Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1922-04-06
FINAL REPORT
ON MAY FIRST
ENGINEERS OF IDAHO AND CANA
ADA WILL HOLD FINAL CON-
FERENCE THIS MONTH
DRAINAGE COMMITTEE is ACTIVE
Commercial Club Members Have CO.
operation OF Congressman French

The delay in the matter of securing
a final conference and report on the
Kootenai Valley drainage project was
the principal topic of discussion at the
meeting of the Kootenai Valley COM
mercial club Monday night A. j..
Kent referred to the secretary let
ter for reading from Congressman
French, regarding drainage matters,
Mr.. French advising that he had dis
cussed Kootenai drainage plans with
the Interior Department Reclamation
Service, the International Joint Com
mission and the office of the Secretary
of State and that to-date no word
has been received at Washington of
the result of proposed conferences be-
tween Canadian and Idaho engineers.
Continuing Mr.. French wrote:
"You will note from the foregoing
that the secretary of state feels that
the department must have something
definite to put up to the International
Joint Commission and the foregoing
letter also indicates the definite char
acter of the proposition that should
be presented
THUS, it seems to me
Il. That the people of both valleys
should organize definite drainage dis
tricts;
"2. That tentative comprehensive
engineering plan should be prepared
and submitted;
"3. That something of a showing
that the organizations were ready and
able to go forward on the basis of the
plans should be made;
1T does not seem to me that it
would be necessary to raise very much
money to care for the preliminary
work and it also seems that we must
have this basis before the two govern
ments can feel that there is a suffic-
lent basis for consideration by the
International Joint Commission.
IF you could work out the plan
along the lines suggested and let me
have petition addressed to the sec
Tetary of state, or addressed to the
secretary and to the Canadian gov
ernment jointly, supported by the
showing indicated, / believe we could
obtain very prompt action by the two
governments"
President King stated that while the
delay had seemed unnecessarily long
it had been partly due to the slowness
OF Canadian government officials and
to the fact that needed data had not
been secured by Canadian engineers
for use at the first conference. Then
too, State Reclamation Commissioner
Swendsen had been kept from his
work by illness for many weeks A
letter from Mr.. Swendsen received the
past week stated that he had hoped to
secure meeting with Mr. Cleveland
who is at the head of the department
of the Canadian government in charge
of reclamation work, at Victoria on
April 1st but that Mr.. Cleveland had
advised he would be away from Vic
toria until April 10 but was willing
to give the Kootenai Valley project
his attention between April 10 and
Nay l. Mr.. Swendsen said that he
now expected to have a final report
ready by May /.
j. B. Brody, chairman of the good
roads committee, reported that he had
received a letter from the United
States Rubber Co., relative to his re-
quest for the placing of historical
signs on main highways in Boundary
county, the company writing that the
request would be granted when an
other allotment of these signs is
available.
In a letter from the Standpoint
chamber of Commerce the Kootenai
Valley commercial club was advised
that hearing would be held In Coeur
d'Alene on April 6, before the state
utilities commission, in the matter OF