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Show Ill PUT i IRE SOU BASIS Squeezing Water Out of Stocks Has Been Great Benefit to People. WHOLE STATE HELPED Period of Frenzied Finance Passed and Conservatism Is in the Saddle. Irrigation in this stato has beon passing through a period of evolution in so far as her irrigation projects hit ooiueined. which it is now compiled is the best thins; for tho state. This evolution resulted in wringing not a littlo of tho water out of the stock, placed tho ban on the wildcatters and bogus project promoters, au earnest effort to rebuild and place on their feet sorno of tho projects which suffered during dur-ing the period of frenzied ticanee. Xo mure projects will be opened in this stato before the irrigation system is completed aud the water is readv for the settler to turn onto his land. That is the policy that was adopted bv the land board in 1915. If it, had 'been adopted eight years ago Idaho would not havo suffered some of tho humiliation humilia-tion it was forced to through the incompetency in-competency of engineers and unscrupulous unscrupu-lous methods of promoters who besmirched be-smirched thu good name of the state to advance their schemes. When at its height three years ago this stato proud-!ly proud-!ly boasted of $i00,bl0,000 invested in : irrigation projects. No other stato in the union had dono so much under the terms of the Carer act. The past year has seen little development in irrigation irriga-tion matters aside from the crowning engineering feat of the reclamation serviee in the erection of the great Arrowrock dam, tho highest in the world. Clean-up Made. v Iudeed, the year has been confined to renovating some of the projects tbat have not been a success and a special commission created by the last, legislature legis-lature and appointed by Governor Alexander Al-exander has been on tho job investigating investi-gating projects. Some of the reports this committee made were not pleasiag to those back of the projects. The supporters of the commission claitn, however, that it did its duty. It Tec-, ommended that the acreage in the Twin Falls-.Salmon river project be cut down; because of tho water shortage. It u-rged that caution be exercised jn-re-lation to the Twin Falls-North' Side project, that, the company be required l,to enlargo its canals, that, it bo cut down by abandoning the Clover Creek segregation. It recommended that the acreago in the Twin-Falls-Oakley project proj-ect be reduced to 24,300 owing "to the shortage of water. With relation to tho West End-Twin Falls project it urged that suit be instituted against the promoters to recover oil the " company's com-pany's bond. The state took over the King Kill project and the Big Lost river project was sold to the Utah Construction Con-struction company of Ogden, Project Organized. The Wickahoncy Irrigation company, backed by Theyer, Moore & Co. of Kansas City, was organized, and plans laid for the installation of the Wickahoncy Wick-ahoncy project consisting of 30,000 I acres and located in the liruneau coun-trv coun-trv in southwestern Idaho, Approximately Approxi-mately $1,000,000 will be spent on -if. Settlers will not be allowed to take the land until the water is ready for delivery. ' The renovation of irrigation projects has resulted in a check eing put to the downward course of irrigation bonds and it is believed, now that. tho period of evolution is over and tho. projects have been placed on a propVr basis, money will seek investment in the bonds. There has been marked development in the reclamation of high lands through the means of pumps operated by electricity. elec-tricity. This is particularly true in the southwestern part of the state, where thousands of acres have been reclaimed. It has also resulted in a marked demand de-mand for electricity foT power purposes. The future promises decided development develop-ment along this line. |