Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1920-01-17
Teagarden Ciphers Out
Cattle and Feed Bill
Would Have Put Water
on Millions Of Acres.
lrhpossibility Of Federal
Aid Advanced as Rea-
son for State Bonding
Irrigation on Big Scale.
By WARREN W. MOSES.


Rozeman. Jan. 16.-Whiie most Of the
sneakers at the irrigation institute ffl-
day based their remarks upon the as
sumption that reclamation of Montana
lands would 60 forward under renewed
impetus neccssitating provision by the
state Of funds for that purpose. It re-
maned for former United States senator.
Joe Dixon. Of Missoula. to throw a cold
and clammy blanket upon the program
by declaring aaginst a state bond issue
and insisting that the Montana water
laws were but little better than nothing
and would require almost complete re-
construction before they could be made
to meet the conditions.
Mr.. Dixon. talking on the subject OF
"Alontana's irrigation laws said that
outside Of few early laws regarding
the appropriation and diversion Of water,
with some supplementary legislation re
garding headgates and fish regulations,
he could recall no correlated legislation
regarding water uses.
Suggests State Commission.
OF course. he said. few years ago
a bonding bill was passed under which a
few projects were bonded and which last
year was amended. He suggested the
formation of a state commission TO be
composed Of one good engineer and two
intelligent farmers to investigate and
make report recommending methods
on which to control the waters Of the
state.
Senator Dixon strongly expressed his
disapproval Of the plan to bond the state
for irrigation purposes. He said that
while it was true the state had small
bonded indebtedness, it should be re-
membered that the various counties and
cities were carrying many millions in
bonds. Senator Dixon believes the fed
eral government should provide funds for
all the potential irrigation systems of the
west but said that he would hate to see
the western states load themselves down
with the proposed o50.O00.O0O four per
cent bonds for which the western gov
ernors had asked.
Mr.. Dixon's talk came late in the af
ternoon after ". II. Thomas cf the
Great Western Sugar company had told
the institute that during the past season
the Billings Sugar Factory had bought
10000 tons less of beets than it would
hav" done had little wate- been used
upon the growing beets AZ the proper
time. This be said meant = loss Of ST.
OOO.OOO among a few farmers Of that
locality.
Time to Get Busy.
Sam Teagarden. secretary Of the Mon
tana irrigation congress. sail the time
had arrived when the people must go
to the mat upon this irrigation question
that the people of the state had scnt
outside Of the state for feed for live
stock and lost forever more mcney than
would be required for the irrigation of
a million acres Of land which would have
produced three times the hay, and of
far better grade. than that which had
been brought in from other states.
He said that the losses to farmers and
SfnaE m fba fbroa haI
been sufficient 70 have placed under ir-
rigation five million acres Of the finest
land the sun ever shone upon. He ex-
planned that the big object the irrigation
congress was the securing Of a market
for irrigation bonds. that the congress
recognized the impossibility Of obtaining
money from the federal congress and
had decided that it would be necessary to
initiate measure for state financing.
Newmains Paper Read.
In paper prepared by Lewis New
man. one Of the foremost reclamation
exponents Of the state and which. in his
absence. was read by Prof. L. d.
conkling. the writer deplored the dila-
tory tactics of the government in the
matter of carrying ont it's reclamation
in the state. He defended the
reclamation service against blame for
this delay and charged it TO the political
system.
There are two main reasons why
Montana in spite Of her wonderful and
water resources and the un-
nxcelled fertility Of her soil, has made
so little progress in irrigation develop
ment." said Mr. Newman's paper. Zone
has been too much dependence on the
federal government; the other is that
irrigation bonds offered by private
projects have been in disrepute by
reason of the poor engineering done.
With the consequence that the interest
md principal could not be met when
Tue.
'Profiting by the experience of the
oast. both of the federal government
md private companies, the state is in a
position to finance reclamation work
without the chance of financial loss
which existed heretofore. ! see no
'eason why the state should not issue
millions of bonds with irrigated land
or security. or to encourage irrigation
by guaranteeing the pay
nent Of interest and principal on bonds
issued by cooperative organizations.
a thorough investigation BY
certified engineers proves that the value
# the land ready for irrigation is worth
It least the cost of construction
Amortization Plan.
Extend the payments on the amorti-
:ation plan for, say, about 30 years.
g cetinued on Page Four