The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1913-02-12
THE RECLAMATION CHIEFS
Back in Washington Are Being
Grilled for Alleged Miscon-
duct of Office.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9.-Charges
of incompetent and maladministra-
ton of the reclamation service are
made and an appropriation of s25,-
600 is requested for a oongression-
al inquiry that will deal broadly
with reclamation projects in a re-
port which will be sent to the house
tomorrow by the committee on in
terror department expenditures.
The report recommends during
the pendency of the proposed in
quiry the removal from office" of
Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Samuel Adams and F. II. Newall
and l.. c. Hall. director and super
Yising engineer, respectively, of the
reclamation service.
Deny Charges
Interior department officials, in
Guiding Director Newall fatty de-
MED tonight the allegations in the
printed report, which is unsigned,
but which was given out by the COM
mittee with the statement that Rep
resentatiye Hensley of Missouri
would present it tomorrow. Mr..
Hensley is chairman of a sub-eom-
mittee that has been investigating
affairs of Indian tribes, whose inter-
ests, the Hensley report says, are
outrageously intermingled with the
affairs of the reclamation service.
Other members of the subcommittee
were Representative Galloway of
Texas, and Hanna of North Dakota,
since becoming governor.
The report charges that "Newall
and his associates" Disseminated
against the farmers and that the cor
porations operating the canals and
the bond holders thereof, "alone re-
eeiyed attention from them in the
Salt River project" 1t is alleged
that as the reclamation law provides
that only the estimated cost of con-
struetion may be recovered by the
government and the estimate of the
secretary of the interior was $3,s50,-
600 and the expenditures to date
have been $1O,547,396, the govern
ments loss on this project appears
to be s6.747,396.
The statement that the govern
ment will lose S6,000,000 on the
Salt River project is absurd" de-.
elared Director Newall tonight. 1T
will collect every dollar it has invest
ed there If the present law is not
changed. AS for the charges against
reclamation officials any man men
toned will welcome investigation
by honest and competent men. Not
one charge-has been made in this re-
port but can be refuted absolutely.
Probably no bureau has been in
yestigated oftener. Its structures
are among the great works of our
time, its efficiency and economy of
administration has received the
praise of the investigators. 1t is a
poor reward for faithful perform
anee of duty to be compelled to sub
nit to an attack SO partisan and un-
fair as contained in this report which
bears no signature. 1t looks like an
other adroit attack on conservation,
the kind friends expect with every
change of administration The report
is a tumble of half truths and whole
misstatements."
The report recommends equity pro-
ceedings to cancel the government
contract with the Pacific Gas and
Electric company, "by which this
corporation is given a monopoly of
the power developed at the Roose-
yelt dam and to institute criminal
proceedings according to its judg-
ment."
Fraud is Charged
Invasion of the water rights of the
Pima and Maricopa Indians in Ari-
zona and the despoiling of their
farms, gathering in of big tracts by
the Arizona canal company and
other concerns, "stock juggling op-
erations of canal promoters that
caused many farmers to pay several
times over for every canal deliver
ing them water, 100000 expendi-
ture by the reclamation service in
the Gila river water area against the
protest of the Indians in work dis
astrous to the Indians and valuable
only to land grabbers" and the res
lgnation of w. II. Code, irrigation
engineer of the Indian bureau as
soon as II became known the COM
mittee was to investigate matters,
are among things charged in the re-
port. Code formerly had been ir-
rigation engineer for A. j. Chandler,
who the committee says, according
to testimony before us, owned tract
of 10000 acres and defrauded the
government of 1t by dummy entries. y