El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-03

| reclama ton service. as represented IN
! the Roosevelt project and the water
| users of the Salt River valley under
! that project which it may be profitable
for the water users under the Elephant
Butte project to look into in order that
| they may forestan a similar row when
Elephant Butte water becomes avail
able for use in the MesilIa and Ell Paso
valleys.
| jected it was figured out that all the
| water that a farmer cared to use, up
| to five acre feet per year, could be
| furnished for a flat rate of $3.50 per
acre, and water was furnished at that
rate during 1911 and for the year end
ing October 1, 1912
Claim Rate is Prohibitive.
During the. summer, however the
reclamation service gave notice to
water users that no more contracts at
/ the old rate would be made and pro
mulgated a new rate which made the
/ use Of five acre feet cost S4S5 per
acre-a cost that the water users
| deemed prohibitive- They called
meeting of protest but the local Off
| GERS of the service were obdUrate, say
| ing that their instructions came from
| the reclamation office in Washington.
They said that it had been determined
that the farmers were using too much
water with the result that thousands
of acres of land were being ruined
irretrievably and that it was TO pre-
vent this overuse and therefore worse
than waste Of water that the new rate
was being imposed. They held that
two acre feet of water per year II
judiciously used, was ample for soil
such as prevails throughout this val
ley.
The water users resented the impu-
tation that they were wasting water
or spelling land, and held that if they
were the water and the land belonged
to them and they had the right TO
waste the one and spoil the other with
out interference on the part of reclama-
ton service officers, whom they held
to be their servants rather than their
master.
Capt. George Christie was retained
by the water users to go to Washington
to intercede with the heads of the
reclamation service to the end that the
old rate and the old system might be
restored. But there was nothing do
doing along that line 1t mad oeen
reported TO them that not only was
water being wasted, but that land was
being spoiled by the use of so much
water, that alkai deposits at deptn
were being dissolved and brought to-
the surface by capillary attraction ana
they proposed to stand by the local
reclamation officers and save water
and land.
Christie returned to Phoenix and re-
ported the result or lack of result of
his mission Some of the more choleric
OF the water users wanted to take the
matter into court, but Capt. Chrlstle
called attention to the fact that judge
Sloan could not sit on the case, as ne
himself is a water user, and probably
might call in California judge, from
a district where as high as SIS per acre !
per year is charged for irrigation and.
who. when he saw water being served /
for s4S5 per acre per year, would de-
eide in favor of the reclamation ser
vice and tell the farmers they ought \
to think themselves lucky to get water |
for s4-S5-
Sign Modified Contract.
There the matter rested until chief 4
engineer l. c. Hill came to Phoenix last |
week and presented a modified con 4
tract calling for s1.10 per acre per year l
for two acre feet which he deemed 4
ample for any crops grown in this val /
lev For those who felt that they must 4
have more, the rate would be 40 cents
per acre foot for the second and third (
acre foot, so cents for the fourth acre
foot and so cents for the fifth acre
foot, or a total of So per acre per year
for what they hitherto have paid sl-ov
per year
This did not prove satisfactory to
the water users and hundreds OF them
said they would refuse to sign the
modified contract They openly
that the increase in cost for
service was being made to provide
funds to meet enormous wastes in the
cost of construction caused by the en-
ployment of incompetents as engineers
and grating contractors.
These charges, covcrtly though some
times openly made, did not deter the
reclamation officers from calling the
bluff of the belligerents and notices
were Immediately issued that all water
would be cut off on October 1 from
! - p "a
date walk up to the captains office
and sign a contract for the coming
year at the new rate. They all came
up and signed.
VIII Not Flood Farms.
One of the results viii be that those
who in the past have been permitting
their farms to be flooded on the slight
est provocation, hereafter will be COM
PEELED TO irrigate more scientifically
or pay the penalty in the form Of
higher rate
The experiment will be we'll worth
Reclamation officers say
that better crops will be grown with
the lesser amount ofsWater The farm
srs say they don't believe II, but arc
willing to try out the theory for one
succeed, because if they do, not only
will their water cost them less per
acre per year, but there will be more
water for farms yet to be developed in
the valleys.
Deny Dam is weakened.
A scare was thrown into the resi-
dents of all sections of the valley by a
story that water was gushing through
a crack at the base of the big dam,
and that it might be matter of but a
short time before the great structure
would be so weakened that it would
90 out, permitting the enormous flood
stored behind it. to sweep down into
he valley.
An engineer was hurried to the scene
md found what has always been known
hat the flow from a small hot spring
i. Aich was encountered during con-
;truction and which was supposed to
lave been diverted had begun to seep
through between the dam and the nat
lral rock wall But the spring never I
lad any particular volume and could |