The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1916-06-01
Public Forum
THE SALMON TRACT AGAIN.


there was water for not only oO,JvO
acres, but 100000, still they though /
it advisable to cut the segregation u /
$4,000, selling that acreage first ano /
adding to it later Now this was the
point that was very much misleading. |
Not only to me but many others.
have been criticised and censured ever
since for what l did, but l believed the
state knew what it was doing anu
made my statements in good faith.
But what do we find the state OF
conditions on the project to be at the
present time? Now | am going to be
fair in what l write and will allow
any one to answer this, or criticise as
much as they please or want to. am
going to put the facts as they are, and
| care not whom it may hurt, for the
time has come on this project when
there is not only people in poor cir
Cumstances, but there will he crime
committed if some relief is not given
from some sorce; either the state or
the courts must do something to re
lieve the situation.
Many people have come here and
spent all their means, many as much
as several thousands of dollars, have
also spent five years of watchful wait
ing and almost broken down their
health with hard work. There is just
as Industrious a class of people on
this project as you can find any place
in Idaho. Now there is a breaking
point, and it will came, if something
is not done before long. You may
ask why is it going to come? First
The people here have been waiting
with all the patience that any one
can have. Under Governor Halnes'
administration they tried to get some
thing done, and no relief came. Sec
ond-They have appealed to the gov
eminent, and no relief came, the gov
eminent explaining that it was
Carey act project, and the states duty.
Third-They then appealed to the
courts and did get some consolation
from Judge Frank Dietrich-thanks to
one man whose heart is with the peo-
pie who are trying to build up an en-
pire. Fourth-The present state exc
cutive, Moses Alexander, rushes from
Idaho's bull rushes and promises to
give us some help, in fact to get us
out of our troubles. What do we find?
The last legislature passed a resolu-
ton creating an irrigation commission
to investigate the different Carey act
,, projects in the state and to report to
, the state land board. One would ma
turally think that the land board
would act according to that report, or
why was that commission created, and
, why did not the board act? Because
. it did not suit the companies that
! started these projects. 1t looks that
way to the settlers.
The people of Idaho, or the taxpey-
ers, stand the expense of that commits
o sion and they went into details that
none of the state land boards has
done. Their report stated that there
was water for only 26,600 acres. Z
seems they ignored the commission
: report Why did they send the state
J. engineer down here? He reports tina
there is water for 10000 acres. The
s. land board says this is what you mus
I. take and they map out what must bC
: cut out, and then tell us that we mus
L. take this proposition or fight it ou
l. with the company in court.
l. The settler is so poor he has NJ
l. money to fight with, the state is t
3. blame for the trouble in the frs
2 place. The settler cannot rely on the
+ state engineers report for the reason
b, that state engineers reports will mo-
e, hold water
Y. The past has proven beyond doub
n that they have misrepresented the
amount of water available just to ge
fat jobs. Can you blame the people
ID down here? l say no. l want to say
ID that such men as James A. Waters
ii our last state representative iron
lv Twin Falls county, knows more abou
irrigation than all the state engineers
combined that have been in office II
the past few years.
If we had men like him for state OF
ficers the defunst projects of thi
state would not be as they are today
Mr.. Waters was a member Of the IT
rigation commission and thanks u
him and the rest of that commission
They are the kind of men we shoul
have for our land board. Then W
would have a clean, decent state :
live in.
No one can estimate what these dc
funct projects have done in retardin
the growth of the state unless 20
come down and pioneer among u.s.
| certainly hope that the peopl
throughout the state will see to 1t
the next election that men are put !
office that will work to get these pre-
jects Strengthened out, and that tn
get their unfortunate brothers, and ;
too busy when the time comes to hel
\ to elect men that will try to build u
, Idaho instead of tearing it down an
driving people away as is being don
at the present time.
Don H. Bark, the U. S. governmeI
expert on the duty of water in his IL
vestigation on the Salmon tract tol
me- that we should have two acre fe'
where half of our land was in gras
and the other half in grain crops, tn'
amount to be retained on the land an
that we would have from 20 to 81 p'
cent waste, which would be equive
ent to 21a to 2% acre feet deliVer'
over our weirs.
Now l have been investigating
different times ON other projects Il
twenty-five years. 1 find in my stu'
of the soil and it's requirements tn
Mr.. Bark is nearer right than any OF