The Washington herald., 1912-09-07
WHEN THE TRUTH
COMES OUT
Copyright. isia. by C. NJ. Key.)

\ tCorgrghts IsR. BY c. NJ. KeysD
Three or four years ago there was a
great outburst OF a new kind of finance
in this country. 1t was a time when
the United States government was spend
ing millions upon millions TO build great
dams and iTigate huge tracts Of land
In the West. The retaining of lost
land is itself one OF the most grotesque
and romantic of pursuits, and the In
terest OF the nation at large in this
great irrigation was quite remarkable.
Private capital OF various sorts
fiourished into this same business and
undertook TO profit by the general public
interest in irrigation matters. which had
been stirred up by the government s
activities. Hundreds of irrigation plants
under private management and control
sprung up wherever vacant valleys
abounded in the West and water could
be obtained at any cost to irrigate them.
In one form or another. these scattered
enterprises were organized into corpor-
ate shape and came to the people to
borrow money on the bonds for the
carrying on of the work and the set
Ting OF the land.
Within year or two the first serious
collapse occurred II was the collapse
Of a bond house in Chicago which had
gone Into irrigation enterprises in a
wholesale way and which had sold mil
lions upon millions Of bonds of enter
prises in Colorado, Idaho. Washington.
and other States. The selling campaign
was spectacular. and the collapse equally
spectacular. The bonds had been sold
on the representation that the lands
when reclaimed were worth very much
more than the average farm lands Of
the West and that settlers who take
up these lands would find IL easy to
pay, out of the profits OF their first or
second or third year. interest on the cost
OF the land and at least 10 per cent
Of the purchase price.
1t is only now that the facts in this
matter are coming TO light. First Of
all, of course. 1t transpired that the
farmers who had made contracts to pay
interest and to pay of a certain amount
OF the principal each year found they
absolutely could not meet these obliga-
tons. On top OF this It was discovered
that the cost of building and operation
In irrigation systems is very much high
er than has been estimated in most
cases by the builders. In a few cases
1t has been discovered that the dams
which were supposed to be perfect have
been far from perfect: and in many
cases 1t has been found that what was
considered to be an adequate water sup
ply has turned out to be totally made
quate.
The real truth. however, Is that the
United States government is just now
finding out that all the estimates of
what a farmer could produce on irri-
gated land were wrong. In a few iso-
lated cases, where extraordinarily good
land and extraordinarily good farming
happened to be put together. the bright
est promises have been fulfilled: but II
is a fact that even under the govern
ment projects, where the water supply
has been adequate and where the cost
OF water has not been excessive, the
average irrigation farmer has had a
hard time to live up to what he was sup
posed to do in the matter OF earning
money. II is now evident that during
the first few years OF an irrigated farm
the ordinary farmer cannot make suffi-
cient returns to keep up his improve