Arizona republican., 1917-01-23
PROJECT COST
SET;F|CHT IS
NOW To START

Fixing the per acre cost of construc-
tiOn of the Salt River project at $50,
setting the date of opening the project
for repayment to the reclamation fund
on December | and defining just
enough of their findings to make the
citiZenry long for more the second
formal openin~ notice for the local ir-
rigation system, was received here
yesterday.
No acreage is mentioned, on which
to base the payments; no total indebt-
edness is mentioned. The only figure
that can be understood is $50 per acre.
and that is what is causing excite
ment, and will cause more when the
news is received by the four or five
thousand farmers under the project.
Presuming that the cost of $50 per
acre is arrived at by dividing some to-
tai charge by the liz, 900 acres contem-
plated in the original survey board re-
port, and applying a little mulUplica
ton, one finds that Uncle Sam must be
figuring on charging the -roject So,
1000. But
When the survey board met second
time and revised its plats, it added II,
000 acres of school lands and about 3
900 acres of A lands not in the first
list and fractional pieces-making a
total of $4,000 tackled onto the project,
SuDDosing the charge is assessed
against these lands. too. the figure
fiend arrives at the total charge of
S1l,1OO,OO0-a million and a half more
than the cost as apparently accepted
by the reclamation commission last
June, when the central review board
made its report There has been no
additional construction work since
June l, to cost this million and a halt,
nor even enough to cover the 500, ,000
increase in the first estimate of So
$4,000 over the figures in the report
The sixty Der acre charge is forecast
in the current issue of the Reclamation
Record, the official organ of the T. S
r. S. in a reprint of the findin~s of
the Central Review Board, dated Den
Yer, November i 8.
The finding summarized, is as fol
lows
Total cost of project June
l., 1916 .t............-..$13 $13,573. .616.G7
Less certain items incud-
ing revenues, water rem
tai earnings, cost ad-
justments, etc ..... 2,S90.603 %
Net cost June l, 1916 49,. 10,683, ,012.74
Less percentage of cost of
power plants ......... 91,25S15I
s1O,4s1, ,75459
Deductions recommended 3S2 240S63
Final net cost as of June1.
1916 ..-..-........,..... 1c,109.345.9G
Acreage as reported by original sur
vey board, 172. .3fS, giving final net per
acre cost of $50
However puzzling the motive may he
TO Water Users and officials of the
association, it affords the organization
the basis for action that has been con-
templated for some time-that OF an
appeal direct to congress.
Officials in the w. L. A said yes
terday thev had received no official
notice of the recent of the communi
cation from Secretary of the Interior
Franklin K Lane by Project Manaeer
w S. Cone, but admitted they had
read copies Of the notice in the office.
They would not divulge their plans as
10 procedure to meet situation they
admitted would not be bearable
1t is rumored that heads of the le-
gal department of the w. L. A. are
so confident that a special session Of
congress will he called soon after
March and that their matter can he
brought before a committee. either on
the introduction of resolution for an
investigation or of a bill for relief,
that they are not worrying about an
opportunity to present their case Still,
should the matter be delayed until the
next regular session of congress, the
opening notice would go into effect be-
lore the new congress could be an
preached, which would have to hap
pen next December.
The fixing of cost charges, based on
figures not revealed to the persons
most interested, is not the only pecu-
liar thing about the notice of opening,
which is written in the dry, legal style
of communications from the office of
the reclamation commission, whenever
Judge VIII r. Kim, has the writing Of
them.
Easy on Nom Members
The notice gives non members Of
the reservoir association. depending on
decreed water the use of the irriga-
lion system at the rate of s. an acre.
Continued on Page Two)
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