The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1912-03-14

5 cember 5 to 9, 1911, has recently bee
. published by Chicago printers. Th
! speech Of Senator Fred Whiteside o
! Kalispell, who addressed the con
, gress on the opening day, is given il
the book. The ENTERPRISE CAV
fragments of the speech shortly afte
it was delivered but. at the request o
number of our readers. we will Civ,
it verbatim. The address follows:
desire first of all to say that tn,
people OF Montana are in full sym
pathy with tive work of national irri
CATION. We recognize the fact that
it is subject which reaches far be-
yond the confines of any state or sec
tion, and we wish to Sc it handled
in manner that will inure to the
best interests of the whole country
While we must view the subject from
the narrow window of our local in
terests, we hope we are big enough
and broad enough to act in the in.
terest OF the entire country rather
than from any selfish motive.
We have our difficulties and our
grievances in connection with the
reclamation work, but we are not
here to ask you to recognize those
grievances except in SO far as they
are common to the reclamation work
as whole. l do not believe that
grievances should be brought here
for adjustment. but do believe that
conditions should be stated here as
they exist upon the various projects
III order that yon may secure compre-
hensive knowledge as the foundation
for any action you may take. Our
difficulties may be divided into two
classes: Those which are due to acts
OF administration and those which
come from defects IN the reclamation
law itself. There WAS a time when
the friends OF national irrigation hes
'tated to ask for either legislative or
administrative reforms, lest the ell
tire law should be repealed, but that
time believe has passed, for nation
al irrigation is SO firmly entrenched
III public favor that it is not going to
be dislodged.
There is one problem that will al.
ways be with us, namely, the produc-
ton of the food cost of living. and
that cost will always be fixed by the
number of people who live upon the
farm as compared to the number that
live in the city. The people now rec
ognize the fact that national irriga-
tlon will decrease the cost of living
by increasing the number of people
OH the farms and by increasing the
yield per acre.
Therefore, believe we are safe in
asking for those reasonable reforms
both in the form and the administra-
tion OF the law as will insure to the
best interest of the people who live
under the irrigation projects.
Not by way of criticism but as a |
significant circumstance, wish to !
call your attention to the fact that |
Ill almost every instance the actual
cost of construction and supervision !
OF government irrigation projects has
largely exceeded the first estimate
Of cost Oh which the settlers were in
auced to put in their lands. Often
The actual cost has been two or three
lines the estimated cost, and is it
not strange coincident that every
Engineer made his mistake Oh the
same side of the book? For have
never heard Of a project where the
Ictual cost has been lower than the
estimates. taking the project as
Whole.
Did it ever occur to you that per-
aps mistakes in estimates were less !,
esponslble for these discrepancies
nan extravagant methods of con-
and administrations? In .
with this thought there is
ust one point to which l wish to call
our attention. The settler who ,
oes into II project upon an estimated
ost OF $25.O0 per acre, expecting to !
ay $3.50 per acre per year for ten
ears. finds a different problem con- !
him when the actual cost
as amounted to $4,000 an acre. and q
e must pay 5000 per acre per year. !
Whether the difference be due to 6
'ulty estimates or extravagant +
lethods, the responsibility lies with I
'e government, and would it be un- +
easonable to ask that the settlers
ayments be extended over a greater q
eriod Of time? We believe that q
lch request is not unreasonable. 1t
pes without saying that many diff t
lltles are encountered by the recla-