The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1914-05-11
NOT 80 BND

tion 81 irrigation works h.
but "a small part pf al, total capital
expenditure which the settler un aria
land must make before hls irrigated
farm becomes a going concern, says
% winter m the Engineering News.
About $4,000 working capital o.
needed Tor IN ,O-acrc irrigated farm
h Ia ~ lar beyond the possibility
of the great m%aiorit, 81 settlers h a
h author raises his question
should not our government not only
substitute sO-year or even 3O-year
payments for the present iO-yelr
payments Tor Irrigation construction
charges on United states reclamation
service projects. but also either
level tgradeD the and for the
settler or else loan him $500 for every
10 acres which he levels and seeds"
The most noteworthy fact con-
corning irrigation enterprises. private
or government In their quite general
failure TO prove anywhere near the
successes anticipated for them by the
promoter the engineer and the bank
81 A. Tor the disnppointmcnts 81
the actual settler. upon whom all
construction charges fail, his opinions
~ the subject are seldom learned by
other
The vital point of the whole stu
alton is that the settler docs reclaim
the land, FOR me meets every expense
81 converting the arid desert TO the
fertile farm.
Having chosen a location for bet.
ter ar for worse, the well, corral
barn and home must then follow be
fore the family can establish itself ou
the farm, some private oad build
ing. bridge making and fencing must
also COME u mere. Time and money
must be- spent getting in household
goods. stock. farm implements, tele-
phone line, chicken houses, etc. Next
brush breaking. plowing. leyeliug,
ditching. Installing ditch structures
and check control boxes can finally
be- undertaken and the ground made
ready for ~''rigatlou. rr-lc, ehug. re-
%irrigating and finally seeding.
This statement Of sequence Of ~
erauons - made becnus, nine out OF
ten OF az. use our Imagination and
previous sXp, 'cuC, 30 little that we
can conceive pf simply the cost Of
putting "A sCrapcr ON the and and
then drilling the seed ln. Actually.
the conquest OF the desert BE- Tar from
simple. \ family establishes itself
must feed md clothe itself. spend
money for Insurance ana On account
81 sickness. Tor implements. stock
feed sud an uhr other qualifications
wants oi q family and q farm Al
TINS must be charged To- the capital
investment required 20 transform dcs-
ort land into an income producing
ramon
Since the above WAS printed con-
Rr,rs has passed tho hiil a%ucnding
no" reclamation act uy extending the
Tim" u9 payment for construction
over twenty instead Of ten yeors o.
Is true. tu. that tho government could
go further Boo the way OF uid Co
settlers on raw luud even perhaps
az FAR no the writer suggests We
THINK however that o., ovrF,tatcs the
difficulties u settling upon and UNI
dor the government projects The
settler can succeed with e capital uf
'ur less than s. 600 DO he has ordinary
s1ctss % Intelligence ", "a
seen uo, one but many men who have
made splendid successrs on raw lam
who started vIth not hail So 600, and
90 few Who Started With nothing at
oi The tr1uule Ylth the govern
meut projects is mot altogether with
the government aud the system and
the cost Statements lik the hove.
although cxugseratlng the dark side
81 the picture, are not $50 harmful or
the statements made. aud which the
whole ountry came Co. believe when
our national reclamation proircu
were young settlers Wery told that
they could 60 Ola irrigated iapi and
Dy turning on the water Immediately
become rich A premium was put ON
lnzincss The result Wns "a rush of
settlers M accompanying dizappoint.
ment nnd the cutlery. since prevalent
throughout the east hat the govern
ment reclamation projects are fail
urcs.
A man who settles under a govern
ment irrigation project has 10 work
there just AZ ne does In the Illinois
corn belt. or the Kansas wheat fields
ife cannot fold MS hands and leave
u 20 the water the Almighty and the
reclamation service he has 20 dis.
ana dis inteilgoutiy. ON projects
ike the Carlsbad IN New Mexico NE