Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-06
Repayment Never Made.

Repayment never maze.
When Congress met President Roosevelt
sent in message reciting the circum-
stances and all the documents pertaining
thereto. and asked an appropriation of
81 ,636,O6S to reimburse the Southern Pa
cihc railway for its expenditures. The
committees of both houses held hearings
and arguments. The Senate committee re-
ported a bill for an appropriation of
$l.'OOOO". The House committee made no
report at all. A majority OF the com
mittee were opposed to paying anything
because OF the unpOpularity of the South
ern Pacific railroad. 1t was equivalent to
a man refusing to pay just debt be-
cause he didn't like the reputa ton of the
person to whom it was due. In the next
Congress another attempt was made, and
then again the next. and the amount OF
the appropriation was reduced to S1jOdG0.
but no action has yet been taken. and
the Southern Pacific railroad will proba-
bly, never be paid.
President Roosevelt said:
"1f the river is not back and perma-
nently retained in its natural bed the
progressive back cutting in the course
Of one or two years will extend upstream
to Yuma, as before stated, and finally to
the Laguna dam. now being built by the
government. thus wiping out millions of
property belonging to the government
and to citizens. Continuing farther. ii
the Colorado river Of the possibility OF
obtaining the necessary supply Of water
by gravity canals
THE great Yuma bridge will go out.
and approximately 7OOOOb acres of land
as fertile as the Nile valley will be left
in desert condition. II the break in the
Colorado is not permanently controlled
the financial loss to the United States
will be great The entire irrigable area
which will be either submerged or de-
rF Iyy,v .t.DI L.,
and along the Colorado river is capable
of adding to the permanent population of
Arizona and California at least 10000
people. and probably 100000 Much of
the land will be worth from 500 to 81. 5ID
per acre to individual owners or a total
Of from S35O.O0O,O0O to S7O0OOO,OOO'
The Yuma Project.
The Imperial valley irrigation plant is
entirely different from the Yuma project
of the United States reclamation service.
on the other side OF the Colorado river.
in Arizona, and intended to reclaim
5000 acres Of the valley south of the
city of Yuma on the Southern Pacific
railroad. 1t is more than threefourths
finished and is now irrieating 1900
acres. upon which the farmers are grow
ing a crop every month in the year. All
Of the irrigated land is on the Arizona
side except the reservation OF the Yuma
Indians, who consist Of ABOUT 100 fami-
lies. The squaws grow a little corn and
be ans, but the bucks will not work.
More than half OF the area to be irri-
gated is government land. A dam rine-
teen feet high and 4,1SU feet long has
been built across the Colorado river at
Laguna, twelve miles above Yuma. 1t is
a mass of masonry 2+4 feet thick. with
out solid foundation and held In place
by its own weight This dam. however,
is for diversion only. 1t elevates the
water ten feet and turns il into canals
on both sides. There is pumping plant
to force water through siphon under
the river forty feet below its bottom
from the California side to the Arizona
side. The siphon is Il steel tube 1.UD feet
long and II feet in diameter, and il will
irrigate 5000 acres of land.