The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1919-12-18
PROJECT WILL OPEN
UP VAST EMPIRE
Oregon's Largest Irrigation Project
VIII Open 5000 Acres of Fer
tile Land to the Home-Seek-
ers--Organization Is
Perfected
BY Clay G. Clark, President of the
John Day Irrigation District.

"o" Icy hfhSatioh DisuiCt.
The Gazette Times,
Heppner, Oregon.
Gentlemen,
Your letter of recent date asking
me to write an article for your Christ
mas number for the Gazette Times on
irrigation more particularly the John
Day Project, is at hand.
| wish first to make IL plain to you
that | am not qualified to do so as /
have not kept the required data to
write intelligently on the John Day
Project. Although living in the north
part Of Gillian county since 1885, |
have taken more or less interest in all
development work in Eastern Oregon,
especially in bringing into cultiva-
tion the land lying below, the propos-
ed canal of the John Day Project Ir-
rigation District. First | want to
impress on the readers of The Gaz-
ette Times, the Importance of their
cooperation in one of the most i'm
portant irrigation projects in the
Northwest.
Lying as II does below the eight
hundred and fifty foot contour it is
possible to grow any grasses and
grains that are grown in the Central
West. Oregon today is in need Of
grains suitable for mixing with our
alfalfa and other forage that grows
on the higher levels. With this vast
area Of land brought under cultiva-
tion by irrigation it would produce
annually many million dollars worth
of corn and ensilage and would add
to the taxable property Of the state
of Oregon many million OF dollars and
at the same time would increase the
value of the dry farming area lying
above the eight hundred and fifty
foot contour at least twenty dollars
per acre. Bringing this three or
four hundred thousand acres Of un-
developed land into cultivation would
practically do away with the hot
winds that some years are very dis
astrous to the grain crops of the John
Day Dry Farming District.
The question has been asked me
many times why we did not apply our
dry farming methods upon the land
lying under the John Day Project.
In answer to this question | wish to
say that starting at the timber line
to the Columbia river Of this vast In
land Empire the soil changes from a
heavy volcanic ash to light volcanic
ash and today il 1t were not for the
prevailing heavy west winds which
drifts the soil this whole project
would be under cultivation under dry
farming methods. The closer the
land lies to the Columbia river, the
more drought resisting is the soil.
providing that you tan cultivate 1t so
as to retain the moisture and the only
way that this can be brought about
is through irrigation.
Many states besides Oregon have
brought many acres of land under
irrigation through the reclamation
service and private corporations. 1t
seems to have been the rule that the
state that could bring about the
most pressure and political pull upon
the heads of the reclamation service
have advanced more rapidly than 9TH
er states justly entitled to a bigger
percentage Of the reclamation money
than they really received and it is
asserted by men that claim to know
that Oregon has suffered to a consid-
cradle extent in this way.
A few years prior to 1916 there
was general movement in Oregon
as well as other states to bring be-
fore Congress and the people the
necessity of reclaming large areas of
dry irrigable land Consequently
the Department of the Interior
through the Reclamation Service and
the State Of Oregon surveyed a great
deal Of land in Eastern Oregon and
cne of these areas vns he John Day
Project"
The report was compiled by John
T. Whistler, engineer of the United
States Reclamation Service and John
H. Lewis State Engineer for Oregon
and presented to the Public in Feb
ruary 1916.This certainly is most
valuable report and shows up the
wonderful resources of the John Day
Project as well as all other projects
in Eastern Oregon. But in reading
this report carefully when first gotten
out that the main object of this re.
port was to tell us people in Eastern
Oregon that the time had not ye,
arrived for us to expect anything in
the way Of developments on the
John Day Project on the account OF
the heavy cost. |, myself accepted II
at that time as closed subject. The
rapid change of events in the last five
years have taught the people OF the
United States especially of the West
that things which seemed prohibited
previous to that time is matter OF
small consequence now.
We as patriotic citizens of Oregon,
as we'll as all other citizens OF the
United States performed any task
that was asked Of us by the United
States Government and were only toe
glad of the opportunity to help the
government in every way during the