The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1914-06-12
By w. A. Ryan, Comptroller, in Rec
lamation Record for May, 1914.

EainduOn RECORD Lor may, lSl4.
The following is a brief outline o
recent action by the committees o
Congress on the Extension Bill:
In order to secure earlier actor
under the rules of the House of Re
representatives., the Committee OF thu
House on the Irrigation of Arid Lands
took UP for consideration Senate Bill
No. 4628, which was nearly the SANE
as the House Bill No. 1921, sub
mitted by the Committee to the Hous,
of Representatives with its report oil
March 4, 1914.
By substituting the bill which had
passed the Senate it was possible to
have it placed upon the union calen-
dar from which it could be called UP
by unanimous consent some Wednes-
day when its turn on the calendar is
reached.
The Senate bill as reported is sub
stantially the same as the House bill
previously reported The principal
difference from the Senate bill is a
proposed amendment in Section re-
garding the area to be reclaimed which
was changed by the Senate bill from
the bill originally introduced. AS now
reported in the House il requires one
half the irrigable area to be reclaimed
for agricultural purposes within three
full irrigation seasons after the filing
Of water-right application and the rec
lamation OF three fourths the irrig-
able area within FIVE full irrigation
seasons. The bill as it passed the
Senate provided for one-fourth and
one-half the irrigable acreages res
pectively. The House Committee has
also recommended the elimination Of
section which was added in the
Senate in regard to the jurisdiction of
suits brought in connection with rec
lamation work.
Officials of the Reclamation Service
have attended numerous hearings be-
fore Congressional committees, at
which the bill has been discussed The
attitude of Secretary Lane and the
Reclamation Commission is indicated
succinctly in the following reply to
question regarding the urgency and
necessity of legislation extending the
period of payments:
Il think it is altogether a question
of the success or the failure of the
reclamation projects. If the time is
not extended to the settlers many oil
them will fail and the United States
will not be able to collect anything
like the original cost of the projects.
Rut if the time is extended to en-
courage these settlers to go on in and
face the adverse conditions, | am
sure they will eventually make good
and pay not only every dollar they
are now under contract to pay, but
great deal more than they are now
under contract to pay but which they
will, if they accept the terms of the
bill, if it becomes a law, enter into
contract to pay"
In case action is taken on the bill
by the House of Representatives it
will then go to conference COM
mite composed of members from the
House and Senate whose duty it is to
to reconcile the differences
between the two Houses, and will
thereafter be presented to each House
for passage, There appears, how
ever, to be well-grounded impression
that the present Congress will adjourn
early in July, and with the legislative
program thus practically limited to
the antitrust bills and the large APP
measures, it seems hardly /
likely that action on the extension
bill can be expected at this session.
In fact, it may be safely predicted
that the bill will not become a law