The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-07-24

wv A|N"*N| I||N| |I|AI|m mAN MNN MH'
nppucebie TO the water loggcd lands
Of the central Rio orendc valley 4.
incorrect. IN The opinion Of a. T.,
Davis dirfCfor OF the federal rcclh-
mstien service. who hoidr IN a recent
iestor dealing specifically with the
problem Of the Albuquerque distfIc
sasj '' could n ns sss dsssicpsa a ane
der thu McNary hill. n enacted"
In order that there might be no
possibility OF question ~ TO the ap-
p~iicebility Of the NcNary act to the
prohlcmn Of the He 0rande In New
Mexico, Senator buuum has offered
an Amendment which han been 40
cepted BY the author Of the bill. spe-
officially providing that the terms OF
tho act shall Re applicable 70 SWAMP
and water logged lands and Irrigated
lands In need o. adequate drainage.
The New Mexico senator has been
assured that no objection viii be
would make the federal aid provided
for in the McSary hill available for
every form Of reclamation project In
this state.
How McSsry nm Sffecss Us
Following a visit 10 Albuquerque
recently Mr. II. y, Blaine; chairman
OF the legislative committee OF the
Western states Rerla nation sssocis-
ton. directed a letter TO the federal
reclamation service asking the spe-
cific question whether or not the
McNary act would be applicable to
the solution Of the irrigation and
drainage problems existing In this
valley. This letter fellows, ,s,,
Mr.. Morris Bisn. Assistant Director
defamation Service. Washington,
-. C.
MY Dear Mr.. Bien-
las I know that you are familiar
with the present reclamation law and
the provisions Of the McNary-smith
hill which n nov before CONGRESS.
tho following state OF facts;
In the Rio urande valley. above
and below Albuquerque. there Il a
large mount Of water logged land
which IL the result Of excessive use
Of irrigation water. there being no
drainage. There Is n very limited use
Of the water legged land. II does.
however. afford some ~pasturaEe and
the watsr table Is sufficiently below
the surface OF the ground as 10 per-
init fairly sucrcssfui cultivation. The
water has brought 10 the surface Of
the ground white aikau.
In close proximity 20 this water
logged land there il a large amount
Of arid land susceptible Of reciama-
ticn. A drainage OF the present
amount Of water 20 fiow into the
Elephant BVte dam I understand
there Is plenty Of storage on the
upper ne Grandc and it, tributaries
with which 20 srrigste additional land
about Albuquerque.
The irrigation structures supply
Ing the land with water In the dis
trict above mentioned are some Of
them very old and were evidently
constructed AZ different periods. They
parallel erosa and recrosa each other.
upon the whole are crude struc-
lures. The remedy. "a I view Il, Il
for a practlcal abandonment OF all
present canals and laterais and the
building Of a high line canal with
l~aterals leading from. u to all land
below. and where necessary. siphons
across the river.
'fhe question h; Cannot an irriga.
ton district or districts be formed
throwirR the ard and swsmped
lands Together n practically putting
IN q nea system OF irrigation works;
Of cour-c. ntnkkag usu OF old struc.
tures ~ far a. practicable. and as n
part Of the srncrai improvement
drain the present wHtcr logged areas?
II was In Albuquerque the begin
ning OF the year and there con-
fcrred with some members OF their
Chamber OF Commerce aud they
called my attention to The fact that
the Indians own considerable of the
swamped land l Informed the mem
beers OF the Chamber OF Commerce
that I had 10 doubt hut hat II. In
the opinion OF the government. the
condition Of the indian be changed
for the better by the reconstruction
Of IRRIGATION works the government
had the right TO do this regardless
q the attitude or indifference OF the
Indians.
II don't know whether you coin
eide with this opinion Of mine or not.
early reply Will be greatly sp-
yours respectfully.
''E. n. BLAINE"
Director Davis Reply.
this letter brought a reply from
A. p. Davis. director Of the reciama-
! o service. which follows:
office Of the Director.
washington, u. C,
June Is, 1921.
mr.. Y. Y. Blaine. Raleigh Hotel,
Washington, D.. c.
My Dear Mr.. Blaine:
Your letter OF Juno 20 addressed
10 Mr.. Bien has been received.
You ask whether the McNary bill
could be applied 20 a situation where
a considerable area OF water logged
land can be drained In connection
with The reclamation OF adjacent
arid lands.
ssrhis g. n situation which has
beer met by the reclamation SER
vice under the las as nov In eff
feet and fherc n no legal OBJ
stacle "a = proiert for resiAma-
ton which also involves the
drainage Of water-iogged land.
The particular instance which
you drscffbe near Albuquerque,
New Mexico. apparently might he
developed into n project 81 the
character de- crihed. and 10 9TH
cr~fse feasible and funds are
available. I so no rca-on why
DE prolert could mt be dcVeI-
oped under the McNary bill II
enacted.
VERY truly yours,
(Eiguedl "a. T.. DAVIS.
director"
What the McNary hui Proposes.
The objects sought by the McHary
bill are Get forth IN the following ca