El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-04-24

meeting held by the farmers at Clint
last week He said the farmers needed
the assistance of the people of FL PasC
and that one Of the most serious queS-
tions in planting increased acreage was
/ that of procuring seed.
Mr. Roe said he thought the farmers
! should call on secretaries Lane and
Houston for assistance IN planting the
increased acreage He stated that al
ready he had offers 81 more than 5000
acres of land in the valley from owners
who are willing TO turn this acrea &c
over TO the government for cultivation
I as assisting in solving the food prob
J lem
{ Cooperation Is Urged.
L NJ Lawson. project engineer OF
; the Elephant Butte dam. read a letter
: ne received from secretary Of interior
: Franklin X Lane Mr.. Lane said there
{ was over 200. 000 acres of land under
! reclamation projects in this country
! He urged the farmers to cooperate in
! the cultivation of their lands by the
use Of modern machinery and by CO
/ operative efforts. He said there was
/ plenty Of water and labor available.
Mr.. Lawson said he thought the
! farmers and land owners present should
write the secretary and inform him
( Just what they can do in solving the
! food problem. Mr.. Lawson stated that
the farmers OF the Rio Grande valley
could greatly increase the productive
ness OF the land in the valley already
under cultivation
organizing the Farmers.
J. A Smith. Of the FL Paso Water
Users association. said that he had
read the letter of secretary Lane very
carefully and interpreted il to mean
that L NJ Lawson and the officials OF
the Elephant Butte project should or
ganize the farmers in whatever way
they could
Nj smith said that the farmers were
not now able to take care Of the land
they have cleared for cultivation be-
cause they cannot get sufficient water
supply. The bitches are too small. he
asserted The speaker said that the
vents the farmers from obtaining
enough water to irriEate. Mr. Smith
said that il IS necessary TO dredge the
laterals frequently to Keep them open
ed and that he expected three dredging
machines to arrive by July !. which
viii help solve the situation. as each
machine viii dredge over a mile
month He said he also thought il ad-
visable that the course of the river he
Strengthened and that this subject was
not being worked out by the reclama-
ton engineers
Land Damaged by Water
When the river is Strengthened. he
said. II would have a better fall and
would help largely to drain the lands
now water soaked as result of too
much irrigation He admitted that the
farmers themselves were largely 10
blame for the water soaked land. be
cause Of using too much water
Thousands of fruit trees in the lower
valley are dying. AIr- Smith said. be
cause Of lack Of water, others because
of TOO much water.
Mr. Lawson in reply to ? question
Ey M Smith. said he thought the !
farmers should notify secretary Lane I
Of their wants 50 that congress could I.
make an appropriation TO help them :
IN their efforts TO cultivate more land (
and increase the production Of the val !
L. H. -
farmers should ask Mr.. Lane for more I
details and adopt his plan.
Drainage Is Wanted.
". b Vaudeville. Las Cruces banker. /
and secretary of the Elephant Butte 1
water Isers association made a talk !
IN which he told of a similar meeting /
being held last Saturday by the farm !
ers and land owners Of the Mesilla val /
ley He said that one Of the most seri- /
Gus queslons that confronts the farm I
ers OF the Elephant Butte project is
that OF drainage. He said that If there !
IS any thing the government can do for ]
me farmers OF the valley u Is that of 4
draining the land The speaker SAID !
that at the meeting at Las Cruces last /
Saturday resolutions We're adopted I
which were forwarded to secretary
Lane asking assistance from the gov
eminent in draining the land. with 4
view 20 increasing the production OF d
the MesiIls valley.
4 Big Grain Shortage.
Mr. Vaudeville pictured the( food
that the United States faces
he said that there viii he a 700. 600 600
3ushel grain shortage this year over
hat Of 1916. and that in 1916 there /
vas 6O0.eo0000 busheI decrease from
hat Of the preceding year
Seepage and Its Dangers.
He spoke of the excessive raise of
he water table and of the seepage !
problem that cOnfrOnts the farmers Z
he said il was more important 10 !
properly cultivate the land already IN
Ter cultivation than 1t was to Guilt
-ate new land. Nr. Vaudeville said
he farms were not producing one
bird the amount Of stuff on the same
mount of land that they were three
ears ago.
The speaker said the government
lad appropriated $4,000 for operating
iralnage machines in the upper valley.
ut had made no appropriation to
traighten the bends in the river He
poke of the san Luis valley of Colo
ado, which, he said. deteriOrated from !
ne Of the greatest grain producing !
ections in the United States to n
isolate valley because Of lack of
rainage- He said the seepage in the
alley rendered the farms useless and
$ result farms and even towns were
bandOned there.
Wants Charges Reseinded
Mr. Vaudeville said the Mesilla val
ey farmers embodied in their resoIu- / I
ions paragraph asking the govern (
lent TO rescind during the war the I
ayment of reservoir and operating
nd maintenance rents. If this cannot / {
e done, the resolutions ask that the {
overnment allow the farmers to use ]
Or cultivation purposes the 1000
perating fund paid in annually by the
-ater users Of the valley
He asked the FL Paso Water Users ]
ssociatiOn to cooperate with the Ele- [
liant Butte Water Users association ]
, sending similar resolutions to Wash I
lgton-
Critieises Las Cruces Stand. =
Seven billion dollars have beensap- \
roprlated by the government to help !
irry on this war" said Mr. Mande- | =
lie, and much OF this is going to :
z spent TO increase crop production. D
e might as well have our share We a
lould ask for money 10 drain this "
alley at once, so that We can do our
rare in increasing the crop produc- n
on. 1t is folly to put in more land =
Id water log il; the thing to do is to =
ain what we have and make it pro- -
Ictive. =
''One-fourth of the water logged =,
nd under reclamation projects in the -
nited States is under the Rio Grande n
-Oject" -
II. B. Stevens was on his feet in =,
antly and said: 1T is no time to -
k what can We get out OF the United |
ates. like these Las Cruces people | y,
g trying to do. 1t is the time for ~
TO see what we can do for the I 80