The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1910-06-30
ADJUSTMENT OF CAN
YON CANAL PROBLEM
Water Users and Land Board
Agree Upon Course TO
be Pursued.

The story of the trials and diff
culties of the Canyon Canal com
pany has been never-ending one,
but as a result of conference be-
tween a committee from the Water
Users Association and the state
land board yesterday, the end is
in sight. An agreement has been
reached whereby the canal will be
operated this season with funds pro-
vided by the state and the system
will be taken over by the water users
as soon as an irrigation district can
be formed Further details of the
committees agreement has not yet
been learned, as the conference has
not yet been concluded.
Assisting the committee was Col
onel Hunter, owner of valuable land
under the canal, who hearing of the
condition of affairs and realizing the
Importance of quick action, came
from Chicago at his own expense to
lend his aid toward Strengthening
out the matter. He arrived in
Boise Tuesday morning and had
conference with Governor Brady, in
which he stated that owing to firan-
cial reverses the Trowbridge & Nj
yer company was unable to carry on
the work and that any hope for fl
nancial aid from that source was flu
tile. Before leaving Chicago, Mr..
Hunter was allowed to thoroughly
examine the books of the TroWbrids
Niver company and for the first time
the actual cost of construction of
the Canyon canal system was made
public. The colonel brought with
him every voucher ever paid by the
canal company, showing that the
canal had cost up to date approx
mately s1,180,00O. OF this amount
the company had realized on bonds
S729.000. thereby sustaining loss
of $451,0OO Other heavy losses in
a Colorado project had depleted
their treasury and left them in a
practical bankrupt condition. These
facts were brought out on Wednes-
day at a conference of the commit |
tee and Mr. Hunter. At the close OF
this conference the gentlemen had a |
melting with the land board and wen
over the situation very thoroughly, |
after which the board agreed to ad-
vance money from the fund allow
ed by the government for the pur-
pose of completing reclamation pro-
jects and pay the expenses of opera
ting the canal during this irrtgat-
ing season, with the understand
ing, however, that the water users
form an irrigation district and take
over the ditch as soon as possible.
Colonel Hunter was seen by The
Index this morning, and in an inter
view said:
There is only one way out of the
present crisis, and that is for the
land owners to take over the ditch
& Niver cannot give any
further aid. l have been over their
affairs with Senator Wayman aud
Know that to be impossible There
is no use of the people of Emmett t
say the ditch isn't finished We
face the crisis of abandoning the ca
nal or running it, and we must look
the situation squarely in the face
aud cease spending time in criticism
or complaining We must act.
1--WE should form an irrigation
district, issue bonds payable in 10
or 20 years, enough to reDlace pre-
sent bonds and leave plenty Of cap
tai to provide for emergencies. Then
the canal should be taken over. The
expense of maintenance can be met
by an assessment upon the acreage.
Payments or contracts to be deferr-
cd 10 years. l believe we can af-
ford 81 an acre for maintenance
now much better than to continue
payments on contracts.
81 came out here at my own ex.
Dense and my interest is purely pub
ic spirit l have gone into the mat
.er thoroughly and feel perfectly
a bond issue and taking
over the canal is the solution of our
problem