El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-19

OF the Rio Grande are well noted for
their fertillziEE mud. varying. OF
course. at different times OF the year
To is also known that a { certain times
OF the year these waters carry a
very large percentage Of mud. for in
stance i may state Fl the fall
On an average from August Is 20
September 10 OF each year. we have
the waters from the Rio Puerco.
which i really believe carry more
than 50 percent mud. although I can
not state exactly This mud has not
only proved a great fertilizer but is
worth more than I can estimate as a
ieNeler- BY suggestion therefore.
would be this. Of course. depending
upon the opinion OF the recla nation
service If the reservoir could he
emptlcd out each year. I would say
estimate the water so that By August
IS the water stored behind the dam
may have been releasd through the
gates and at this date the reservoir
De empty. thus allowing the natural
flow OF the river 10 flow through
the gates for say a period CT 60 DAYS
and at that time close the gates and
continue 70 store the water for winter
or early spring usage. This would
give the farmers two months with
which 70 flood their lands, both the
lands in cultivation and the unIeveled
lands not in cultivation. and my be-
lief is II this were carried out each
4ore all damage by seepage and
alkali would be forgotten.
There IS no question but what the
Elephant Butte dam and the diversion
dams and the large canals already
constructed are well needed. and.
taking the Elephant Butte dam as
flood protection alone IL is worth
every cent that 10 cost. II we will
look back many years we will find
that the valley has suffered as much
rom floods as from drouths. and by
storing the water until August Is
believe we would accomplish all
tnat IS necessary both from fool
standpoint and from q drouth stand
point, as after october Is we have
little OF no use Cor any large amount
or water. There Is no question but
what we had better suffer both
hoods and drouths than 10 try to
battle with the serious alkaline and
seepase conditions that exist in our
valley today.
1t is hard 70 estimate what our
lands would be worth with the pres
emf hlgh prices OF all classes OF farm
products. II the lands OF the valley
were in the condition they used to
be prior TO the construction OF the
dam make this statement. al
though IL may sound radical that
with the clear water We have at pres
cut and our comparatively few acres
OF land in the entire valley. they are
not worth very mucn. on the other
hand. with the muddy water. there is
not an acr- OF land IN the entire VAL
ley that would not bring. in my esti-
nation. from $500 to $500 an acre. as
there would be virtually not an acre
OF land in the valley that could not
be farmed sooner or later.
The drainage canal system as Z IN .
derstand it. is merely an experiment .
in certain measure. and. even though +.
allowing that Il were q proved success /
and lowered the Watered level as is +
expected by many. still il would not /
fulfill the requirements. In the first .
place. the drainage system will cost .
Q vast amount OF money. while on the !
other hand the muddy water system
would not cost five cents. 1t does
seem a shame that 100000 acres OF l
valuable land should be damaged 10 .
the extent that the FL PasO and Ne
silla valleys have been damaged. when 3
there seems to be a remedy that viii ]