Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-06-07


used to build a reservoir at the head
of Little Lost river They also stated
that this raise would only apply to
about 5000 acres. instead of the entire
project. They tried to explain why 1t
would not apply to the entire tract,
but their explanation was not very
satisfactory to some Of US.
| They, together with their engineer,
went into details in regard to reservoir
construction and used up lot of fig
ures in demonstrating. just how much
water could be stored and made avail
able by building the proposed reser-
voir. 1t all looked good on paper 0he
blackboard) but some Of us remem-
bered that the old reservoir looked just
as good-on paper-six years ago.
They told us they had spent all of
their own money-all they could beg,
borrow or get In any other way-and
still the project was failure, and I'M
less the settlers came across with the
SIS raise they would simply walk out
and let the project go to the demnition
bow-wows. That had a terrifying ef-
feet on some of the more timid settlers,
and they were heard to whisper. Give
them another chance"
AHOlHeT Chance was just WIdl McS-
srs Woods and Parks were working
for, but they proposed to SO fix 1t that
all the chance would be on the part of
the settler as 1t usually is
The meeting continued until after
midnight. 1t was a stormy session.
Charges of fraud and discrimination
were made and the same were openly
admitted by both Woods and Parks.
They admitted paying a certain settler
several hundred dollars for what they
alleged was for services rendered in
the transfer of the project to the Carey
act, while on the other hand 1t was
charged that it was paid for the sup
preston of information that would be
Of benefit to the settlers in their suit
for damages filed in 1910.
: However, with all the irregularities
practiced. the frauds perpetrated and
failures admitted the settlers, or most
of them, proposed to act upon the
whispered suggestion to give them
another chance" and signed the SIS
raise.
Others were not so easily persuaded,
and for several days thereafter the
heads of the company were busy try
ing to persuade the more obstinate ones
to sign the raise, which most of them
finally did. They were assured that
work would begin upon the reservoir
the following spring.
Parks Goes to Legislature.
Although the irrigation laws of Idaho
had apparently made everything as
easy for the promoter and as hard for
: the settler as 1t was possible to, yet,
after few months experience with
them, Mr.. Parks was convinced there
should be some radical changes in
those laws; whereupon he conceived
the idea of going to the legislature.
Once there it would be an easy matter
to get concessions for the promoter and
additional restrictions upon the settler.
Mr.. Parks being Democrat, and the
district where he had made a tempo
rary residence for a few months being
strongly Republican, there was only
one way to get elected, and that was
to get nominated on the Republican
ticket That could be easily worked
through certain Republican friends In
; Arco.
We all know the result, except the
result in Parks own precinct, and it's
mooted question whether it was three
or two votes that he received 1t is
, needless to say that practically all of
Mr.. Parks irrigation bills died
a'borning.
Now why should Mr.. Parks, a Demo-
crat. be elected to the legislature from
a strongly Republican district? He is
scarcely resident of Idaho: his home
is In Kansas: his family is there, too;
he is not a heavy taxpayer in Idaho;
, he has 160 acres of Carey act land in
the Little Lost valley, but no special
/, qualifications or distinguished abilities
, to recommend him. so his early intro
duction to the Idaho legislature is
somewhat of a mystery.
Settlers Get Judgment in Damage Suit.
; About the only other matter of any
Importance for the year was the judg-
ment for some $40, 900 awarded the set
tiers in the damage suit filed two years
before. This case had been persistent
ly fought through the court for the
past year and a half. In the mean
time, Messrs. Woods and Parks were
busy with the settlers in the suit, and
by some means-some of us think II
was by means that should have been
used In building reservoir and bitches
or other, induced number of them
to sign a withdrawal of the suit. This,
or something else. has had the effect of
delaying the execution of the judgment,
!, with the result that those settlers who
did not sign the withdrawal are still
waiting for their share of the award.
That is how settlers under the Carey
: act get damages when they fail to get
water and lose their crops. Yet that
/, /, was one Of the strong points offered
by Mr.. Woods as a reason for going
into the Carey act-"If we did not get
sufficient water to produce a crop we
!. WOULD get pay for what we lost"
1918 and No Wator.
Last year started out as the four pre-
ceeding years had. The reservoir went
dry in week. There were probably
; 1000 acres under cultivation, which
according to contract, would require a
continuous flow of $500 inches OF
water, throughout the irrigation season
Now let us see about how much we