The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1912-03-14
Fact. Concerning Irrigation In
Northern Montana
Continued from first page)


! Continued from first page)
water. Then the government declare,
the scrip was illegal, and the work wa
settled. The settlers to get bread TO
their families, had to sell the scrip
to money sharks at about sixty cent!
OH the dollar, and the government
afterward redeemed the script at par
charging it up against the settler.
lands. When the work was stopped
about 1900 acres on the south side Of
Milk river had been actually put I'm.
der water.
The sun never shone upon soil more
fertile than is contained in the Milk
river valley. On the small area wat.
cred this year for the first time the
yield was 20 bushe els Of fax, so bush
els of wheat and 40 bushels Of oats
per acre. just across the river
where the settlers are hanging on by
their eyelashes trying to raise
enought to live on until they can get
water and where the soil is equally
fertile, one man threshed IS bushe els
Of fax from so acres. and many of
the fields were not worth cutting. In
July and August the settler could
stand in his field of whitening grain
and see the water pouring over the
Dodson Dam in ample to cover all
the land, running to waste down Milk
river, just as it has for three years
since the dam was constructed. On
the north side of the river, just be-
low the dam, there is body OF land
containing many thousands of acres
that could be irrigated at nominal
cost in addition to the money already
expended, but nothing is being done,
and the water is pouring over the
dam all the time. On October list
l was there and saw water three feet
in depth going over the dam and rum
ming to waste down the river.
There was Il time, perhaps, when
no funds were available for work on
the project, but in 1910 four million
dollars were set aside for this work,
but not shOvelful of earth has been
moved since then. The full force of
office and field men has been main.
tanned, however, all the time, With
four million dollars on hand availa-
BILE for this work, Mr.. Newell on Ju-
]y IS last wrote to one of the settlers
asking if the settlers would be will
ing to do amy work on the north side
canal at their own expense. The
man who received that letter circulat-
ed II paper asking each settler to sign
for the amount of work he was will
ing to do. Some of the settlers saw
the injustice of the proposition, and
one of them wrote letter to Mr..
Newell as follows:
"Kalispell, Mont, August 8, 1911.
f. IL. Newell, Washington, d. G.
Dear Sir:-Being an owner of land
under the Dodson north canal l have
been asked to sign an agreement to
do portion of the work OH the canal
in order that we may be able to use
some OF the water that has been run
ming to waste ever since the dam was
completed nearly three years ago.
This request comes from the land
owners and is inspired by your letter
of July 10th to J. W. Carlson of Dod-
son, Montana, in which letter YOU
inquire it the settlers will be willing
to 40 any work on the canal.
AFTER nearly ten years of waiting
am willing to do almost anything
to get water OH my land. but / wish
to ask you why you want the settlers
to advance the money to build this
canal when ample funds have been
appropriated by the government for
this work?
CHOW that the dam is in use the
additional cost of putting water on
this land will be comparatively light
and, in view of the fact that you have
expended large sums to put water on
the south side that is many miles
from the dam and much more expen-
slve to cover, l wish to ask why we
who live close to the dam on the
north side should be expected to pay
in advance the cost of putting water
on our land?
Gas this land can be irrigated more
cheaply than any other portion of the
project would it not be good business
policy to finish this portion first in
order that the revenue may help in
completing the more difficult part of
;he work?
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