The Fallon standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1920-1958, 1924-12-17

During the past year this project,
or the people populating 1t. and who
are attempting to repay the govern
ment for the privilege of living on
the lanas set aside for reclamation
have been confronted with the propo
sition of the construction or build
ing Spanish Springs reservoir. 1t is
admitted that the majority of the
settlers, or homesteaders. are against
the movement, and on the other hand
the people at or near Reno have been
the steady and insistant advocates
of this construction.
The recent defeat of an appropria-
tion for the preliminary surveys and
commencement of construction has
broadened a breach between the peo-
pie of Reno. or the advocates of the
new irrigation unit to the Newlands
project, and the people of this proi
ect proper.
Blundering
There has been tremendous blum
der made all around. one that could
have been avoided had the right
methods been taken and the land
and water owners of this project
been taken into the confidence Of
the originators of the proposed res
ervoir. In order to go into this prob
lem a review of the situation is timc-
ly and some history of the project az
II stands is necessary.
The Newiands Project
The Newlands project, formerly
and congressionally known as the
Truckee-Carson project. was con-
ceived by the late Senator Newlands.
and 1t was through his efforts that
this. the first federal reclamation
project. was started Originally il
was believed that the contemplated
reclaimed lands could be irrigated
through a canal from the Truekee
river augmented by the flow from
the Carson river. and in this eonnec-
ton reservoir sites were set apart ct
the headwaters of the Carson and
Truckee to act as protection for
the future.
Senator Newlands at once became
the father of irrigation and up 10
the time of his death. In harness. in
Washington, he was regarded as the
biggest man in such work in Ameri-
"a 1t was his efforts that finally
brought about the construction OF
the Lahontan dom. when 1t was
found that the flow from the canal
and the Carson river was inadequate
TO take care OF the lands that are be-
ing reclaimed by the homesteaders
The other projects that have met
with success, and those that are still
In the failure class. all took their
primary lessons from the successes
and mistakes of this, the Newlands
project.
Canal and Land and Booms
II was in 1906 that the Truckee
canal was formally opened and water
diverted to the settlers who had
moved to the raw lands of the prof.
ect. As was anticipated many came
here with the boom spirit, not farm
ers but professional and amateur
boomers who were looking for
chance to turn their holdings into
money and move to other pastures.
Some did transfer their lands, and
those who could not Joined with the
honest intent homesteaders had 10
stick IL out
Overhead Growth
Following the opening of the prof.
eot with its $40 per acre land aud
water overhead began TO grow, and
as the necessary construction ad-
yanced so has and did the overhead
and maintenance. The lands ad-
yanced from $40 to $40 and then
upward until today it is $50 per acre
raw land that must be sold the home
steader in order to meet the repay
ment that the government demands.
Mistakes
With the growth and experiments
tion on the part of federal engineers
mistakes accumulated and they have
been charged against this project
Each year has en- the totals run
upward on the peak line of expenses
and not downward, and there is very
little hope IL any OF any reductions
The mistakes while not all admit
ted are known to the several sets of
managers that have come and gone
Each left some trail of expensive
blunders. and the recent wiping off
of SO. 500. 600 is an acknowledgment
of such laundering.
During the twenty-five or four
years that some sort of operations
have been under way on this project
six project managers have been In
charge. L. G. Taylor, T. II. Means,