Evening star., 1922-12-07
RECLAIM 2,7b,0DO
ACRES IN 20 YEARS
Federal Engineers Virtually
Add Another Farming
State to Union.
COST TOPS s135,ooo,ooo
Bureau Report for Year Shows Re-
stored Land Occupied by More
Than 10000 Families.

| A twenty-year review of govern
ment reclamation work is contained
in the annual report for the fiscal
year ended last June of Director Ar
| thur r. Davis of the United States
reclamation service of the Depart
| ment of the Interior as the 18th day
OF June lS22. marked the completion
OF twenty years of operation of the
| national reclamation act
| Ihe investment Of the government
during this period has been, in round
numbers. $135.000.0OO, which has ac-
complished the construction of works
by which about 1,675.OOO acres of for
; lner arid land in the west has been
| furnished with complete water sup
ply, and about 100000 additional
acres IN private projects has received
a supplemental supply. On govern
ment projects the area comprises
"i.t"- farms. at an average per farm
OF about tifty-three acres, supplying
, more than 10000 families.
Canals and Tunnels.
! With the investment mentioned the
service has eXcavated more than 2O0,-
| 100000 cubic yards of earth and rock,
OF which about 100000 cubic yards
have been placed in dams. Canals
aggregating more than $4,000 miles
have been built. including twenty
| seven miles of tunnels and 1s5 miles
of fumes. Structures of all kinds
and sizes to the number of 10000
have been erected in connection with
the work.
structed are the Roosevelt dam, in
Arizona. which is 200 feet high; the
Arrowrock dam, in Idaho, 349 feet
high: Elephant Butte dam. in New
Mexico. 800 feet high, and the Path
finder and ShoShone dams. in Wyo-
min hi ifr1,
lively.
Reclamation work also included the
erection of many other dams. canals
and tunnels. fumes, drains, power
plants. transmissions and telephone
lines. roads, railroads, pumping plants
and Il variety of other classes of in
cidental work.
From an agricultural standpoint
the report said, the reclamation serv-
ice has added another state to the
Union, equal in value to it's agricul-
tural products to that of the state of
West Virginia or the combined values
of the crops OF Vermont and Connec-
tIcut. The value Of crops raised on
farms on government projects in 1921
amounted to s4?.o2O.30O, exclusive of
about S4J.G00.0U0 additional raised on
private projects which were furnished
water from works erected by the
service.
Average Acre Net. &4:.S5.
The value of crops grown on irri-
gated lands in the federal projects in
1927 averaged s42.S5 per acre. AS COM
pared with Sl4.52. the average value
per acre of the ten leading crops in
the country as whole in the same
year. Since the government projects
began the delivery of water the crops
grown on reclaimed land have eX-
ceeded S415.000.000 in value, exclusive
of the crop value on private lands
watered through government sources
and of the increased value produced
as live stock and stock products. The
increased value of the lands as re-
suit of reclamation work by the gov
ment was placed at over $500 900 900
Director Davis pointed out that the
reclamation projects have not been
exempt from the viciSsitudes of in
dustrial conditions and that although
they enjoyed high prices during 1917.
1918 and 1919. they also suffered Sc
verely from the rapid decline in val
ues and available markets in sub
sequent years. Although the acreage
irrigated and cropped has continued
to increase. the actual values realized
in the past two years are less than
those of previous years. The acid
test of the industrial depression. he
concluded. has demonstrated. how
ever, not only the ability. but the de-
termination of nearly all of the water
users to meet the payments required
by law.