The Mena weekly star., 1910-12-29
APPROVES A REPORT
PRESIDENT TAFT AGREES WITH
BOARD OF ARMY ENGIN.
EERS.
20 MILLION D0LLARST0 BE SPENT
officers Recommend Expenditures at
Many Polnts--TeI of Work Now
Under Way-Irrigatlon Is a New
Art-Water Supply Uncertain.

Art-Water supply Uncertain.
Washington. Dec. 2S.-President
Taft has approved the report of the
special board of army engineers. rec.
ommending the apportionment of the
new 20 million dollar fund, provided
by Congress, among the following
reclamation projects in the West:
Salt River, Arizona. s495 600; Yuma.
Arizona, and California, 81 200, 900: Grand
Valley. Colorado. l million dollars; I'm
comoahgre Colorado, Y million dollars;
Payette- Boise, Idaho, 2 million dollars:
MIX River. Montana, 1 million dollars;
North Platte, Wyoming and Nebraska. 1
million dollars; Truckee-C Carson. Nevada,
s1l93000 Rio Grande. New Mexico, Texas
and Mexico, 4is million dollars: Umatilia
oregon. 1926. 900: klamath, Oregon and
California, S6e0. 900; Strawberry Valley,
Utah. $2,272,000; Sunnyside and Tieton,
at Yakima, Washington. IL million dol
lars and s665,000 respectively. Total, 20
million dollars.
The 20 million dollars is to be spent
within the next five years and the in.
teres. on the loan is TO be charged
against the projects. The following
projects, completed or nearing compile
ton, carry a recommendation for
funds from the general reclamation
act sufficient only for maintenance and
operation:
orland. CAL; Carlsbad. ~ NJ; Honod
N. NJ; Garden City. Kan; Kittitas, wap-
ata and Benton Units OF the Yakima
Wash, project.
Recommends Other Projects.
For the following existing reclama.
ton project the board of engineers,
in tie report approved by the presi.
dent, recommends allotments from the
general reclamation fund:
Missouri Pumping. n. D.; Bellefourche
S. D.; Shoshone, Wyo.; Minidoka Id;
Huntley. Mont. Sun River Mont; Lower
Yellowstone. Mont; Okanogan, Wash.
In his letter to the secretary of the
interior approving the report of the
engineers, President Taft says in part:
Il hereby approve the report of the
board of engineers in respect to the
reclamation projects, to which they
have made allotments from the 20 mil.
lion dollar loan; but this approval, so
far as the amounts of the allotments
are concerned, is not final and abso
mte, but is intended to be subject to
change by adjustment and modifica
ton of the amounts as may be neces
sary for the Intelligent ana proper
prosecution of the work, and to the
advantage of the service.
May Call For Funds.
l.,
secretary of the treasury to issue the
certificates of indebtedness needed &c
furnish the funds in accordance with
the allotment recommended by the
board and approved by me as the
same shall be needed from time to
time in pursuance of the terms of the
act.
THE remainder of the report of the
engineers, which was not responsive
TO the direction of the law but was
drawn at my request and for my in
formation, | hereby approve; and
when congress reconvenes in January
shall submit a message to the two
houses, transmitting the report an
nouncing my approval of the same
and urging the adoption OF the en-
abling legislative measur recon
mended by the board
In its comprehensive report on the
reclamation work in general, the en-
gineers board says in part:
"The engineering structures of the
various projects are, as a whole, wei
designed and well built. Some of them
as the Pathfinder dam, the Shoshone
dam the Roosevelt dam and the Gun
nison tunnel are monuments reflect
ing great credit on both designer AND
builder.
Irrigation a New Art.
Modern irrigation, being a relative
y new art in this country, much free
dom was allowed local engineers in
the design of minor structures. While
this was a wise policy in the early
stages of this work, 1t has resulted in
complicated and unnecessarily expen
sive structures With the present
knowledge of the comparative merits
Of the different types. it is believed
4 mat standard designs of the simplest
satisfactory type should be adopted
lor all minor structures.
The most uncertain feature of near
. y all the projects is the water sup
j ply. This is under state control, and
d IN the prosecution of its work the
reclamation service bears the same
relation to the state as private in
e uvidual or corporation. Where the
Fl water rights have been adjudicated