The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1914-01-23

soulian last Monday morning,
which bears the initials of for
mer Senator Joseph M. Dixon,
there is an urgent appeal for
Justice for the Flathead." The
inspiration for the editorial was
drawn from the opening para
graph which reads:
Word comes this week from
Washington that the chairman
of the House committee on In
dian affairs has requested from
the commissioner of Indian af-
fairs, an estimate showing the
lowest amount that will main
tain, without further construc-
tion work, the Flathead, Black
feet and Fort Peck irrigation
projects"
Senator Dixon then says:
This message will carry sin
cere sorrow to every friend of
the Flathead Indians and to every
friend of the poor struggling set
tier on the excess Flathead lands,
who three and one-half years
ago, paid his money for these
lands, which were then thrown
open to homestead settlement by
the United States government.
with promise that these arid
lands would be irrigated by the
government, under the same
plan of repayment of cost of con-
struction as under the regular
irrigation projects.
The homestead units on the
Flathead lands were laid out on
forty-acre basis, with the un-
derstanding that they were to be
irrigated homesteads." At the
same time that these settlers
were filing homesteads on these
forty acre irrigated home
steads" on the excess Flathead
lands, the government was offer
ing 320-acre dry farm home
steads" throughout Montana and
other western states.
Nearly two thousand settlers,
believing in the integrity of the
United States government, took
their families and settled on
these lands and paid the ap-
praised value" Of from $3.50 to
$500 per acre for the excess
lands.
These same homestead settlers
have paid into the treasury of
the United States more than
$500, 600, for these excess Indian
lands, under the belief that the
government would extend the
Indian bitches to cover their
"forty-acre irrigated units.
This was done at the same
time the government was giving
free land" to all settlers under
the regular irrigation projects.
Nearly one and one-half mil
lion dollars has already been ex-
pended by the government, act
ing as trustee for the Flathead
Indians, in the construction of
this great irrigation system, and
had for it's purpose the irrigation
of every Indian allotment and all
the excess lands" that were
sold to the settlers with the un-
derstanding that they were to be
irrigated the proportionate cost
of irrigating the settlers lands
to be repaid by them in fifteen
years.
The heavy construction work
has been nearly completed.
About tWo-thirds of the Indian
allotments have been" brought
under the governmet bitches.
About five per cent of the set
tiers irrigated forty acre
homesteads" have been brought
under ditch. The other ninety
five per cent of the settlers are
still waiting for water. "
In the meantime, many Of
them, too poor to stand the
strain of waiting nearly
four years for the promised
water, have succumbed to the
inevitable and been compelled to
abandon their homesteads.
From the appropriations ISL
AIS, OO0) most of the heavy con-
struction work has already been
completed and in addition, the
|aterals to about two-thirds of
the Indian allotments. The two
lateral canals, now under con-
struction, will deliver water dur
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