The La Jara chronicle., 1911-06-23

for winch they do not pay, as
result of their refusal to cone
in. Under the district system.
their lands will be included and
they will have to pay their just
proportion of the expense. I'm
der the district system all viii
have to pay their just proportion
of the expense. Under the dis
trict system all will receive equal
benefits and all will share equal
ly the cost 1t is the only equi-
table way and the. only effective
way to bring about the proper
reclamation of the land. 1t in
sures the quicker completion of
the project and the only thorough
and successful method.
Again, under the irrigation dis
trict system, with the district t!:r
owner of all the water-ditch,
seepage and reservoir-you will
save no small sum in tn" cost
of maintenance since one set Of
officers will supervise the entire
administration, there will be less
machinery of management, hence
less friction. Old settlers and
newcomers alike know well, with
out further argument, that reser-
voir water is now necessary for
late as well as earl y irrigation.
And they well know, and not one
of them can truthfully deny, that
the need will be still more urgent
when all the lad is drained and
calling for water
For the growing of alfalfa, a
crop that can be successfully pro
duced after drainage, late fall ir-
rigation is very necessary. Hence
it seems to us that it would be
display of almost criminal
shortsightedness to simply pro
vide drainage, because it is the
cheaper, and not at the same
time provide reservoir water to
take care of late irrigation, to
take care of irrigation in dry
years, and also to provide the
extra water needed to irrigate
the new land that will be brought
into cultivation.
Again, if you form yourselves
into a district comprising all the
lands between the Citizens ditch
on the southwest and the Rio
Grande river on the northeast,
it will not cost one cent more
per quarter section to drain all
the land as body than it will
to drain separately by quarter
section or in small private groups
Individually, and in small groups,
you get practically nothing for
the seepage water deve' e'oped,
While under the irrigation dis
trict system you will get the full
valu, of every foot of water
developed, which is worth at
least 81, 800 per cubic foot per
second. And we wish to add that
it is our opinion that each quar-
ter section drained will develop
close to that amount of water
during the irriga ION season. There
will, putting the amount at the
lowest possible figure, be 500
second feet of water developed
in the $50 miles of drainage
bitches, and this 500 second feet
o. water at the present price of
$1,000 per foot is worth $750000.
Seven hundred and fifty thousand
dollars to the district, which is
several thousand dollars more
than the cost of the drainage
bitches complete, and more than
half the cost of the entire prop
osition including the reservoir,
completed. with a capacity of 30,
600 acre feet.
The Continental reservoir,
which it is proposed to deliver to
this district, will easily fill twice
each season of ordinary run; once
during the non-irrigating months
of winter and again during the
flood season of June and July.
A wagon without a team is of
little use to you. A pocketbook
without money in it, an aggrava-
ton. But farm in the San
Luis Valley without sufficient wa-
| tn,. ;r N ahcnlntal,r diSn ct rnns