El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-31

, ushed here at the capital what might
be called the bank OF the farmers. %
It is really loan association for iTri-
cation and agriculture.
In this bank, under certain cOndi-
/ tons, farmers can have loans up TO so
percent of the value of their property,
For instance, a farmer owning a prop
erIy worth 100000 can get q loan OF
I $4,000, and If this is invested in irri-
cation works he can get a second loan
Of $4,000 more"
Artesian Wells for Formers.
I'VE have also an appropriation from
congress Of $25O,00O a year to be used
in artesian irrigation. This is TO be
invested much like your own reclama-
ton fund, which has done so much
TO 1rrlgate tracts in the west We
are using the money to sink wells in
different parts OF the republic.
we have three classes of projects
one IS the drilling Of wells for the
small landhOlder. say the man who
owns a thousand acres or less. If he
wishes to have an arteSian well bored
possibility OF finding water and If
their report warrants Il we will sink
an artesian wen with the understand
ing LnaL II sufficient water for irri-
cation is struck the owner of the land
VIII pay the cost of the boring and
a small interest thereon. The second
class IS as the land holdings Of me-
dunn size, that is. estates of a hundred
thousand acres OF So In this case
when the engineers reports are found
to be satisfactory, the government
bOres wells, but in this case only on
the understanding that the private
owner is to have only half of the
land that can be irrigated by the water
supply and that he must give an equal
territory to be irrigated by the other
naII 70 the government The latter
part is then government land and as
such is divided up and sold at the
high rates that irrigated tracts easily
bring.
The third class deals with the irri-
cation Of the big estates Take for
instance a man like Terrazas, the great
land owner in Chihuahua, who has an
estate Of seven or eight million ares.
II We should bore wells on his estate
IL would be with the understanding
that We were to have a grant Of 100000
acres provided We could strike water
sufficient for the irrigation of that
land. This tract would then be di-
vided up and sold and Terrazas would
expect to make his profit out of the
increased value Of the surrounding ter
In all of these projects the money
received by the government for the
sales Of land goes back to the reclama-
ton fund This fund will rapidly grow
and in time we expect il to result in
the adding greatly to our irrigated
territory"
Irrigation In Imperial Valley.
I here referred to the Imperial val
ley of California, and asked Senior
hernandez what would be done with
that part of it which extends down
into Mexico. He replied:
Our part Of the Imperial valley is
quite as valuable as that which lies
in the United States. It will be irri-
gated by the Colorado river, which. as
you know, makes a great bend across ]
he Mexican boundary. and then re-
-urns to the United States. We have /
lad surveys made there in connection /
With the United States government !
md have made such a water agree (
nent with you that we can reclaim I
an equal amount of territory with your 4
selves 7 should say there is at least /
OO 900 acres of that land upon which 4
We can put water, and this will be \
worth in the neighbOThOOd of $500 an
ere when the water is turned on I
There is no soil on the face of the
lobe richer than that Of the Imperial