project is peculiarly complicated by rea-
| son of the diverse interests Of the fed
| eral American government, the Texas
state government and the Mexican gov
! eminent. Mexico is the guardian and
| protector of the interests of its people
who dwell in the Rio Grande valley just
1 PSSRtN
! and their ancestors for centuries upon
centuries, had been using the water of
! the Rio Grande to irrigate their lands.
| Enterprising Americans settling in New
! Mexico, above the line, in many private
| irrigation projects, diverted the water OF
| the river before 1t reached the point
where IL becomes an international stream.
| The result of this was that the land
owned by the Mexicans could no longer
get any water and was turned back to
/ the desert
On this account the republic of Mexico
Instituted claims against the United
States for damages aggregating about 30
600 900. These claims were pending for
MANY wears Three years ago treaty
was entered into between the United
States and Mexico, under the terms OF
which the United States agreed to con-
struct great irrigation plant and TO
give without charge, water TO the Eo,OOO
acres of Mexican land which had been
ruined by The diversion OF the waters or
the Rio Grande. The total cost of the
Rio Grande irrigation project will be
IS. 10000, of which 100000 is appropri-
/ ated directly out OF the United States
| treasury. This sum goes to pay for that
\ proportion Of the project which is devot-
ed to the uses of Mexico. According to
4 the treaty, Mexico withdraws all or It's
! $4,000, 900 claims in consideration OF the
construction of the new irrigation plant.
The other IS, 600, 1000 will be paid back to
the government by the persons who buy
| the land, as is the case in all other
projects under the reclamation service.
There was still another complication.
The state of Texas formerly was the re-
public of Texas and was annexed to the
United States by treaty which estab-
| lished certain peculiar relations. The
\. ny
public land in Texas, and, therefore,
Texas was not included in the provisions
of the general reclamation act. A special
law was passed by congress to permit the
people of Texas to share the benefits OF
the reclamation act for the purposes OF
! this project The project was planned
several years ago, but on account OF the
international and interstate complica-
| tions, preliminary progress necessarily
was slow. Now, all OF the diverse inter-
ests have been adjusted, the project has
been given the official sanction Of the
department Of the interior, and the act
ual work will be begun Immediately.
| OF the les 900 acres Of the irrigable land
| to be reached by the water Of this pro-
! ject, 10000 acres lie in New Mexico, and
45, 900 acres in Texas. Perhaps 10000 acres
of this land now are under irrigation of
a sort. This land will reimburse the gov
eminent for the 100000 expended in the
project. BY the terms of the reclama-
ton act, no person may have water for
more than 100 acres. He must pay to the
government, in. ten annual installments
his proportionate share Of the expense of
building the irrigation plant. Most of
the lands now are in private holdings
but water will not be furnished to one
person for more than a single farm unit
OF $50 acres. Persons holding larger tracts
of land will be forced to sell. This will
mean, of course, a great increase in pop
ulation in the territory.
The city of Ell Paso is the commercial
capital of the Rio Grande project. Ell
Paso is the metropolis of an immense
region extending 1900 miles from San
Antonio to Los Angeles, east and west,
and 1900 miles from Denver to the heart
of Mexico, north and south. 1t is re-
gion wonderfully rich in minerals, bless
ed by a most salubrious climate, and
needing only the development of tributary
agricultural lands to make it one of the
most populous, prosperous and important
commercial centers Of the great south
west
The value of the irrigable lands which
will be benefited by this project will be.
| according to conservative estimates, not