| OCR Text |
Show THE RECLAMATION WORE. The most important part of the report re-port of the Secretary of tho Interior, just made public. -so far as this arid region is concerned, is that which deals with fho reclamation service. It shows that tho total amount paid into the reclamation fund up fo nnd including Juno .10. 100S, was $00,601,540.27, and the net investments of this i;i reclamation reclama-tion work up to Juno 30, 1009. amounted fo ;?-15.7o7.01S.fM, leaving five million dollars unappropriated. The estimated lotal receipts in (ho fund io Juno .'(0, IPOO, are $5S,i;12,140.66, which will increase in-crease the. available surplus fo something some-thing near .$J.ni,000,000. There has been allotted for the calendar year 1010 for reclamation work ..T.nCS.OjO. Of this sum -rDOO.OOO has been allotted fo Utah for fhc Strawbcny Valley work, this State's oul- project under the national irrigation law. The Secretary considers, however, that the amount of mone' on hand falls far short of meeting tho immediate needs of tho service. A number of verv important and extensive projects arc m course of construction! and he urges the authorization by Congress of the issue of certificates of indebtedness, or of bonds, against the reclamation fund, lo bo repaid bv tho settlers in the same manner that oilier public monc's advanced ad-vanced on reclamation projects are paid, $30,000,000, so as to insure the speedy completion of (he enterprises now in hand. Tu addition ho recommends .intendments .intend-ments to the law authorizing fhe Secretary Secre-tary of the Interior to temporarih withdraw with-draw from all entry not only land required re-quired for irrigation works, but lands believed to be susceptible lo irrigation, pending the receipt, of funds to complete com-plete tho works and bring wafer to the land; also, to authorize thc Scerctar.v of the Interior to withdraw lands within with-in theso projecis, for temporary use as experimental farms; also, to permit the assignment of cntr- on these lands after the cntrymcn have completed live .years residence and cultivation and made proof; also, to permit, the sale of water for lands in private ownership, even though tho land owner is not a resident, or to permit the sale of water to nonresident non-resident land, owners in all cases whero thc.y had title to the land at and prior to tho inclusion of this area in the reclamation project; also, to authorize tho recognition, of irrigation district organization or-ganization incorporated under State laws prior to the turning over of the project, or any portion thereof. In his'summary of results of reclamation reclama-tion work, .Tune 30, 1903, to Juuo 30, 1009, the Secretary reports 12,193 farms for which water can be supplied, Iho acreage being 767,9oS; number of farms ' uctuall' irrigated, 7,070, with an acreage acre-age of 421,510 ; storage capacil of reservoirs complote, 003,300 acre feet. The statement, further, given in much detail interesting items spccif'iug work done. The report docs not give iu detail the amount of work and the estimated cost on the chief projects that remain 3'et to bo done. The Secretar- would have done well to have given this in detail in connection with his recommendation of tho issue of $30,000,000 in certificates or bonds. Doubtless, however, this will be covered by a special report to Congress when the official nnd specific request is laid before that bod for the authorization authori-zation of certificates or bonds as recommended. recom-mended. The reclamation wprk of fhc Department Depart-ment is in a way in a critical state just now. A large portion ot the work lias Tonchod the point where it must either be pushed with vigor aud at considerable con-siderable expense, or very great hardship hard-ship to settlers will ensue. Undoubtedly Undoubt-edly the case for (ho issue of tho bonds for" the relief of the situation is a very strong ono, and we shall await with interest the making of the showing by Secretary B.ilhnger of tho details upon i which he rests his recommendation. |
