The Monte Vista journal., 1916-12-16

We understand that j. H. Nations
and Smith & Kicker of Kansas City
who have taken over the Sylvester
belonging to the Hooper Drainage
and Irrigation company, have ap-
plied to the State Land Board for
the purchase of 5000 acres of
state land consisting largely of land
running up and down the lowest
part of the valley east of the town
of Hooper, and running north two or
three miles and south five or six
miles. We understand, too, that
these people are abundantly able to
put through any project that they
take hold of.
The people in the north end of
Alamosa county and Rio Grande
county and the southern part of
Saguache county are very much in
terested in this project for the rea-
son that the great canals taken out
of the Rio Grande river and the wa
ter conducted from the reservoirs,
are causing such flow of water to
go down into this trough largely by
seepage and drainage, that unless
something is done, it will ultimately
cause multiplicity of law suits, en-
gender i'll feeling, and destroy thou
sands of acres of land that would
otherwise be productive.
This proposition will take care of
the surplus water of what is known
as the Gibson ditch, the San Luis
Valley Canal company and the Mosca
Irrigation district, the Farmers Uni
on Canal company, and the San Luis
Valley Irrigation district, and the
surplus waters from the Saguache
creek, and later, to certain extent,
relieve the seepage condition in the
Moffat Irrigation district.
The Sylvester brothers undertook
this proposition, but owing to the
large amount of money necessary to
be used in the completion of the
work, on account of financial condi-
tions, were unable to complete it,
and they have turned over their in
terests to these Kansas parties.
The Gibson company, of Boston,
undertook to handle this deal, but
it was even too large for them. 1t
required more money than they felt
like they could afford to put out.
1t seems fortunate at this partic-
ular time that parties who are
known to be well able to do this
work are now ready and willing to
Land Board, to purchase this land,
which will partly be reclaimed for
hay and meadow, and some for agri
cultural purposes, and partly for a
right of way for dumping ground
for the surplus water.
The people in this section have
applied to the federal government
for relief, and do not seem to be
able to obtain it in that direction.
They have also applied to the state.
and it seems that the state has sc
many irons in the fire that it has no
time to look after these interests
down here.
We understand that the minimum
price per acre offered by this party
for the state land is $3.50 an acre
Tor the sand dunes and all, and for
the agricultural and hay land a
price ranging from $500 to $3.50
per acre; that this land does not at
present time net the state over about
2 cents per acre, a large part of
1t being not leased at all, and if this
sale is made, it will make an income
10 the state of 80 cents an acre on
the whole tract.
We are inclined to believe that
the state should sell this tract of
land to these people and let the work
OF development go on.
1t is probably unnecessary to state
mat in the last few years, on account
OF this underground water, the land
IN many sections has become so pois-
oned and sour that where it once
produced forty or fifty bushels of
grain to the acre, in its present con-
uition 1t will not produce hardly
anything, and if this sub and seep