The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1951-03-30
Something For Nothing Or
Who Pays the Fiddler?
POWER
By e. j. PARKINSON, Great Falls
(Third in a Series of Three)

| POW EH
This is largely just a smoke screen
made use of in an attempt to cover
up excessive costs of other develop
ments in the Missouri Valley under
! the Pick-Sl plan. Its share of the
total cost will approximate $1,625, 0OO,-
600, or about $3.50 for every family
within the watershed from Yellowstone
| Park to st. Louis.
1t is planned to protect from Occas-
ionai damage by floods, 2 millions of
| acres along the river, at cost of $500
per acre. In order to do this, they plan
to flood and remove from production
forever, 21a million acres above the
dams. Just what is gained by spending
all that money in order to lose ~
million acres? Especially in view of
the fact that these 2 y million acres are
forever removed from taxation for
the support of local governments, which
is the equivalent of all the land now
assessed in the counties of saltwater
Yellowstone and Treasure combined
These figures are indisputable Is the
development worth the money? Is it
lilies in Montana? 1t certainly is not
worth $500 per acre to the lands pro-
tected, substantial part of which is
low, submarginal land anyway
IRRIGATION
Irrigations share in river bed de-
velopment of the Missouri River I'M
der the Pick-Sloan plan, is S1,265 ,000,- |
600, or about $3.50 for every family |
in the Missouri Valley watershed from !
Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park to
st. Louis The distribution systems /
cost will be in addition to that
1t is planned to irrigate million |
acres although since first estimates |
are always high, this will probably |
dwindle to not more than 4 million |
acres when completed There are about
Is, 900 n-irrigated farms in the area
to be irrigated. After the water is
brought in, the number of farms is
to be doubled by the simple expedient
of splitting them in two. The advant-
age of this is rather obscure, but it
big. The above costs are for
river bed development only. The aver
age cost of the distribution systems
will be about $3.50 per acre additional
The total adds up to about $105,000 |
each for the $4,000 poverty size"
farms. sometimes designated as family
size farms" They are of such size
hat if the farmer. his wife and all
he kids, work hard for long hours,
days a week, 50 weeks per year, with
10 money or time off for vacations.
hey can exc out a most skinny liv-
ng. They are too small to justify the
purchase of much power equipment,
md everything has to be done the
low, hard way
The expenditure for irrigation alone
hen, adds up to a total of about SA-
100 for every family in the Missouri
river watershed, or about $3.50 for
very acre irrigated 1t will not be less
han that, probably more like $1,000
er acre on top of this of course must
e added the cost of improvements
made by the farmer, such as build
ngs, fences, breaking, land leveling.
and preparation, etc before it is a
ONE ready to produce. This will cost
OF less than 800 per acre more. or a
rand total of around S1,IOO per acre.
What will this land be worth when
eveloped? 1t will probably average
,ss than 500 per acre in today's ma
er the following is offered for sale
nder one of the first Reclamation
rejects in the United States; "Simms