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Show " $600,000 WAITED 10 IRRIGATE 11011 LANDS Proposif ion fo Construct System in Dry Gulch in the Uintah Reserve. Special to Tho Trlbilny. WASHINGTON, D. C. March 4. Senator Smoot and Representative- Howell and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs nppenrcd before be-fore tho Soruito Committer on Indian Affairs today to nsk for an appropriation of $GOO,0C $185,000 of which In to bo Immedlaloly available for construcilnc a system of IrrlKation work" In tho Dry milch In tho Uintah reserve. Smoot and Howell represent the settlors ond Mr. Loupp. tho Indian Commissioner, tnlhed for tho Indians. Smoot tnld that of 1312 filings as u result of tho opening of tho reservation. MO of thorn would bo effected by tho new Irrigation scheme. He bald that wlUiout water tho land was not worth 10 cents an acre, but with thn water It could bo made tho most productive agricultural soctlon in the State. It appear that when tho reservation was oisnol the Secretary of tho Interior reserved a lot of grazing lund on cither side of Dry Gulch for Uio Indians, and that no water cun bo obtained for Irrigation for tho whlto homesteaders home-steaders becauc tho Indian lands command the water supply. Money Needed fit Once. Smoot stated In his hearing today that it would bo necessary to havo the money at once, for tho limit of tlmo for entry Is May 15, and unless Komn stops aro taken looking to Irrigation, Irriga-tion, that most. If not all. who have filed will abandon tho Mines. He also stated beforo tho committor that ho Intended to ask Congress to mako a further oxtonnlon of tlmo for tho homesteaders to make entry. It Is proposed to construct an Irrigating system sys-tem on Uio Indian grazing lands on cither sldo of Dry gulch, and to mako a ditch largo enough to furnish n surplUB of water sufficient to Irrlgato the lands of the whlto settlers after af-ter tho Indian demands have been satisfied. Tho money to be expended on tho project Is to be repaid to tho Government from the solo of Indian lands on the reservation. The hearing appeared to bo entirely satisfactory satis-factory to tho committee, and Commissioner Ioupp was Instructed to draw tho bill, which It is bcllovol Congress will adopt without question. |