Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-11-19

to organize and build a project solely
for the purpose of furnishing water on
rental basis for profit.
CONTROL OF PROJECT.
Under the irrigation district law a
director must not only be land owner,
but must be resident of the district,
by this means the most progressive
and influential men are usually select
ed as directors. These directors then
select their secretary, treasurer and
manager from the persons who have
notable qualifications in these rcspec-
tive directions, all of whom are re-
sponsible to the directors. One direc-
tor is elected each year TO serve for
term of three years.
Practically the same law applies to
the collection Of water assessments
under the district as is practiced in
the collection of state and county land
taxes. And the fact that the assess
ments are made lien against the land
relieves the operating department of
the distasteful task of closing farm
er's gate and causing his crop to be
damaged because ne has been finan-
cially embarrassed temporarily, or in
case the land Is rented to an innocent
party 1t is still more confusing. but in
operating under the district law the
secretary may be the only officer of
the district who knows that a farm
er's assessments are unpaid during the
| irrigation season. in which event q tax
sale certificate Is sold at public auc-
ton. this certificate the farmer has
three years to redeem, after which
time a tax deed is issued. II allowed
| to run the certificate bears % per cent
interest, in costs and penalties the first
| year, and IL per cent thereafter, all of
this interest accumulation urges the
farmer to pay when the assessment is
due.
Irrigation district bonds are written
in 1920, that Is to say bonds upon
which the interest only is paid for 10
years after organization of the dis
| trict, the first series maturing on the
eleventh year in the amount of per
! cent of the total cost, 6 per cent the
twelfth year, per cent the thirteenth
year, per cent the fourteenth year, 8
per cent the fifteenth year, 10 per cent
the sixteenth year, IL per cent the
seventeenth year, 10 per cent the
eighteenth year; 10 per cent the nine
teenth year and 16 per cent the TWEEN
tieth year, this gives the district an
opportunity to get the preliminary
work of the farm and district in such
shape that better service is rendered
and better crops are raised, before the
heavy payments are to be met. The
act of 1915 permits refunding bonds.
WHY SOME PROJECTS FAIL.
The prime factors which have enter
ed into and caused the failure of some
7 of the irrigation projects of the west
are: The ease with which money
could be secured for financing irriga-
ton enterprises a few years ago, and
the resultant tendency of promoters to
urge propositions which promised
quick returns to them, without especial
regard to the future; lack of know
ledge and data of water supply in de-
tail, as run-off stream flow and stor-
age basins. In some instances records
of precipitation were available and
were used, but there was no we'll de-
fined and established coefficient to be
used, in reducing precipitation to run
off-and in still other instances re-
cord Of precipitation in the immediate
locality OF the project was not avail
able and an approximation was used
with the indefinite coefficient mention
ed above, which gave a result far from
the truth when reduced to acre feet of
run-off available, and more often
high than low; these results were sub
mitted as preliminary reports, but were
used by the promoters to convince the
investor that the project was legiti-
mate.
Following this there were some who
erred by a lack of knowledge and data
in regard to storage reservoirs, reser
voirs were built and water turned in
before we were convinced that not all
western basins will hold water; this
would necessitate either hunting new
storage basins located where leakage
was minimum or giving up the en-
terprise. We have heard. too, of how,
in promoting the project, water was to
be released from the reservoir into the
river channel at the proper time OF
} year for crop development only to find
in reality the river channel (Which was
of ample capacity at any other season
of the year, was now congested by a
; luxuriant growth of moss; this means
the expenditure of enormous sums of
money to build new channels Then,
too, innumerable cases might be cited
where canal trouble has been exper-
fenced for several years after the con-
finished-and this trouble was not al
ways due to lack OF good construction,
but oftentimes lack of knowledge and
apprecition of proper maintenance; alb
normal losses have also been exper-
fenced on the main canal and distrib-
uting system, which oftertimes means
scarcity of water for the farmer
But the greatest error seems ~ have
been made by all irrigation enterprises,
government, state and private, through
the promoter predicting and convinc-
ing the investor that the irrigator of
farmer could meet heavy obligations in
!, the first years of his pioneer life. Up
on the irrigator really depends the
, success or failure of the entire pro-
ject. and if conditions were work ed out
|, by the state, promoter investor, en-
|, gineer, with this fact in mind, the
farmer and irrigator would not be
burdened with more than he could
carry and he forced to rive m without