The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1917-10-03
FALLON. NEVADA WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1917
PROJECT MANAGER WHISTLER
QUITS RECLAMATION SERVICE
Service Seriously Hampered by FIRE.
quent Changes in Management In
Which Water Users Have no Voice

The statement has been made on
the streets during the past few days
that Project Manager Whistler has
resigned from the Reclamation Ser
vice and will shortly terminate his
connection with this project. This
statement, while made without res
ervation, has not yet been officially
confirmed, and hence it is impossible
at this time to predict who will sue
ceed Mr. Whistler in the manage
ment of the local Office.
Coming as it does on the heels of
the order removing F. G. Hough to
other fields, this announcement will
not be received with any great de-
gree of elation by the water users of
the Truckee-carson project, who it
seems are to be banded about from
pillar to post without a voice in the
selection of the man whom they are
expected to look to as the head of
reclamation affairs in this section.
When the proposition to transfer
Mr. Hough was made last Spring and
the appointment of Mr.. Whistler
was announced. 1t was stated that
the reasons actuating the change lay
in the determination to proceed with
certain large engineering schemes,
which required the presens~ here of
q civil engineer. Several months
have passed and if anything of that
character has eventuated, nobody
here knows where it is located.
Meanwhile, yielding TO the strenuous
requests of the water users, Mr..
Hough has been retained as irriga-
tion manager, but IL seems the man
agement Of the project is to be again
handed over to some other person
who is totally unacqualnted with
conditions and complications here
and who must be educated to the
situations that arise peculiar to ev-
cry reclamation project.
The Standard holds no brief for
Mr.. Hough and has no criticism to
make of the very very natural de-
sires of the department to have a
competent engineer at the head of
every reclamation district. But 1t
does protest against a policy that re-
suits in frequent changes in the per-
sonnel of the local force. as such
changes must inevitably result in a
more or less chaotic condition of un-
certainty, due to differences in the
policy inaugurated by each succeed
ing administration.
Il has long been realized in this
section that there is altogether too
much paternalism in the Reclama-
tion Service No body of men, how
ever we'll intentioned, can success
fully administer to the needs of wide
ly separated districts each with its
peculiar problems. Hence, it is alb
solutely necessary that in order to
secure the maximum OF benefits
from the service the largest possible
measure of self-government should
not only be permitted but invited.
1t is in such situations as this that
the need for an effective organiza-
ton of the water users becomes ap-
parent. Under present conditions
those who pay the bills have abso-
lutely no voice in the selection of the
oeiofole who monapa their affairs
They are expected to meet the main
tenance charges, but have no say in
how their money shall be expended.
If this is not taxation without repre-
sentation, then what is it?