Full text of "New reclamation era"

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INDEX

NEW RECLAMATION ERA. VOLUME XIX

For the year 1928

Page numbers for separate issues

No. Month Pages

1. January 1-16

2. February 17-32

3. March 33-48

4. April 49-64

5. May 65-80

6. June,. - 81-96

No. Month Pages

7. July - 97-112

8. August 113-128

9. September 129-144

10. October 145-160

11. November - - -- 161-176

12. December.. _ 177-192

Page

Aided and directed settlement bills in Congress. 38

Alfalfa, production of high grade 123

American Falls, Idaho, new town site of 22

American Society of Civil Engineers, report of

committee of irrigation division of 162

Apples grown on projects in 1927 94

Appropriation act, fiscal year ending June 30,

1929 55

Appropriations available (list), fiscal year 1929. 57
Appropriations, fiscal year 1928, act of March 7,

1928 96

Arrovvrock Dam topped by 362-foot Swiss darn. 176

Australia, Murray River irrigation works in 157

Ball, David E., replacement of portion of Mabton

siphon, Sunnyside division, Yakima project.- 103
Batch, Otto C., economic notes from Belle

Fourche project 168

land settlement on Belle Fourche project- _ 52
the cheese industry on the North Platte

project 13

Bees, handling of, on Shoshone project 115

Beets, sugar, grown on projects in 1927 62

Belle Fourche project, economic notes from.. 168

honey production on 14

land settlement on 52

Betts, C. A., productive irrigation at Owyhee

Dam camp -. 190

Bird refuge, Tule Lake, Calif 176

Black Canyon diversion dam, Boise project 125

power and pumping plant, Boise project- _ 30

Boise project, Black Canyon diversion dam 125

power and pumping plant 30

Deadwood Dam construction approved 181

electricity on an irrigated farm 130

Boot Hill Cemetery 111

Boulder Canyon dam site commission 123

investigation (Pub. Res.) 110

Brown v. City of Cle Elum, 255 Pac. 961, Wash-
ington cities can not exercise police powers

outside boundaries 31

2447828

Page
Bruins, J. F., electricity on an irrigated farm,

Boise project 130

Carmody, D. L., reconstruction of Zillah waste-
way 5

Cheese industry on North Platte project 13

Cherry crop on Yakima project breaks all rec-
ords 122

Chicken ranch pays, Shoshone project 9

Citrus fruit grown on projects in 1927 62

Citrus orchards, syndicate form for development

of Yuma project 11

Cold-storage facilities in the Yakima Valley,

Wash 121

Collections from and obligations of water users

on the projects 154

Collections from projects are gratifying 108

Colombia, settlement of waste lands in 20

Colonization of Riverton project, what it means

to Fremont County 158

Colorado River board organizes 133

commission appointed to study proposed

dam site 123

development reported favorably to Congress. 78

silt in, and its relation to irrigation 85

Conference, Montana Irrigation, considers farm

programs and settlement problems 10

reclamation settlement, to be held in Wash-
ington, D. C., February 14 and 15, 1928- 18
settlement and development, held in Wash-
ington, February 14 and 15, 1928 34

Southern Reclamation, December 14-15,

1927 2

Construction and operation and maintenance

collections are gratifying, 1928 108

Construction charges, report of advisers on con-
ditions on projects petitioning for extension of

time 8

Construction collections show great improve-
ment 41

Contract expanded without readvertisement

(Comp. Gen's, decision) 15

Cotton grown on the projects in 1927 49

Page

Crop and livestock census, regulations for tak-
ing 174

returns indicate prosperity 21

(surplus) problem, solving by cooperation. 132

value, cumulative, over billion dollars 159

1927, distribution on the projects and

values 80

Dairy cow, influence of, on the payment of
charges 131

progress on North Platte project 23

Dam construction, safety measures taken, illus-
trated by Stony Gorge Dam 71

Reclamation Bureau, estimated vs. actual

cost 87

the design and construction of 15

Darlington, E. B., turkey antitheft association

on the Minidoka project 122

Deadwood Dam construction approved by Pres-
ident Coolidge 181

Debler, E. B., secondary project investigations. 140
Deficiency act:

fiscal year 1928 (first) 47

fiscal year 1928 (second) i... 110

Designs and estimates, submission of data for__ 104

East, the, how it profits from western reclama-
tion 39

Echo Dam, Salt Lake Basin project 134

Economic aspects of Federal reclamation, ad-
dress by Doctor Mead, October 4, 1928 163

conditions and settlement difficulties on the

Milk River project 98

conditions on reclamation projects, advance

statement on, by commissioner 18

notes from Belle Fourche project 168

notes from the irrigation projects (Montana

irrigation conference) 10

notes from the irrigation projects. Mint

growing on Sunnyside 73

notes from the reclamation projects 50

Electricity on an irrigated farm, Boise project. _ 130
Extension of time for repayment, report of ad-
visers on economic conditions on petitioning
projects 8

Farms, financing irrigated 54

Financing irrigated farms 54

Fish conservation (legislation) 111

Fishing grounds, project reservoirs famed as 10

Fish, reclamation reservoirs stocked with 8

Flow of water in pipes, formula 1 for estimating. 9
Fort Shaw irrigation district, contract with,

confirmed by Supreme Court of Montana 78

Galiger v. McNulty (1927), 260 Pac. 401, use of

water outside of watershed 1

Gates, standard high-pressure 44

Gem irrigation district, sale of State lands in 21

Page

ila River investigation (legislation) 111'

(lopher invasion on irrigation project 7

rasshopper control campaigns on Tule Lake

lands. Klainath project 188

ravity extension division, Minidoka project,

contract with North Side Canal Co 91

unit approved by President Coolidge 116

Guernsey Dam, North Platte project 184

Guernsey power plant, North Platte project 60

Honey production on Belle Fourche project 14

on Shoshone project 115

Houk, Ivan E., Black Canyon diversion dam,

Boise project 125

construction of the Willwood diversion

dam 26

Huntley project, educational special trains

visit.. 12

India, irrigation in, from Lloyd barrage 4

large canal nearing completion 94

International Water Commission, United States

and Mexico 46

Iron Canyon project, California 90

Jackson, J. F. and Kreutzer, George C., land

settlement an essential part of reclamation 114

Japan, irrigation in 143

Johnson, H. H., economic conditions and settle-
ment difficulties on Milk River project 98

Kinzie, P. A., standard high-pressure gates 44

Klamath project, grasshopper control __ 188

Tule Lake Community Club.. 107

Tule Lake lands, economic results on 40
Kreutzer, George C., and Jackson, J. F., land

settlement an essential part of reclamation 114
Kreutzer, George C., settlement and fawn devel-
opment problems of Vale and Owyhee

projects 178

Lamb-feeding demonstration on the Uncom-

pahgre project, Colorado 74

Land settlement an essential part of reclamation 114
speculation on Federal reclamation projects,

curbing 151

Law notes 47

State tax on gasoline 137

Legal notes of interest to reclamation projects. _ 173

relating to the reclamation projects

Legislation affecting the projects 110

taxing reclamation entry-men's land (act of

April 21, 1928) 92

by Congress, recent (first deficiency act ap-
proved December 22, 1927)

March 28 . 47

April 28, appropriation act 55

Linfield, F. B., economic notes from reclamation
projects

Liquidated damages, extension of time, adver-
tising, acceptance of other than lowest bids,
Comptroller General's decision

Livestock and crop census, regulations for tak-

ing.

Livestock and equipment value at beginning of
1928

Lytel, J. L., obligations of, and collections from
water users on the projects

McClellan, L. N., Black Canyon power and
pumping plant

power development, Yuma project

McPhail, H. F., Guernsey power plant

Mabton siphon, Sunnyside division, Yakima

project, replacement of

Maintenance of irrigation structures

Mead, Elwood, address by, at meeting of Ameri-
can Society of Civil Engineers, San Diego,

Calif., October 4, 1928

advance statement on economic conditions

on reclamation projects

chairman of committee to investigate failure

of St. Francis Dam

the design and construction of dams

Mexico and United States, International Water

Commission

Milk River project, economic conditions and

settlement difficulties on

Minidoka gravity extension unit approved by

President Coolidge

Minidoka power plant, enlargement of _ .
Minidoka project beets make profit for growers
contract between United States and the
North Side Canal Co. gravity extension

division

holds fair and seed show

turkey antitheft association on

Mint growing on Sunnyside division, Yakima- .
Mirtoff, J. A., reclamation policy in Russia..
Mitchell, L. H., from flying to handling those
that fly on Shoshone project..

Huntington Downer of Deaver, Wyo.,

makes his chicken ranch pay...
Montana irrigation conference considers farm

programs and settlement problems. ..
Montana projects, economic notes from

Nalder, W. H., Guernsey Dam, North Platte

project

submission of data for designs and esti-
mates

New-lands dairy cows bring good returns. -

New Brunswick v. United States

Newell, H. D., and Henderson, C. A., grass-
hopper control campaigns, Klamath project- .

Page
50

173
174
115
154

170
60

103
29

163
18

66
15

46
98

116

86
4

191

122

115
9

10
50

184

104

158

188

Page

North Platte project, cheese industry 13

dairying results on 40

dairy progress on 23

fair prize winner 176

Guernsey Dam 184

Guernsey power plant 60

poultry development on 157

North Side Canal Co., contract with, gravity

extension division, Minidoka project 91

Obligations of and collections from water users

on the projects 154

Ohashi, Dr. Tashi, irrigation in Japan 143

Okanogan project transfer 110

Operation and maintenance and construction

collections are gratifying, fiscal year 1928 108

Orland project, Stony Gorge Dam precautions.. 71

Owyhee and Vale projects, settlement and farm

development problems 178

Owyhee Dam camp, productive irrigation at 190

Owyhee project, design of dam 82

The Panhandle Oil Co. v. Mississippi 137

Paradise Valley, Ariz., proposed reclamation of.. 142

Pathfinder Reservoir again a bird reserve 90

Pleasure resorts, storage reservoirs as . 156

Plumb, H. H., enlargement of Minidoka power

plant 86

Policy, a national reclamation 162

Population, world, area, and irrigated acreage. . 93

Potatoes brought this farmer $70,000 profit 92

Poultry development on North Platte project . 157
Poultry plant, cooperative community, Salt

Lake Basin project 1 19

Power development, Yuma project, Arizona-
California 170

Power plant, Minidoka, enlargement of..

Preston-Engle report

Preston, P. J., the syndicate form for develop-
ment of citrus orchards, Yuma project 11

Railroads are helping project settlement.. 15

Reclamation fund continues to revolve- .

Reclamation project women and their interests

1928. _6, 24, 42, 58, 76, 88, 109, 124, 138, 152, 166, 182

Reclamation settlement and development con-
ference, Washington, D. C., February 14 and
15, 1928

Repayments on projects show gain..

Report of advisers on economic conditions on
projects petitioning for extension of time. .

Reservoirs of projects famed as fishing grounds. . 109

Rio Grande project time extended (legislation). 110

Riverton project, exhibit by W. T. Peyton 187

what its colonization means to Fremont
County

Russia, reclamation policy in

Page
St. Francis D:im failure. Report of 'Committee

appointed by city council of Los Angeles 66

Salt Lake Basin project, cooperative commu-
nity poultry plant- 119

Salt Lake Basin project, Echo Dam 134

Salt Kivcr project makes big payment 16

Sauford, George O., settlement and development

problems, Sun River project . 146

Savage, J. L., design of Owyhee Dam 82

Schildknecht, Dr. H., why and how reclamation
and settlement in Switzerland are subsidized

by the Government 120

Schilling, H. M., educational special trains visit

Huntley project 12

Schnurr, Mae A., reclamation project women

and their interests 6,

24, 42, 58, 76, 88, 109, 124, 138, 152, 166, 182
Scroggs, Maurice D., mint growing on Sunnyside

division, Yakima project . 73

influence of the dairy cow on the payment

of charges f 131

Secondary project investigations 140

Settlement and development conference, Wash-
ington, D. C., February 14 and 15, J928 34

Settlement and development problems of Milk
River, Sun River, and Lower Yellowstone

projects, Montana 50

Settlement and development problems, Sun

River project, Montana 146

Settlement difficulties and economic conditions

on the Milk River project 98

Settlement, land, an essential part of reclama-
tion __. 114
Shoshone project, from flying to handling those

that fly on the -- 115

Willwood diversion dam 26

Silt in the Colorado River and its relation to

irrigation 85

Southern Reclamation Conference makes plans

for the future

Speculation, curbing on Federal reclamation

projects 151

State has no power to tax a dealer on gasoline 137

Steacy-Schmidt Mfg. Co. v. U. S 47

Steele, B. W., Echo Dam, Salt Lake Basin.. . 134

Stock, live, and equipment value, beginning of
^1928.. 115

Stony Gorge Dam, precautions taken for safety. 71
Success on irrigation projects, John A. Widtsoe- 175

Sugar-beet farmers enjoy good returns 21

harvest on Belle Fourche project 168

grown on projects in 1927 62

Sun River project, settlement and development

problems 146

Surplus crop problem, solving by cooperation. . 132
Switzerland, why and how reclamation and
settlement are subsidized by the Govern-
ment-. 120

Page

Taxing reclamation entrymen's land (act ap-
proved April 21, 1928) 92

Taxation (State) of land which the United

States has contracted to sell 91

Tax, State, on gasoline 137

Town of Casa, Colorado Land Grant, v. Pooler,
259 Pac. 629, State courts suits against

United States officers 31

Trains, educational special, visit Huntley

project 12

Tule Lake Community Club, Klamath project _ 107

bird refuge created in California 176

lands, Klamath project, economic results

on 40

Turkey antitheft association on Minidoka

project 122

I'ncompahgre project has many prize winners. _ 5

lamb-feeding demonstration. 74

lamb-feeding test 40

Vale and Owyhee projects, settlement and farm

development problems 178

Vale irrigation project booklet issued by bureau- 156

Washington cities can not exercise police powers

outside boundaries 31

Water, flow of, in pipes, formulae for estimating. 93

use of outside of watershed 15

Widtsoe, John A., success on irrigation projects. 175
Williams, C. F., cooperative community poultry

plant, Salt Lake Basin project 119

Willwood diversion dam, construction of 26

World, population, area and irrigated acreage. _ 93

Yakima project, reconstruction of Zillah waste-
way 5

replacement of portion of Mabton siphon.. 103

Sunnyside division, mint growing 73

influence of the dairy cow on the payment

of charges 131

Yakima Valley, cold-storage facilities in 121

Youngblutt, F. C., honey production on the

Belle Fourche project

Young, Walker R., Iron Canyon project.. 90

Yuma project, power development on 170

Syndicate form for development of citrus

orchards... H

Zillah wasteway reconstruction, Yakima project.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1828

NEW

RECLAMATION ERA

VOL. 19

JANUARY, 1928

NO. 1

DREDGER CLEANING AN IRRIGATION CANAL

EGI SLAT ION is desirable for the con-
struction of a dam at Boulder Canyon
on the Colorado River, primarily as a
method of flood control and irrigation.
A secondary result Would be a consid-
erable power development and a source
of domestic water supply for southern California. Flood
control is clearly a national problem, and water supply is
a Government problem, but every other possibility should
be exhausted before the Federal Government becomes
engaged in the power business. The States which are
interested ought to reach mutual agreement. This project
is in reality their work- If they wish the Federal
Government to undertake it, they should
not hesitate to make the necessary
concessions to each other

From the Message of the President to Congress
December 6, 1927

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

HUBERT WORK
Secretary of the Interior

Issued monthly by the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.
Price, to others than project water users, 75 cents a year

ELWOOD MEAD
Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

Vol. 19

JANUARY, 1928

No. 1

Interesting High Lights on the Reclamation Projects

THE grapefruit crop of the Mesa divi-
sion, Yuma project, Arizona, is being
gathered. The new orchards planted in
the spring of 1923 are yielding their first
fruit of any consequence. From 10
acres of the Wohlford estate 2,500 lug
boxes of grapefruit have been picked.
The crop from the 200-acre holding of
the Yuma Mesa Grapefruit Co. was sold
at 3.6 cents per pound orchard run on
the trees.

E Yakima Morning Herald states
that 973 more auto licenses were
issued in Yakima County for the year
1926 than in the preceding year, or a
total of 22,850 licenses. The chamber of
commerce reports the total population of
Yakima County as approximately 70,000,
which would make an approximate aver-
age of one car to every three persons in
the county. Prosperity plus.

T^XCAVATION has been finished for
^ the foundations of the Stony Gorge
Dam, Orland project. It is anticipated
that with favorable weather conditions
the dam should be completed well within
the time limit of the contract.

A RECENT letter from a librarian
^*- asked for our bulletin on "oil and"
irrigation project. Our Sherlock Holmes
stenographer, without a pause in the
rush of business, sent a copy of the new
Orland booklet advertising the attractive
farms for sale there at reasonable prices
and on long terms.

THE Vale Community Club, Belle
Fourche project, is organizing for
more effective work, and other commer-
cial bodies are taking an active interest
in furthering project development. An
agricultural short course was held at Nis-
land early in December under the aus-
pices of the State College extension service
to discuss agricultural economics, better
livestock, and other phases of farm and
home life.

7870828 1

THE Mesa County Turkey Growers'
Association has been conducting a
very satisfactory sales campaign on the
Grand Valley project, and bids fair to
become a prosperous organization. Affili-
ation has been made with the Utah organi-
zation, and the local association is being
extended to include Montrose and Delta
Counties for marketing purposes.

A CHEESE factory has been opened at
Montrose. Routes are being estab-
lished to bring the dairy products to the
factory, and it is anticipated that the
industry will show a gradual but steady
increase with the result that more dairy
cows will be brought to the valley.

ORLAND was the first project to send
in the results of its 1927 crop census,
which showed an increase of $100,000 in
the total value of crops and of $5 in the
per acre value over similar figures for 1926.

"PURCHASES from Mimdoka project
*- farmers of more than 6,000 tons of
hay were made by stockmen during the
month. The price paid on the gravity
division was $8 per ton in the stack. Hay
is also being delivered to the alfalfa meal
mills, which have started grinding.

AN enterprise known as the Merrill
Accredited Hatchery has been es-
tablished near Paul, Minidoka project.
An incubator with a capacity of 16,000
eggs has been installed, and an output of
35,000 baby chicks is expected for the
coming season.

THE new entrymen on the Tule Lake
division, Klamath project, are at work
erecting dwellings and other improve-
ments. During the month a number
completed this work and moved onto
their holdings.

more farms on the Lower Yellow-
stone project under option to the
Bureau of Reclamation have been sold to
three Colorado farmers. One of the farms
will be divided.

E Federal Land Bank of Spokane
reports that the purchasing power
of farm products in its district, compris-
ing the States of Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, and Montana, advanced 6 per
cent in the first 11 months of 1927.
Land sales in this district for November
reached a total of $246,287, compared
with $193,691 for the same month in
1926.

A POTATO marketing association, or-
** ganized recently in Fremont County,
Wyo., has been doing excellent work,
marketing all potatoes received at a
reasonable price, and securing a material
reduction in freight rates to southern
points. No Riverton project potatoes
were marketed through the association,
but its activities will undoubtedly have
an important bearing on this crop grown
on the project in future years.

ABOUT 130,000 pounds of turkeys
* were consigned from the Orland
project to San Francisco and the bay
region just prior to Thanksgiving.

W. CRESWELL, who owns and
operates 21 acres of producing
pecan trees in the Valley division, Yuma
project, sent six 1-quart jar exhibits to
the annual fair held by the Brazos
Valley Pecan Growers' Association at
Eastland, Tex. His exhibit won two
first prizes, two second prizes, one third,
and the champion prize for the best
exhibit at the fair. An 8-year old grove
properly cared for will pay a 10 per
cent annual dividend, net, on a valua-
tion of $1,500 per acre, figuring -pecans
at 30 cents a pound.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

Southern Reclamation Conference Maizes Plans for the Future

Representatives of Southern Slates meet with officials of the Department of the Interior to discuss results of recent investigations of

opportunities for planned group settlement and to plan for continuing the work

THE representatives of seven Southern
States, together with delegates from
other parts of the country, all interested
in the promotion of better rural conditions
and a more advanced type of agriculture
in the- South, met with officials of the
Department of the Interior and the Bu-
reau of Reclamation in a Southern Recla-
mation Conference, held in the auditorium
of the- Interior Department, December 14
and 15, 1927.

MORNING SESSION, DECEMBER 14

Following the registration of the dele-
gates, the conference was called to order
by.Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of the
Bureau of Reclamation, presiding. Hon.
Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior,
in his usual felicitous vein, welcomed the
delegates to the conference. The Secre-
tary stated that he was intensely inter-
ested in this scheme of home making, and
that unquestionably an opportunity exists
in the South for planned group settlement
by extending the principles of western
irrigation to that region. He called
attention to the fact that a well thought

out plan of agriculture should go hand in
hand with the engineering works. He
referred to the Interior Department as the
"home-making" department of the Gov-
ernment, and stressed the thought that
this movement is not for the purpose of
creating more agricultural land, but of
organizing communities with an attrac-
tive rural home life.

The response to the Secretary's address
of welcome was made by Dr. W. W. Long,
director of extension service, of South
Carolina. Doctor Long stated that Sec-
retary Work was the first Secretary of the
Interior to call attention to the fact that
reclamation is national in scope. He
referred to recent criticism of the move-
ment, growing out of ignorance and mis-
understanding of its purpose, but stated
that if the South caught this vision of a
demonstration of organized community
life the critics of the movement would be
shamed and the Secretary would be hailed
as one of the South's great benefactors.
Doctor Long stated that we need a posi-
tive, direct, and intelligent leadership that
deals with specific and definite details
and not in glittering generalities.

George C. Kreutzer, director of recla-
mation economics, then spoke on the
progress of the southern investigations,
recalling the recommendations of the
three special advisers on southern recla-
mation, appointed a year ago by the Sec-
retary, and outlining the assistance the
bureau had received from cooperating
sources in its recent study of the seven
tracts of land selected for this investiga-
tion by the States of North and South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Tennessee. Mr. Kreut-
zer then took each project in order and
gave a brief summary of the data gathered
and the conclusions reached, with partic-
ular reference to costs of development and
the agricultural programs which had been
worked out for each project.

Doctor Mead then addressed the con-
ference on the subject of a plan for the
creation of organized rural communities
in the South, stating that the conference
had been called to enable the Bureau of
Reclamation to explain to its associates
and cooperators in the South what has
been done and what has been learned.
He referred to present conditions, con-

INTERIOR
DEPARTMENT

Some of the delegates attending the Southern Reclamation Conference

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

trasting them with conditions iu Australia,
Denmark, Germany, and Holland, where
planned community organization has
been such a potent factor in rehabilitating
the rural life of the people.

AFTERNOON SESSION, DECEMBER 14

David R. Coker, of Hartsville, S. C.,
presided and introduced Hon. Lawrence
D. Tyson, United States Senator from
Tennessee, who spoke on opportunities
of Tennessee for organized community
settlement. Senator Tyson said he be-
lieved that the present movement is going
to be the finest thing to help solve the farm
problem that has ever been presented to
the American people. He pointed out
the many opportunities in Tennessee for
this proposed work, with particular refer-
ence to the Mayland tract, stating that
there would be no question about getting
settlers; that under the proposed plan
Tennessee farmers would take every farm
made available.

The Senator stated that the question
of increasing our agricultural land and
producing a surplus did not enter into the
present picture, as it would take many
years to try out the experiment and we
must in the meantime be preparing to
meet the great increase in our population.
The Senator asserted that he was inter-
ested in the movement not from a purely
local standpoint, but from that of the
development of the Nation as a whole,
stressing the fact that this proposed
development must be made so attractive
to the rural boys and girls that they will
not leave the farm. He gave statistics
showing the amount of farm land that
had been abandoned throughout the
South during the past six years and
asserted that to stop this we must show
these people that it is to their interest to
stay on the farm; that this is the oppor-
tunity to do this; and that any amount
of money appropriated is not too much
to spend to bring this about. Tennessee,
he concluded, will be behind this move-
ment, heart and soul.

Dr. E. C. Branson, of the University of
North Carolina, then spoke of the eco-
nomic and social significance of a home-
owning people, contrasting this with the
landless, homeless, tenant-ridden situa-
tion in many parts of the South. The
ability to live together with others com-
fortably, prosperously, and happily, he
said, is a fine art. This movement, he
asserted, offers not a charity, but an
opportunity, adding that we must solve
the problem by subsoiling the public
mind in preparation for the work.

Mr. Coker then referred to the fine
work the railroads in the South, through
their development departments, have

been doing for many years in promoting
agricultural and industrial development,
and introduced Clement S. Ucker, direc-
tor of development of the Seaboard Air
Line Railroad.

Mr. Ucker stated that civilization
depends on our bringing about the estab-
lishment of more self-sustaining, pros-
perous, and enduring farm homes, and
that the development of such organized
communities is a matter that touches
and strengthens the Nation itself.

Hugh MacRae, of Wilmington, N. C.,
said that there is a vast amount of valu-
able information already in the South
which can be drawn on, but that this can
be done to advantage only through demon-
strations such as these projects would
afford. He asserted that one planned
rural community, if placed in each
Southern State, would be an example of
the utmost importance to rural life in
those States. He believed that the
necessary funds should be appropriated,
and that the South should no longer be
expected to make an unaided struggle
against present agricultural conditions in
that locality.

Colored lantern slides were then shown
by Doctor Mead, illustrating planned
community development in Australia,
Scotland, and Germany, followed by a
few scenes on the irrigation projects of
the West, showing the primitive homes of
the early settlers and the present homes of
well-to-do water users. Then followed
two reels of motion pictures showing
scenes on the tracts in the South which
have been under investigation by the
bureau, and planned community develop-
ment on Mr. MacRae's colonies near
Wilmington.

MORNING SESSION. DECEMBER 15

The morning session of December 15
opened at 9.30 with Mr. MacRae pre-
siding. The first address was by Hon.
E. C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary
of the Interior. Mr. Finney stated that
in his opinion each section of the country
is entitled to the opportunity to develop
its natural resources, that the proposed
plan is a constructive one, and that the
time is opportune to put the plan into
operation, asserting that the slogan
"Back to the soil" is one that can not
be repeated too often.

Mr. MacRae then introduced Hon. W.
M. Whittington, Member of Congress
from Mississippi, calling attention to the
fact that Mr. Whittington had been a
member of the House Committee on
Irrigation and Reclamation and is especi-
ally fitted to assist in bringing about the
proposed development.

Mr. Whittington made the national
aspect of reclamation the key note of his

remarks. There is just as good reason,
he said, as a matter of public welfare to
extend reclamation to other sections of
the country as there was to initiate it in
the West. There is just as good reason
for the drainage of swamp lands or the
reclamation of cut over lands as there is
for the irrigation of arid lands. Recla-
mation, he said, must be extended to the
whole country. He asserted that the
so-called overproduction did not bother
him so far as it relates to reclamation,
stating that you might as well argue that
a tariff conduces to overproduction of
manufactured articles as that reclamation
conduces to overproduction of farm prod-
ucts. In the last analysis, he Said, the
problem of all reclamation is a matter
of settlement, with all that this connotes
of a social and organized community
rural life. Agriculture is the basic indus-
try of the country. The population is
steadily increasing, and we must provide
for this increase.

Hon. William J. Harris, < United States
Senator from Georgia, and a member of
the Senate Committee on Appropriations,
was then introduced. Senator Harris
spoke briefly, the trend of his thought
being that within a very short time the
necessary appropriations for this great
work would be forthcoming.

Doctor Branson then read the resolu-
tions of the committee on legislation, which
indorsed the policy of southern reclama-
tion and recommended that Congress be
asked to authorize the work and appro-
priate funds to put it into effect in the
Southern States, the money to be ex-
pended under the direction of the Bureau
of Reclamation.

J. M. Patterson, chairman of the
Georgia Reclamation Committee, stated
that we must educate the public and the
legislatures to the new conception of
reclamation; that this proposed work does
not mean the bringing into production of
large areas of agricultural land, but of
making contented, prosperous, organized
rural communities.

Dr. Burdette G. Lewis, chairman of the
Florida Reclamation Committee, dis-
cussed the resolution, which was then
adopted unanimously by the conference.

Hon. Walter F. Lineberger, former
Member of Congress, and consulting
engineer, stated that he believed that it is
fundamentally sound to extend the work
of the Bureau of Reclamation to include
the South; that he is heartily in favor of
the great program outlined, adding that
this is more than a proposition for re-
claiming land; it is a great social and eco-
nomic movement of the most vital benefit
to our whole country.

The concluding address of the morning
session was given by L. J. Folse, general

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

manager of the Mississippi State Board of
Development, who gave an inspiring talk-
on the need from a national standpoint of
improving present agricultural conditions
in the South. Southern rural life, he said
faces a greater challenge than ever before
We can meet this challenge through the
proposed program of planned develop-
ment. On the question of where the
settlers were to come from, he stated that
there need be no worry on that score; that
he had never seen a farm with a comfort-
able and habitable house with a "for
rent" sign on it. Establish a group set-
tlement with habitable houses and settlers
will flock there.

AFTERNOON SESSION. DECEMBER 15

The afternoon session was presided over
by Rutledge Smith, of Tennessee. It was
agreed that effort should be made to have
the proceedings of the conference printed
as a public document.

Following a few inspiring remarks by
Mr. Smith, the conference adjourned.

Those attending the conference were as
follows :

Amory, Copley, 1811 Q Street NW., Washington, D. C.

Amory, Mrs. Copley, 1811 Q Street NW., Washington,
D. C.

Baker, Charles H., assistant to general attorney, Chi-
cago, Burlington & Quincy It. R. and Northern
Pacific Ry., 505 Transportation Building, Washing-
ton, D. C.

Bankhead, Hon. W. B., Memher of Congress, Tenth
Alabama district, House Office Building, Washing-
ton, D. C.

Ball, Bert, National Crop Improvement Committee,
105 South La Salle Street, Chicago, 111.

Barrett, T. E., commercial agent, Norfolk & Western
Ry., Baltimore, Md.

Bellah, L. P., general industrial agent, Nashville,
Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry., Nashville, Tenn.

a Project Beets
Make Profit for Growers

Minidoka project farmers have com-
pleted their beet harvests. It is under-
stood that Cassia and Minidoka Counties
supplied more than 46,000 tons of sugar
beets to the Burley factory. The north
side of the project averaged 14J^ tons
per acre and the south side 13J4 tons.
The heaviest yield was stated to be from
the 10-acre field of E. Bowman, near
Rupert, whose crop averaged almost 27}-
tons. Fifty-five acres in a tract belonging
to the Amalgamated Sugar Co. yielded a
little more than 20 tons per acre. The
quality of the beets grown was good and
the sugar content satisfactory. This
year's contract price to growers was $7.50
a ton, with a possible bonus dependent
on the price of sugar. Last season's
bonus amounted to $1.24 a ton. Good
prices have also been paid for beet tops
left in the fields, this by-product, which
is fed to sheep and lambs, bringing as
high as 50 cents to the ton of beets
delivered.

Benjamin, Jesse, biochemical engineer, Technical In-
terests, Clermont, Fla., 1411 Montague Street, Wash-
iiiRtou, D. C.

Beveridge, Bruce, Selma, Ala.

Bissell, Charles A., chief, engineering division,
Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D. C.

Blanchard, C. J., representing Hardce County, Wau-
I'lmln, Fla.

Blythe, S. O., the Country Gentleman, 889 National
Press Building, Washington, D. C.

Branson, Dr. E. C., University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, N. C.

Brookinfis, W. DuB., manager, natural resources de-
partment, United States Chamber of Commerce,
Washington, D. C.

Brown, Dr. Hugh A., assistant director of reclamation
economics, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of
the Interior, Washington, D. C.

Brown, P. J., banker, Albany, Ga.

Burlew, E. K., administrative assistant to the Secre-
tary, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.

Byrns, Hon. Joseph W., Member of Congress, sixth
Tennessee district, Washington, D. C.

Cardwell, G. A., agricultural and industrial agent,
Atlantic Coast Line R. R. Co., Wilmington, N. C.

Carroll, Col. J. H., assistant to president, Northern
Pacific Ry., and general attorney, Chicago, Burling-
ton & Quincy R. R. Co., 505 Transportation Build-
ing, Washington, D. C.

Church, Capt. H. F., assistant commissioner port de-
velopment, representing South Carolina Reclama-
tion Commission, Charleston, S. C.

Coker, David R., plant bleeder, and director Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond, Hartsville, S. C.

Davis, J. Irwin, county agent, Albany, Ga.

Dean, Wm. Harper, manager, agricultural department,
United States Chamber of Commerce, Washington,
D. C.

Engle, Charles A., supervising engineer, Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C.

Fass, Morris, chairman, Coastal South Carolina Agri-
cultural Development and Industrial Association,
Dillon, S. C.

Fletcher, Hon. Duncan U., United States Senator from
Florida, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C.

Folse, L. J., general manager, Mississippi State Board
of Development, Jackson, Miss.

Gross, Morgan V., member Florida Reclamation Com-
mittee, Jacksonville, Fla.

Grimsley, Geo. A., president, Security Life & Trust
Co., Winston-Salem, N. C.

Hawkins, M. S., president, John L. Roper Lumber
Co., Norfolk, Va.

Hearn, W. E., United States Department of Agricul-
ture, Washington, D. C.

Hull, Hon. Cordell, United States Representative from
Tennessee, Washington, D. C.

Jackson, J. F., general agricultural agent, Central of
Georgia Ry., Savannah, Ga.

Jackson, T. S., secretary-manager, chamber of com-
merce, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Jeffords, S. L., special investigator of land reclama-
tion and settlement, Spartanburg, S. C.

Jenkins, Joe D , general manager, Florida State Cham-
ber of Commerce, Jacksonville, Fla.

Jennings, E. H., postmaster and representative South
Carolina Agricultural Society, Charleston, S. C.

Jones, P. G., director of development. Mississippi
Central Ry., Hattiesburg, Miss.

KefTer, Charles A., director agricultural extension,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.

Kreut/.er, George C., director of reclamation economics,
Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior,
Washington, D. C.

Laird, B. L., farm land developer, Sebring, Fla.

Leach, Charles F., farmer, Monticello, Fla.

Lewis, Dr. Burdette G., vice president J. C. Penney-
Gwinn Corporation, and chairman Florida Com-
mittee on Reclamation, Penney Farms. Fla.

Llneberger, Hon. Walter F., consulting civil engineer,
former Member of Congress, Fort Lauderdale and
Hollywood, Fla.

Long, Dr. W. W., director of extension, University o'
South Carolina, Clemson College, S. C

McBride, J. W., general agricultural agent, Seaboard
Air Line Ry. Co., Savannah, Ga.

McCready, J. Harrison, president, board of super-
visors, plantation drainage, irrigation and improve-
ment district, Broward Co., Fla., 800-803 Ingraham
Building, Miami, Fla.

MacRae, Hugh, chairman Southern States Associated
Committees on Reclamation, Wilmington, N. C.

Manning, Warren H., landscape designer, 210 Brattle
Building, Cambridge, Mass.

Marshall, Wm. H., farmer, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Mason, J. Rupert, San Francisco, Calif.

Mays, E. D., development department, Seaboard Air
Line Ry., 203 Liberty Bank Building, Savannah, Ga.

Mead, Dr. Elwood, commissioner, Bureau of Reclama-
tion, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.

Montague, R. L., Charleston, S. C.

Newell, F. H., coasulting engineer, Washington, D. C.

Patterson, E. O., solicitor, Department of the Interior,
Washington, D. C.

Patterson, J. M., pecan grower, chairman Georgia
committee, Putney, Ga.

Peterson, George M., representative for Fred Delano,
4242 Thirty-ninth Street NW., Washington, D. C.

Preston, Porter J., superintendent, Yuma reclamation
project, Yuma, Ariz.

Price, W. E., general immigration agent, Southern
Railway, Washington, D. C.

Rice, Thos. D., Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Robertson, A. D., Seaboard Air Line Ry., Hamlet,
N. C.

Rodman, W. B., general counsel, Norfolk-Southern
Railroad Co., Norfolk, Va.

Schnurr, Miss Mae A., secretary to the Commis-
sioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the
Interior, Washington, D. C.

Smith, Rutledge, Tennessee Central Railway, Nash-
ville, Tenn.

Steven?, Ben M., merchant, Richton, Miss.

Talmadge, Eugene, commissioner of agriculture, At-
lanta, Ga.

Tyson, Hon. Lawrence D., United States Senator from
Tennessee, Washington, D. C.

Ucker, Clemeot S., director of development, Seaboard
Air Line, Savannah, Ga.

Walker, Dr. W. H., Williams, Calif.

Webb, O. B., assistant to president, Texas Pacific
Ry., New Orleans, La.

Weininger, Edgar, photographer, Washington, D. C.

Whaley, J. K., lawyer, McRae, Ga.

White, G. W., general passenger agent, Gulf, Mobile
& Northern R. R., Mobile, Ala.

Whitford, A. C., consulting engineer, Watson Hotel,
M ami, Fla.

Work, Dr. Hubert, Secretary of the Interior, Washing-
ton, D. C.

Irrigation in India

From Lloyd Barrage

A recent issue of the Christian Science
Monitor gives some interesting figures
concerning the Lloyd Barrage now under
construction in India.

The object of the barrage is to give an
assured supply to and to extend the irri-
gation now effected by the numerous
inundation canals in Sind, which draw
their water from the Indus. This will
be achieved by the construction of a bar-
rage nearly a mile long between abut-
ments, across the Indus, which will be by
far the biggest work of its kind yet com-
pleted.

From this barrage seven canals will take
off, irrigating more than 5,000,000 acres.
The cost of the scheme will be about
$60,000,000. Altogether the barrage will
protect an area considerably larger than
Wales.

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

Reconstruction of Zillah Wasteway, Yafyma Project, Washington

By D. L. Carmody, Maintenance Engineer. Sunnyside Divhlon

THERE is an old saying that "Rome
was not built in a day," and the same
can truthfully be said of irrigation proj-
ects. Like the fast-growing towns and
cities, there is always the need of expand-
ing the existing facilities, or of new con-
struction to keep up with the demand for
public improvements. In the towns and
cities the demands are for sewers, domes-
tic water supply, or paving. On the proj-
ects the improvements are largely in the
nature of works and structures for the
conservation of water or for better control
and regulation.

On the Sunnyside division of the
Yakima project every effort is being made
to keep up with the general need of im-
provements and each year some feature
is selected to receive attention. During
the year 1925-26, as a part of the regular
maintenance program, the reconstruction
of 727 feet of wooden flume at the lower
end of the main canal wasteway was
undertaken and carried to a successful
completion.

The new structure is of the same length
as the one it replaced and is a U-shaped,
concrete flume of the thin-wall type,
heavily reinforced. Except for the last
30 feet at the outlet end and a section
under the Northern Pacific Railway, the
walls and the floor are 6 inches in thick-
ness. The inside dimensions are the same
throughout the length of the flume, the
bottom width being 7 feet and the height
of the side walls 5 feet 6 inches.

. The side walls are reinforced with %-
inch round bars spaced 7 inches center to
center on both faces. The bars on the
inside faces are continuous across the
floor, with loops at the junction of the

walls and floor. The outside bars extend
3 feet into the floor on each side. Every
alternate bar in each face is the full
height of the side walls; the others extend
but half way.

The longitudinal steel consists of 33
lines of J^-inch round rods lapped 40
diameters at junction points.

Uncompahgre Project has

Many Prize Winners

The fruit exhibit from Delta County,
Colo., in which the Uncompahgre project
is located, captured 5 sweepstakes, 30
first prizes, numerous second prizes, $200
in special prizes, first prize on every
entry made except Jonathans, and sweep-
stakes on potatoes at the Horticultural
Exposition and National Fruit Show at
Kansas City.

The Montrose 4-H Club took first
prize in the annual canning contest con-
ducted by the Hazel Atlas Glass Co.,
of Philadelphia, in the western section,
including the States of Arizona, Califor-
nia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New
Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wash-
ington, and Wyoming. The club was
made up of 13 girls who worked during
the summer in preparing the exhibits.
The articles canned were chicken, car-
rots, tomato soup, corn relish, picallili,
apricots, sweet cherries, pear preserves,
beets, corn, pears, cabbage, watermelon
preserves, mince meat, sausage, pickles,
red raspberries, fruit salad, tomato
pickles, sour cherries, pork chops, and
apples.

The last 30 feet of the flume has side
walls and floor 8 inches in thickness, and
15 feet of the flume is cantilevered over
the pool into which water is discharged.
The cantilever section is supported by a
reinforced concrete pier, with a base 4
feet 6 inches by 12 feet, carried down to
an elevation 2 feet below the deepest part
of the pool.

For about 100 feet of its length the
flume passes through a horseshoe-shaped
culvert under the tracks of the Northern
Pacific Railway and in this section the
side walls and floor of the culvert were
filled out to make its cross-section con-
form to the new work.

The pier and lower end of the flume
are protected by a puddled earth embank-
ment, extending to high ground on both
sides of the flume and the embankment
is faced with a blanket of large gravel and
rock of a one-man size. The top of the
embankment is 6 inches below the top
of the flume.

For its entire length the flume is located
in a deep cut which necessitated unusual
precaution being taken to insure proper
drainage facilities around and under the
flume. To accomplish this, a foundation
of gravel 10 feet wide and with a minimum
depth of 18 inches was provided and under
the center of this was laid a line of 6-inch
vitrified clay tile.

The flume was put into service at the
beginning of the 1926 irrigation season
and successfully carried more than the
quantity of water for which it was
designed.

The work was done by the regular
maintenance forces of the Sunnyside
division and the total field costs were
$13,989.68.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

Reclamation Project Women and Their Interests

By Mae A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner and Associate Editor, New Reclamation Era

Happy and Prosperous New
Year

LET this be an individual message to
each and every one of our readers.
We all have something to be thankful
for that occurred during the past year,
and we should start the new year full of
a realization that new opportunities will
be afforded. It is up to us to grasp these
and make the most of them.

Traveling Schools

In certain parts of the United States
and in Europe traveling schools are re-
sorted to to bring to the people in rural
districts the means of schooling that
would otherwise be denied them.

In the United States they reach a class
of traveling people who, due to the nature
of their occupation and their lack of means
would otherwise be deprived of educating
their children, for example, harvesters and
their families who follow the crops.

In Europe special agricultural courses
are given by this method. They are re-
ported popular as are also the domestic-
science courses given by the same method.

Education in approved methods in
farming, started on a small scale among
Negro farmers of the South, has been ex-
panded by necessity through the Govern-
ment service.

SCHOOLS ON WHEELS IN UNITED STATES

We are proud of what has been done
on our projects to improve educational
conditions and the methods in agri-
culture. We thrive on stories that come
to us of the erection of new schools, the
establishment of new courses, the opening
of a new branch library, or extension
work along this line all spell progress.

Has it ever occurred to you that other
sections of our own country do not have
these advantages?

The extension of the bureau's investi-
gations to southeastern United States
reveals conditions such as shown in the
accompanying illustration Antiquated
methods in agriculture retard progress.
It was to improve conditions in his race
that inspired Booker T. Washington to
give to the negro farmers of the South
agricultural schools on wheels; in other
words motorized classrooms. Through
this medium they are enjoying a release
from agricultural ignorance by which the
race long was handicapped.

Thirteen children to this southern family

By carrying education to the farmer at
his home the agricultural school on wheels
reaches a class that could not be reached
by the educational institution of the
ordinary type. These farmers, the ones
that need this training the most, lack the
moral courage and funds to attend the
more formal institutions to which they
would have to travel back and forth and
enter into competition of class work.

Besides teaching the men improved
agricultural methods the movable school
coaches wives and daughters in practices
which enable them to improve living
conditions and home environment.

SCHOOLS ON WHEELS IN CANADA

The Department of Education in the
Province of Ontario has what is known as
railway school cars to serve the localities
too thinly settled to justify buildings.
There are, also, many groups developing
New Ontario that do not represent per-
manent communities but which change
their places of abode following pioneer
development of railroads, etc.

These cars are equipped with furniture
and fitted with all things needful for the
school. In addition, the minister of edu-
cation has provided two public libraries
fitted with books and equipment which
occupy space in the classroom cars. The
teachers serve as librarians. The cars,

one on the C. P. R. and one on the
C. N. R., will stop for classes at seven
selected places in an approximate dis-
tance of 120 miles. At each place, the
children will enter the car for daily
instruction and then receive assigned
home work to keep them employed till
the cars make their next visit. The cars
pass over their respective routes about
once in five weeks.

The public library features are of special
interest. The bookcases are finished to
match the hardwood trimming in the
cars. The books are new and in fine
editions. Each library is made up of
reference books, works on subjects of
general interest, and standard fiction with
Canadian authors predominating. Adult
books form less than a third of the collec-
tion. There is an especially fine collection
of books for older boys and girls, consisting
of the best type of stories and books
which represent subjects in which young
people have a natural interest. The
books are in easy English and the type,
illustrations, and style adapted for the
purpose of making a favorable impression
as an introduction to the world of books.

GERMANY'S TRAVELING SCHOOLS

When about 30 years ago Schepp, the
agricultural adviser, began to establish
household management courses at Siegen

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

St; -y

, ^^ W '.

Methods still in use in the South

a portable hut, the property of the Siegen
Boys' Red Cross Society, was used for
the classes and for storing the equipment,
but this precedent has not been followed.
It is usual, instead to have a traveling
equipment, there being, as a rule, no
difficulty in finding suitable premises in
the different villages.

In a traveling school of this kind, at
which the girls attend throughout the
week, it is possible to employ special
teachers. Such teachers of domestic
economy have begun work in the country
districts in these traveling household
management schools (Wanderhaushal-
tungsschulen).

At present it is not practicable to have
a permanent teacher, except on this plan.
This is a serious inconvenience, since it is
very difficult with the constant moving
about to pay attention to the general
training. It is consequently doubtful
whether the traveling school will come
into very general use. On the one hand,
there is a tendency to replace it by the
continuation school, which would mean
that the fuller equipment and the special
teachers were dispensed with; on the
other hand, an attempt is being made to
reduce the number of districts served by
the traveling school of household man-
agement. If attendance at the traveling
schoo 1 were compulsory, as it is at, the
continuation school, or if attendance at
the traveling school involved exemption
from attendance at the other, there would
be at once a considerable rise in the num-
ber of pupils attending the traveling
schools, so that in a single district there

would be room for three or four such
schools. If these schools were conven-
iently placed within a limited area, it
would be possible to give up the migra-
tory system, while the pupils of the dif-
ferent communes could attend in a fixed
rotation at a school in permanent prem-
ises. Each commune would be obliged to
send the girls for three months, every
three years. Girls coming from the com-
munes nearest to the school would go
home to sleep, the others would have to
be lodged at the school. The cost would
not be very high; at present the pupils
nearly always take their meals at the
schools, after preparing the food them-
selves. The dormitories would be of a
quite simple kind and kept in order by
the girls themselves. Such a scheme
might well be completed by the estab-
lishment, in the separate communes, of
the school district, of small continuation
schools under the direction of the manag-
ing head of the household management
school, so as to prepare the younger girls
for the school and to keep up the general
education of the elder girls who have
already been in attendance, and thus make
the results of the special instruction more
lasting. It is not possible to prophesy at
this stage as to the future development of
these institutions, especially as a certain
rivalry is observable between the house-
hold management traveling school and the
courses for girls at the schools of agri-
culture.

The curriculum of the traveling school
must naturally be simple. The follow-
ing passage may be quoted from a lecture

given by Schepp at the second general
meeting of the German Society for Fam-
ily Welfare and Prosperity, on February
17, 1898:

"The morning is devoted to work in
the kitchen, the afternoon to the theory
of cookery, including invalid diet, to
ironing, mending, and other kinds of
women's work. The pupils receive in-
struction from experts on our experi-
mental plots, and at intervals the direc-
tor of the winter school of the neighbor-
ing district instructs them in the feeding

; and management of milch cows and calves.

| All the teaching follows the lines of the

j "Guide to Domestic Well-being," a small
textbook which contains all that a house-
wife ought to know and which can not
be too highly recommended. The man-
ual is distributed to the pupils at the
reduced price of 30 pfennig. At the
end of each course 20 or 24 pupils take
a practical examination and receive a
certificate of competence. At this exami-
nation the mothers, the communal au-
thorities, the ministers and the presi-
dents of the women's associations are
present, and become acquainted with
the results of the teaching."

It is seen that as early as the end of
last century the original idea of institut-
ing traveling cookery courses was given
up and instead instruction was given in
household management, with a decided

agricultural bias.

Gopher Invasion on

Irrigation Project

From October 1, 1926, to August 19,
1927, the Tieton Water Users' Associa-
tion, Yakima project, Washington, paid
bounties on 9,633 gophers, according to
Secretary Floyd Foster in a recent issue
of the Yakima Daily Republic. Rewards
of 5 cents each are paid for each gopher
killed, the total amount during the period
being $481.65. It was expected 'hat
fully 10,000 gophers would be paid for by
October 1 of last year.

The owner of one orchard of 120 acres
has collected pay on 1,800 gophers. In
addition to those whose pelts are saved
and on which rewards are collected, many
are poisoned. There is no way of estimat-
ing how many are killed by this method.
Traps, poison, and every method which can
be thought of to rid the orchards of the
pests are being used.

E new beef feeding yards at Belle
Fourche are using 135 tons of beet
pulp a day, feeding 1,500 head of steers.

NEW BECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

Summary of Report of Advisers to the Secretary of the Interior on
Economic Conditions on Federal Reclamation Projects Petitioning for
Extension of Time for Repayment of Construction Charges

EARLY in the year 1927 Secretary
Work addressed a letter to the
chairmen of the Senate and House Com-
mittees on Irrigation and Reclamation,
respectively, calling attention to the re-
quests for deferment of payment of
charges by a number of the Federal irri-
gation projects, setting forth the opinion
of the department that no extensions
should be granted at that time in view of
the concessions already granted by Con-
gress under the adjustment act, and pro-
posing that a comparative study be made
of the charges on these and other projects
and of the ability of the water users to
meet their obligations under existing con-
tracts.

A conference was held with the members
of these committees and it was agreed that
instead of attempting to deal with these
requests for deferment as an administra-
tive matter of the department, arrange-
ments would be made for a careful eco-
nomic study of existing conditions on
these projects. This study was accord-
ingly placed in the hands of three advisers
who had been previously designated to
make a survey of economic and engineer-
ing conditions on the Indian irrigation
projects. These advisers were Porter J.
Preston, superintendent of the Yuma irri-
gation project, Bureau of Reclamation;
Charles A. Engle, supervising engineer,
Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Ray P.
Teele, associate agricultural economist,
Bureau of Agricultural Economics, De-
partment of Agriculture. Mr. Teele died
after the investigations had been prac-
tically completed, and J. L. Lytel, super-
intendent of the Yakima irrigation proj-
ect, Bureau of Reclamation, was later
designated to act in place of Mr. Preston
in the investigation of the Yuma project.
These advisers have now submitted their
report on the Federal reclamation proj-
ects, with the following general observa-
tions and conclusions:

During the field studies certain facts
were observed that are general to all
projects.

On nearly every project a number of
farmers apparently fail to appreciate the
responsibility involved in their contracts
with the Government. Irrigation dis-
tricts neglect to extend their assessment
rolls in order to make the necessary
levies for meeting their payments unless
prompted by the bureau. Many water
users make no provision for taking care
of their payments until the Government
closes off their water. The feeling that
often prevails is that the Government
will not assume the responsibility of dis-

continuing the delivery of water to any
considerable number of farmers, and that
relief of some kind will be given. Relief
and extensions heretofore granted have
strengthened this feeling.

If there is to be a higher regard in the
future for the responsibility of water users
respecting their contracts with the Gov-
ernment, modification of existing con-
tracts should be made only when there is
a very sound economic reason, and then
only after very careful consideration.

A general feeling exists among many
people on the various projects that when
money is paid the Government and is
deposited in the Federal reserve banks,
the community loses by that amount.
For this reason bankers and business men
often advise against the payment of
irrigation charges if it is possible to avoid
such payment. The fact is overlooked
that the Government at some previous
time expended this amount in that
community. Agitation for relief and for
extension of time to make construction
payments often has its source in the
banker, mortgage holder, and business
man, all of whom are more anxious to
increase the farmer's immediate means to
purchase, or to care for local obligations,
than they are to see him discharge his
obligation to the Government and pre-
serve the solvency of reclamation.

Some of the projects suffered very
severely from land inflation during and
after the war. Deflation has been re-
sisted by all classes on the projects.
Lands fail to move at prices asked and
stagnation in this line results. The
Government is urged to relieve the situa-
tion by reducing water payments and
thus enhance land values. Agitation in
the past for relief measures pending or
passed by State or National Governments
has given a false support to orderly
readjustment on a sound economic basis.
Some projects are now getting land values
partly deflated; others are just beginning
the process. Relief is seldom of sufficient
amount to help many farmers on such
projects, and it can never remedy their
economic ills.

All this has had the effect of lowering
the morale of the water users. In order to
improve this morale these elements must
be eliminated.

The Bureau of Reclamation is regarded
as the leader in irrigation development in
this country. On the success of its
administration, on its methods of proce-
dure and policies as well as results
accomplished, will depend the progress
and prosperity of a large part of the arid
region. It is, therefore, very important
that the full intent and purpose of the
reclamation laws be carried out with rigid
adherence to modern business methods
and in order to do this the landowners
must be required to carry out the terms
and conditions of existing public notices
and contracts promptly and honestly.

In their recommendations for specific
projects it should be borne in mind
that the economic advisers were dealing

not alone with conditions on a certain
project but with these conditions as they
related to all the other projects with a
view to effecting equality of treatment.
A summary of their recommendations
for these specific projects follows:

The Rio Grande project, New Mexico-
Texas, requested an extension of time from
20 to 40 years to complete payments,
because of the low price received for cot-
ton in 1926 and because such extensions
of time had been granted to other projects.
The advisers pointed out that all construc-
tion cost payments had been made
promptly until 1926; that the average
per acre crop return from cotton from
1922 to 1926 was $98.42, the average for
1926 being $56.90, and that the price of
cotton has since advanced from 14 to 21
cents a pound; that the project with a
construction cost of S90 has an average
annual crop value for all crops of $76.25;
and that the water users are in a much
better position to meet their payments
than more northerly projects which are
making regular payments although with
a much lower crop value. It was accord-
ingly recommended that no extension be
granted.

The Tieton division of the Yakima pro-
ject, Washington, requested Government
expenditures to secure an additional water
supply, and extension of time for repay-
ment of cost, stating that there was insuffi-
cient water for the project lands. The
advisers pointed out that the logical
solution appears to be to reduce the pro-
ject area to conform to the water supply
available by eliminating unproductive
lands and transferring the water to pro-
ductive lands needing the additional
supply, calling attention to the fact that
the Tieton division is one of the most
prosperous orchard districts in the North-
west and that those owning developed
farms have no difficulty in meeting their
water payments promptly. The request
for extension of time comes chiefly from
owners of undeveloped land, young
orchards and those owning 3,032 acres of
poor land which the bureau has offered to
eliminate from the project. To grant
an extension would amount to using the
reclamation fund for loans for develop-
ment and encourage the use of water on
poor land. It was accordingly recom-
mended that the request be denied.

The Granger irrigation district, Yakima
project, Washington, requested an exten-
sion of time from 20 to 40 years, on the
ground that the construction cost of
approximately $156 per acre is more than
they can pay within the 20-year period,
and that considerable additional construc-
tion work other than that covered by the
Government contract was necessary to
complete the system. The advisers state
that there is no foundation for the latter
contention; that the district is particularly
adapted to, and is being largely devoted
to the growing of fancy fruit similar to that
produced at Snipes Mountain, an adjoin-
ing district, where annual per acre returns
of $300, $500, and even as high as $1,000

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EKA

to $3,000 are reported. The district was
eager to sign the contract five years ago,
and there has been no change in economic
conditions in the meantime. The advisers
accordingly recommended that the request
be denied.

The Prosser irrigation district, Yakima
project, Washington, also requested an
extension of time on the ground that the
annual irrigation charges, ranging from
$7.50 to $13 per acre, are more than can
be paid as the land is not suitable for
fruit, but is devoted to general farming
with an average annual crop return of
$41 per acre. The advisers found that
conditions justified an extension of time
and recommended that the time of pay-
ment be extended so as to make the total
repayment period 30 years.

The Okanoqan project, Washington, re-
quested relief because of an inadequate
water supply. The advisers found that
although the project area has been reduced
by the exclusion of 2,383 acres of sandy
lands, the water supply is still inadequate,
more than 700 acres of orchard having
been lost from 1918 to 1926 through
water shortage. They accordingly recom-
mended that the area of the project be
reduced to the area for which there is an

adequate water supply, or approximately
3,800 acres; and that the irrigation dis-
trict take over the operation and main-
tenance, the charges to be paid in 58
semiannual installments.

The Chinook division, Milk River pro-
ject, Montana, requested an extension of
time from 20 to 40 years, because of heavy
bonded indebtedness and consequent
large interest and retirement payments;
large operation and maintenance costs;
and large areas of uncultivated land.
The advisers found that the contruction
cost of $15 per acre is payable under the
existing contract in 20 years, or at the
average rate of only 75 cents per acre an-
nually. On the ground that the yearly
payment is so small that there is no sound
argument for its reduction, the advisers
recommended that the request be denied.

The Orchard Mesa irrigation district,
Grand Valley project, Colorado, requested
an extension of time beyond 20 years for
the reason that the district was originally
promoted with the idea that the entire
area was suitable for fruit growing,
whereas only about one-seventh is ac-
tually adapted for that purpose, the re-
maining lands being adapted only to
general farming. The advisers believed

Huntington Downer, of Deaver, Wyo., Makes His
Chicken Ranch Pay

By L. H. Mitchell, Superintendent, Shoshone Project

A BOUT 4 miles south of Deaver, Wyo.,
** in the Deaver irrigation district of
the Shoshone project, Huntington Downer
filed on a homestead on March 17, 1922.
Since that time Mr. Downer has grad-
ually developed his holding and in the
spring of 1926 he started the construction
of a large modern poultry farm.

His chicken house, which is 28 by 208
feet, is constructed on a terrace on the
south slope of a rimrock bench. This
arrangement affords plenty of sunshine
and conditions are ideal for a poultry
farm. Mr. Downer has running water in
each of the 16 rooms and has all the
modern appliances.

Last April Mr. Downer started this
enterprise with about 7,000 baby chicks.
He had a ready market for his broilers
last summer at the Burlington Inn at
Cody, Wyo., and he now has about 2,000
White Leghorn hens that bring him won-
derful returns on his investment. These
hens consume daily 5 bushels of wheat
with an equal weight of mash, and he
keeps before them ground alfalfa and meat
scraps. The cost of this feed is about $10
per day.

It is an interesting sight to watch the
process of gathering the eggs, as these hens
lay daily from 96 to 100 dozen eggs. At
the present time (December 8, 1927) these
eggs are bringing 50 cents a dozen, or a
daily gross return of $45 to $50.

Mr. Downer is now laying plans to in-
stall electric lights in his chicken plant so
that the hens can start work earlier in the
morning and thereby increase his profits.
This electricity will be purchased from the
United States and he will construct a
transmission line about 4 miles in length,
making connection from Deaver, Wyo.

Mr. Downer also has 200 full-blooded
White Leghorn roosters for sale at about
$3 to $5 each.

that the interest of both the district and
the Government would be best served by
extending the period of repayment from
20 to 30 years, and so recommended.

The Valley division, Yuma project,
Arizona, requested an extension of time
from 20 to 40 years to pay construction
charges, giving as reasons the low price
of cotton in 1926; that such action would
leave more money for the payment of
other debts and would help to sell the
lands; and that other projects had been
given 40 years in which to complete their
payments. The advisers pointed out
that the division has a long growing sea-
son, good soil and climate, and good
farmers with an ample water supply;
that a water right is being furnished for
$85 which cost the Government $113.40,
and that the $85 charge will be reduced
by revenues and credits amounting to
$22.41, thus making the actual cost of
water about $62.50 per acre, a very
reasonable charge. The average crop
return for the period 1922 to 1926 was
$70.38 an acre, and since application for
extension was made, the price of cotton
has advanced from 14 cents to 21 cents a
pound. The advisers accordingly rec-
ommended that the request be denied.

The occupation of poultryman in the
Deaver irrigation district is a very attrac-
tive one as the poultryman does not have
to worry as much or work as long hours
as the average farmer.

AN ECONOMIC conference of Milk
River project farmers, conducted by
the extension service of Montana, was
held recently at Malta. The conference
was well attended and much interest was
evidenced in the program outlined for the
improvement of agriculture on the proj-
ect. Particular attention was given to
the settlement problem, and a very
favorable reaction was obtained from
several large landowners.

Mr. Downer's chicken bouse and new modern home

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

Economic Notes From the Irrigation Projects

Montana Irrigation Conference Considers Farm Programs and Settlement Problems

A N irrigation conference was held in
** Great Falls, Mont., November 17
and 18, 1927, to consider the problems
confronting the irrigation projects in that
section of the State with a view to bring-
ing about a more profitable program in
carrying on farming operations. The
conference was conducted by M. L. Wil-
son and several of his assistants from the
Montana Agricultural College, and was
well attended by representatives of the
railroads, the irrigation projects lying
north and west of Great Falls, a delega-
tion from Canada, and a number of Great
Falls business men.

Two fundamental ideas were submit-
ted, the first being that the success of the
irrigated farm in northern Montana must
be based upon livestock, and the second
that that is no project where the water is
so cheap and the land so favorably
adapted to irrigation that the farmers can
continue to raise wheat at a profit.

The first day was taken up largely in
outlining a standard farm of 80 acres,
which was to be divided among the fol-
lowing crops:

Acres

Sugar beets 20

Alfalfa 30

Barley. 15

Pasture 15

An assumption was made of probable
crop yields and then an estimate was
made of the number of livestock that this
farm could carry. Three classes were
considered: First, the dairy farm; second,
sheep and hogs; and third, the straight
feeder program. Income and expendi-
tures were figured on these assumptions.
The net returns ranged from $2,500 to
$3,000, with which the farmer had to
cover living expenses, taxes, construction
charges, interest on investments, and mis-
cellaneous items.

On the second day considerable time
was given to the 160-acre irrigated farm,
on which no sugar beets were produced.
There was not sufficient time to cover
all details on such a farm, but I. D.
O'Donnell stated that there were several
farms of this type where the gross returns
were around $5,000 per year. As in the
case of the smaller farm the financial suc-
cess was based upon livestock.

Reports were submitted by the chair-
men of committees on poultry, livestock,
dairying, crops, and land utilization and
settlement. The report of the committee
on land utilization and settlement, of which
George O. Sanford, superintendent of the
Sun River project, was chairman, follows:

"Cooperation between the landowner,
the business men of the cities, the rail-
roads, and all classes of the population
who desire the development of the Treas-
urebelt is essential in furthering the settle-
ment and success of these irrigated areas.

MORE HOMES NEEDED

"One of the factors which has retarded
the settlement and development of the
lands in this territory is the lack of houses
in which to live and shelter for livestock.

"Another factor is, while in a general
way there is a knowledge of the desira-
bility of the irrigated lands in the Treas-
urebelt for diversified and intensive farm-
ing, it has been most difficult, in fact
apparently impossible, to induce settle-
ment by practical fanners with sufficient
capital to make a down payment on lands
and then have sufficient capital remaining
to develop raw lands and bring them to a
state of productivity.

"Your committee believes that the
future development in a profitable way of
the irrigable land depends on the more
intensive use of the lands and greater
production of feed crops and utilization
of the same by livestock and on farms
within reasonable haul to loading stations
sugar beets should be made a prime factor
in the rotation program.

"Your committee would make the fol-
lowing recommendations:

"That where the landowner is not
utilizing his land it should be subdivided
and if there are no buildings provision
should be made for their construction.
If he does not care to sell or can not sell
without a heavy down payment, that he
lease with an option to the lessee for
purchase at a stipulated price and terms.
That in the lease there be a provision for
crop rotation, a certain specified acreage
in certain specified crops, and that the
landowner or his duly accredited agent
have the privilege of supervising the opera-
tions of the lease for the purpose of seeing
that the stipulations are lived up to.

"Where land is unimproved and the
owner agrees to put on the improvements,
we recommend that the maximum cost of
these improvements be placed at $1,000,
this to be added to the price of the land
where it is sold or an option given for its
sale. In some instances it may be neces-
sary for the landowner to construct these
improvements on credit. In such cases
we recommend that the purchaser be
required to pay one third down of the cost
of the material, one third at harvest time,

and the remaining third one year after
the first harvest.

"PARTIAL-PAYMENT PLAN

"Your committee would recommend
that where land is sold, instead of a down
payment, if a prospective settler has the
money, he be required to put on the first
year improvements costing nct less than
$500. That for the following two years
he be relieved from any payment on the
principal, paying interest at 6 per cent
and the water charges and taxes.

"It has been found to be a successful
procedure on other projects in Montana
to sell land on the crop-payment plan.
This plan provides for the payment to
the landowner of one-fifth of the beets,
one-third of the grain, and, as a rule, one-
half of the hay crop. This latter depends
somewhat on what the landowner may fur-
nish in addition to the land. In these crop-
payment propositions the portion going to
the landowner is applied to the payment
of interest and principal indebtedness,
while out of his share the purchaser pays
the taxes and water charges.

"Your committee believes there should
be experienced farm management super-
vision in connection with the operation of
irrigated farms.

"In cases of lands lying within irriga-
tion districts the commissioner should
appoint three appraisers to place a fair
value on unimproved and raw land when
requested by the owner.

"That efforts be made to locate on the
irrigated lands good farmers from the
nonirrigated lands.

"We recommend that in order to pro-
vide dairy stock and sheep for the irrigated
farms the various credit agencies available
be utilized, attention being called in this
connection to the facilities offered by the
Agricultural Credit Corporation of Minne-
apolis. As it is evident there is a need for
long-time credit for the development of
irrigation projects in Montana, we recom-
mend that where feasible local associa-
tions be formed to take advantage of the
facilities offered by the Intermediate
Credit Bank.

" Your committee recommends that spe-
cial stress be given to a three-year program
for farm development as planned by this
conference.

"That at some convenient time in the
summer of 1928, arrangements be made
for an excursion from all of the irrigated
projects of northern Montana for the pur-
pose of making an inspection of the irri-
gated area tributary to Billings."

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EEA

The Syndicate Form for Development of Citrus Orchards as Developed on the Yuma

Project, Arizona

TOURING the latter part of 1922, Mr.
*-* D. W. Pontius, of Los Angeles,
organized a* number of the holders of
5, 10, and 20 acre tracts on the Yuma
Mesa into a syndicate. The general
reasons for this organization were that the
average small holder of such tracts could
not afford to spend the time from his other
vocations to develop these tracts and
await returns for five or six years; that
the development required men who knew
the business and could give it their entire
time, that to organize such a management
for a small acreage was too expensive, and
in order to bring this cost within reason
it would be necessary to pool the interests
of a number of the holders of small tracts.

After considerable work Mr. Pontius
brought together holders of 190 acres
who were willing to place their acreage in
a pool for such development. The
holders of this acreage agreed to put their
land into the hands of three trustees of
an organization to be formed under the
name of the Yuma Mesa Grapefruit
Syndicate, and further agreed that all
acreage should bear the same assessment
per acre for developing purposes. The
syndicate was formed for a period of 25
years and all members were bound by a
written agreement to keep their holdings
in the syndicate for 5 years or through
the development period, but any individ-
ual might, after 5 years, withdraw his
holdings from the organization by giving
six months' notice and paying up all assess-
ments due the syndicate.

The organization was perfected late in
1922 and operation began early in 1923.
The holdings of the different members of
the syndicate had originally been pur-
chased in quite widely separated sections
of the tract consisting of 6,000 acres, but
through the Bureau of Reclamation these
holdings were exchanged for others so
that the tract was fairly well consolidated.
Five acres additional land was purchased
by the trustees for headquarters, buildings
were erected, and other improvements
made in order to carry on the work of
development. In the spring of 1923 the
entire 190 acres were leveled, the irrigation
distribution system was constructed, and
the area was planted about 75 per cent to
grapefruit and 25 per cent to nave]
oranges. George M. Hill, a man having
wide experience in citrus culture, was
employed as superintendent. The general
method of handling the business of the
syndicate is as follows:

By P. J. Preston, Superintendent, Yuma project
ASSESSMENTS FOR THE WORK

Assessments are levied to carry on the
work for a period of six months at a time.
The superintendent prepares a budegt
several months in advance of the beginning
of the six-months period to be covered by
the assessment. The budget is then
submitted to the trustees for approval
and when the items of the budget are
approved a call is made at least 30 days
before the beginning of the six-months
period for the amount needed to cover
the budget requirements, to be paid one-
half at the beginning of the period and the
other one-half three months later. Under
the agreement the trustees are not obli-
gated to spend any money on any tract
that is in arrears on any assessment.

NEW SYNDICATE FORMED

In the spring of 1927 another syndicate
was organized, known as the Yuma
Citrus Syndicate. This organization con-
sisted of 80 acres and ordinarily would be
too small an acreage to justify the em-
ployment of a good manager, but an
arrangement was worked out with the
other syndicate whereby they were
placed under the same management.
Some slight changes in the syndicate
agreement were made in the newer
syndicate in order to strengthen the
work of this form of organization and to
safeguard the investor. The two main
points were as follows: (1) The bank
acting as trustee of the funds of the
syndicate is required to put up a surety
bond or to place other approved bonds in
escrow to cover the amount on deposit by
the syndicate. (2) One of the three
trustees shall be the Government repre-
sentative in charge of the project as long
as the Government has a representative
on the project. It is the practice for the
management of the newer syndicate to

There's a Profit

If You Know How

E. J. Tilden, as reported in the Sho-
shone project press, farming on $50 an
acre land in the Cherry Creek district this
past season, produced crops which brought
$201.84 an acre, or more than four times
the price at which the land on which they
were grown was purchased.

furnish each member of the syndicate a
financial statement at the end of each
month showing the amounts spent to
date against the budget estimate, and
also to furnish a short report giving the
principal items that may interest the
members of the syndicate.

Considerable acreage is also handled by
private parties for different individuals
at about the same cost per acre as under
the syndicate plan. The advantages,
however, are in favor of the syndicate
plan as now worked out for the reason
that it brings enough acreage together to
provide a good management and a busi-
ness-like method of handling the affiairs
of the organization to insure the individual
that he is receiving full value for the
money he is spending. This has filled a
much-needed requirement in the develop-
ment of this citrus tract. By combining
the management of the several syndicates,
starting a new syndicate or unit need no
longer depend upon a given acreage.

The local reclamation officials have been
given authority as part of their official
duties (without extra compensation) to
take an active hand in organizing and
fostering such syndicates.

It is felt that the two syndicates now
operating have given the background for
working out others that will operate just
as successfully as these are now working,
and that no investor need fear going into
this form of organization carried out as
indicated above. All these developments
have been carried out under the most
approved methods known in citrus cul-
ture in order that they may be placed
upon a good production basis. The
orchards of the older syndicate are just
beginning to come into bearing and should
produce a good crop in 1928 that will
more than pay for their upkeep.

ONE unit on the Yuma Mesa reported
having picked 1,041 boxes of grape-
fruit from 20 acres of 4-year old trees.
This was considered about 60 per cent of
the total crop for the 20 acres, which
would give an average yield of approxi-
mately one box per tree for the entire
crop.

DURING four months of 1927 more
dairy cows were imported into the
North Platte Valley than in the entire pre-
ceding seven years.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1828

Educational Special Trains Visit Huntley Project, Montana

By H. M. Schilling, Superintendent

THE Huntley project, Montana, has
been fortunate during the your
1927 in securing the benefit of three
educational features of exceptional value
for , the improvement of agriculture.
These consisted of special trains on the
Northern Pacific Railway and the Bur-
lington Railroad, and were known as the
Sugar-Beet, Livestock, and Poultry Spe-
cials. The sugar-beet and poultry trains
operated generally over Colorado, Wyom-
ing, Montana, western South Dakota,
and Nebraska, but the livestock train,
was particularly a Montana exhibit and
the project farmers patronized these
specials in a way that showed a keen
desire to know the best and most profit-
able methods of livestock and agricul-
tural practice.

The sugar-beet special was traveling
under the auspices of the Great Western
Sugar Co. and the Montana State Col-
lege and visited the project on March
25, giving lectures and illustrations to
about 1,200 people. W. P. Stapleton,
agricultural agent of the Northern Pa-
cific Railway, explained that the train
was not intended to show beet growers
things that were startlingly new or tell
them things they did not know, but to
show in a most effective way how much
more profitable it is to do things in the
right way. The beet special features
were prepared under the supervision of
A. C. Maxon, in charge of the experi-
ment farm of the Great Western Sugar

Co., at Longmont, Colo. The Northern
Pacific Railway Co. furnished the equip-
ment, and the State College at Bozeman
furnished men who cooperated with the
sugar company and local county agents
in explaining the different exhibits and
illustrations. Three cars contained 224
boxes of dirt, of which 56 were under
glass, and 15 tons of soil were stored in
the train. It cost more than $4,000 to
prepare the exhibits.

Moving pictures, accompanied by a
lecture, were very effective. The pic-
tures showed the actual growing condi-
tions, how the fields were prepared,
proper planting, thinning, prevention of
crust, disking, and harrowing as well as
plowing. Charts showed the times of
planting and the yields and also the yields
due to time of planting and effective
irrigation. One striking feature was that
the pictures showed the wrong way as
well as the right way of doing things.

The Livestock Special was on the
project on October 25 and showed to
over 1,300 people. The Northern Pacific
Railway operated the train and the
exhibits were in charge of the extension
service of the Montana State College.
No prize stock was carried, but there
were two carloads of dairy and beef cattle,
hogs, and sheep, such as are found in
Montana, both money makers and money
losers. There was one carload of feed
and wool exhibits; the feeds, those pro-
vided in the country, all arranged to give

practical suggestions as to how the whole
may be combined to give the best results.

A dairy cow with daughter and grand-
daughter bred to a pure-bred bull showed
forcibly the importance of good breeding.
There was a collection of four steers
showing recognition taken of the feeder
grades choice, good, medium, and com-
mon with a spread in price of $11 to $6
per hundred on the market. The hogs
shown displayed the effects of different
feeding. The sheep demonstration was
for the purposes of selection for breeding
and wool production. The lectures of
the special agents covered the matter of
livestock production and marketing in a
most practical manner.

The Poultry Special was operated by
the Burlington Railroad, and the motion
pictures were furnished by the Agricul-
tural College at Bozeman. The poultry
demonstration featured poultry housing,
selection for breeding stock, sanitation
and feeding for winter egg production,
and marketing. The train consisted of
10 cars, 6 of which were devoted to the
poultry exhibits. Representatives of the
various agencies cooperating in the cam-
paign were stationed at all exhibits to
explain them fully and to answer ques-
tions. At the end of the train valuable
poultry bulletins were given to interested
parties. Nearly 1,000 attended the
demonstration.

Such practical and valuable exhibits
and demonstrations will do much to
stimulate interest and improve methods,

Haystack on the Minidoka project, 140 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 20 feet high, estimated to contain 80 to 100 tons, harvested from 13 acres of alfalfa, 2 cuttings, by

E. A. Brookman, Paul, Idaho

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EBA

and reflect credit on the cooperating
agencies and* companies responsible for
them. The coming years will undoubt-
edly show the good results of these educa-
tional influences and the wisdom of their
undertaking. The meetings tend to unite

the project people, and the work of the
local committees on arrangements helped
materially for success. As J. E. Patten,
editor of the Yellowstone, remarks: "The
success of the greeting to the Poultry
Special of the C. B. & Q. Railway is only

another demonstration of the fact that
the project is a unit when it comes to
anything for the general good; that what-
ever we take hold of is made a success.
We all work together and nothing is half
done."

The Cheese Industry on the North Platte Project, Nebraska- Wyoming

By Otto C. Batch, Associate Reclamation Economist, Belle Fourche Project, South Dakota

THE cheese industry on the North
Platte project had its inception in
the fall of 1924 with the formation of the
North Platte Valley Cooperative Cheese
Co. Starting with a pledge of 500 cows,
a factory, known as the Fairview factory,
was constructed between the towns of
Scotts Bluff and Bayard at a cost of
$9,370.73; of this amount, $5,430.24 was
invested in buildings and the balance of
$3,940.52 in equipment. Inasmuch as
the location is in the rural district, provi- i
sions were made in building for living
quarters for the cheesemaker and his
family. The results were so satisfactory
that, in the next two years, four addi-
tional factories were constructed, one
each at Gering, Morrill, Bayard, and
Henry, the Gering and Bayard factories
being in rented quarters. This brought
the total investment in buildings and
equipment to $27,699. In 1927 a cen-
tralizer plant was added at Gering, where
the product from each factory is assembled
as fast as it is made, graded, and prepared
for shipment. The necessary financing
was handled both through popular sub-
scriptions as well as sale of stock to
farmer producers. In the case of the
centralizer, the town of Gering subscribed
$3,000 for the building and the Kraft
Cheese Co., which takes the entire output
of the five factories, installed the necessary
equipment. In this connection, the co-
operative is paying Kraft for the equip-
ment at the rate of one-eighth cent per
pound of cheese handled without interest
while Kraft, in turn, does not pay rent
until such time as the total production
reaches 50,000 pounds a week.

Each factory is organized as a separate
unit; representatives from the five organi-
zations go to make up the main body or
the North Platte Valley Cooperative
Cheese Co. The main body acts as a
selling agency and business manager for
the group, setting the price each month
to be paid for butter fat on the basis of
what they can all pay and not on what
any one factory could pay. The price
paid for butter fat has ranged from 40 to
66 cents per pound, the average, taken
from the date the Fairview plant opened

through August of 1927, being 51H cents
per pound. This is not as high an average
as could have been paid had all five plants
been financially sound. The Bayard
factory was installed before that section
was really ready for a factory, has had
poor management, and has not been suc-
cessful. The Henry factory, one of the
last to be added, is still in debt but is
rapidly coming in the clear. As an ex-
ample of what could have been paid, the
Fairview factory for August, 1927, paid
the set price of 50 cents, while from its
earnings it could have paid 56 cents per
pound for butter fat, and that on top of
a loss for the month of $300 in grading of
cheese.

When first organized, partly as a means
of securing patrons, hauling of milk was
done by truck on a guarantee basis. The
experiment proving to be too costly, the
guarantee was removed and truck hauling
placed on a contract basis and the farmers
urged to do their own hauling. At the
present time, truck hauling costs 25 cents
ahundred pounds, irrespective of distance.
The Gering factory, with 41 patrons, had

all farmer haul and showed the highest
net income per patron.

The experience of the North Platte
Valley Cooperative Cheese Co. bears out
the statements made by the University of
Wisconsin, the South Dakota State Col-
lege, and the Kraft Cheese Co., with re-
spect to the cooperative cheese company.
The concensus of opinion from the sources
just mentioned is that to be successful, a
one-vat cheese factory must have the
milk from 200 to 300 cows, or a minimum
of 5,000 pounds of milk daily; there must
be a desire on the part of the patron to
have the enterprise prosper and an incli-
nation on the part of the farmer to deliver
his own milk daily. When properly man-
aged the cheese factory is ordinarily
able to pay prices for butter fat that pre-
vent very much competition on the part
of either the cream station or the cream-
ery. The cheese industry is best suited
to the newly developing section and the
sections where it is not essential that the
skim milk be fed on the farm, as is the
case where calves are raised as valuable
enough for breeding stock.

{PAUL BUTTER 5 CHEESE CO

^ =a( *amr ^na ' fijf

Cheese factory on the Minldoka project

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

In closing, tribute must be paid to Ebeu
D. Warner, of Scotts Bluff, and his asso-
ciates for their untiring efforts in estab-
lishing this enterprise and in keeping it

progressing. Mr. Warner has devoted
much of his time and money to put the
North Platte Valley Cooperative across
with no recompense other than the knowl-

Honey Production on the Belle Fourche Project,

South Dakota

By F. C. Youngtlutt, Superintendent

Bee yard on Doctor Clark's farm, Belle Fourche project

THE season of 1928 will see three com-
mercial beekeepers on the Belle
Fourche project with a thousand or
more stands of bees each, and, in addition,
many farmer producers with small apiaries
of 5 to 30 stands. The experience of
Dr. Oscar H. Clark, of Newell, the past
season illustrates the possibilities here
for this growing industry.

Starting as a hobby in the production
of honey for home use, Doctor Clark
entered the commercial production field
four years ago with 16 colonies of bees.
His venture proved so successful that he
substantially increased each year, start-
ing 1927 with 600 stands. Part of the
600 stands were colonies in homemade
boxes, purchased in the fall of 1926 from
farmer producers, making it necessary
to transfer to standard equipment. The
spring remained wet and cold well up
into June and each day brought counts of
lost colonies through dwindling, until,
up to the 1st of July, when the major
honey flow first started, a loss of 50
per cent had been experienced. From

then until September 19, the end of the
season, the story takes a decided change
for the better. In addition to building
back his apiary to 550 colonies, Doctor
Clark produced 45 tons of honey, both
in the comb and as extracted honey.

A modern plant is used on the Clark
farm for the extraction of honey. A

Belle Fourche Honey
Goes to Washington

Five hundred pounds of extracted
honey have been purchased at un
attractive price from Doctor Clark, of
Newell, S. Dak., Belle Fourche project,
by the employees of the Washington
office of the Bureau of Reclamation
and employees of other bureaus of the
Department of the Interior. Doctor
Clark's success as a beekeeper is
described by Superintendent Young-
blutt in this issue of the New Recla-
mation Era.

edge that he is building the dairy industry
in his community to the prominence that
it should command.

45-frame Root Simplicity extractor re-
moves 315 pounds of honey for each run.
From the extractor the honey is carried
by means of a pump to the strainers,
where the wax particles are removed,
and then passes by gravity to the honey
tanks and finally to the containers with-
out the usual hand method of handling.
By adding to the honey-tank capacity
and providing for additional packing
space, Doctor Clark will have a plant
large enough to care for his next year's
operations, it being his intention to sup-
plement the 550 colonies with package
bees to bring the total to 1,000 producing
stands by the time the main honey flow
is on.

The operations for this year required
the use of 2,500 pounds of foundation,
being returned in part by the wax from
the capping meltings. The home yard,
shown in the accompanying illustration,
was used this year almost entirely to
build up the weak colonies, although the
production of one hive, a package colony
at that, was over 200 pounds of honey.
His average production per colony,
increases included, was 160 pounds.
Had he been able to enter the main
honey flow with full colonies, it is hard
to estimate just what his average produc-
tion would have been. Up to the present
time Doctor Clark has marketed his
honey throughout South Dakota and
part of North Dakota and Nebraska,
selling his honey direct to the retailer
at prices that net him 10 cents a pound
for the extracted and 20 cents a pound
for the comb honey.

The high production of Doctor Clark,
as well as in the case of the other producers
on the Belle Fourche, can be attributed
to but one source sweet clover. The
white-blossom variety abounds every-
where; along the roads, the ditches,
fences, and creek and river bottoms.
The yellow-blossom variety, a higher
yielder of nectar than the white, is
universally used over the project as a
pasture crop, and when once in bloom,
continues to blossom until frost.

THE number of sheep being wintered on
the Shoshone project will probably
exceed that of last year by about 50 per
cent. The increase in feeding has been
brought about by the increase in the beet
acreage and the scarcity of water on the
range.

January, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

Expansion of Contract

Without Readoertisement

BIDS were opened on August 16, 1927,
at Boise, Idaho, for the construction
of a railroad for the purpose of hauling
material to the dam site of the Owyhee
project. The location and length of the
proposed railroad were indicated on maps
accompanying the printed proposals.
After the opening of bids, as a result of
further studies to determine the quality,
quantity, and most economical means of
delivery of the sand and gravel from the
various available sources of supply, the
Ontario-Nyssa deposits near Dunaway,
Oreg., were considered decidedly superior
to those of other sources nearer the dam
site.

Studies made subsequent to the issu-
ance of specifications showed that a con-
siderable saving to the Government could
be effected by building the Government

railroad direct to the Ontario-Nyssa
deposits rather than by building the
railroad from the dam site by the shortest
feasible route to connect with the Oregon
Short Line Railroad at Adrian, Oreg., as
was at first contemplated when deposits
located nearer the dam site were under
consideration.

A change in the location of the lower
7 miles of the railroad as called for in the
specifications and an increase in its length
1.8 miles were necessary, and the low
bidder, the General Construction Co.,
indicated that the company would enter
into contract on the new basis at the
prices bid on condition that a suitable
extension of time be granted on account
of the greater amount of work involved.
At the unit prices bid an increase in the
contract price from $294,592 to $345,312,

or about 17 per cent, resulted. A total
saving to the Government, however, of
about $128,000 was estimated by building
the longer railroad.

The question whether award might be
made to the General Construction Co.
without readvertising to avoid delay and
unfair action to the company was sub-
mitted to the Comptroller General, whose
decision, in part, is as follows:

"Bids for performing the work at the
location of the railroad covered by the
specifications were advertised for and
submitted on a unit price rather than on a
lump-sum price basis, and by applying that
method of determining costs to the build-
ing of the railroad at the changed location
with its additional mileage, the total con-
sideration is merely increased, and the
unit prices submitted by the bidders are
not affected. A contract to cover the
work as now contemplated may therefore
be entered into with the General Con-
struction Co. on the basis of its unit price
bid without readvertising." (Comp. Gen.
Decision A-20621, November 18, 1927.
5 Comp. Gen., 508 distinguished.)

The Design and

Construction of Dams

For nearly 40 years "Wegman on
Masonry Dams" has been the first and
last word on dam -construction. The
latest edition of his book, published in
1927, promises to maintain that standing.
The first edition, issued in 1888, had 106
pages. The fourth edition, issued in
1897, which was the first owned by me,
had 250 pages. The latest, the eighth,
has 740 pages.

It is equally valuable for the student
and the practicing engineer, because of
its discussion of theory and illustrations
of practice. The discussion of multiple
arch dams by Fred A. Noetzli, consulting
engineer of Los Angeles, will be welcomed
by all who are concerned with the twin
questions of safety and economy. Engi-
neers in the Reclamation Bureau will find
descriptions of nine dams built by the
bureau. These are the Roosevelt Dam
in Arizona, Pathfinder and Shoshone
Dams in Wyoming, Arrowrock Dam and
Boise Rolling Dam in Idaho, Colorado
River Roller Crest Dam in Colorado,
Gibson Dam in Montana, Elephant
Butte Dam in New Mexico, and the pro-
posed Boulder Dam across the lower
Colorado. The next edition of this work
will no doubt contain a description of the
Owyhee Dam, plans for which contem-
plate a structure higher than any dam
now in existence. Elwood Mead.

l The book is published by John Wiley & Sons, N. Y.,
and costs $17.60.

Use of Water

Outside of Watershed

In Galiger v. McNulty (1927), 260 P,ac.
401, the Supreme Court of Montana
makes the following statements anent the
use of water in that State outside the
watershed from which the supply is
derived:

Waters primarily belong in the water-
shed of their origin, if there is land therein
which requires irrigation. In this case
the waters were taken out to be used in
the alien watershed, where and after being
so used they could not return to the orig-
inal stream either by percolation, seepage,
or otherwise; hence they were lost to the
area in the original watershed. In this
case, the right of the appealing defendants
was acquired many years ago, and their
right to the use of these waters in the
alien watershed for placer mining pur-
poses is not here controverted and has
but an incidental bearing upon the ques-
tion presented. Courts have many times
sustained such foreign appropriation, and
perhaps each case would be determined
upon its own individual merit. It is
sufficient here to say that the right to the
use of this water for placer mining pur-
poses by the appellants has been sus-
tained, but it may be appropriate to
remark that the burden placed upon the
water should not be added to, to the
detriment of appropriations made for
irrigating lands within the area of the
stream from which the water is diverted.
The question of such appropriations has
been heretofore before this court, but in
an imperfect manner, and the following
cases may be referred to: Spokane Ranch
& Water Co. v. Beatty, 37 Mont. 342,
96 P. 727, 97 P. 838; Lokowich v. City of
Helena, 46 Mont. 575, 129 P. 1063; Carl-
son v. City of Helena, 43 Mont. 1, 114
P. 110.

Railroads Are Helping

Project Settlement

The appreciation of the Bureau of
Reclamation is due the western railroads
for the fine work they are doing in help-
ing to attract settlers to the reclamation
projects.

At the present time particularly, the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
is bending every effort to bring settlers to
the North Platte Valley and to the Will-
wood division of the Shoshone project,
Wyoming, and plans later to concentrate
on the Riverton project in the same State.
The Northern Pacific and the Great
Northern roads have spent much time
and money in endeavoring to bring settlers
to the Lower Yellowstone project, Mon-
tana-North Dakota. The Orland project,
California, is receiving the active support
of the Southern Pacific Railway in calling
attention to land available for settlement
there. The Grand Valley and Uncom-
pahgre projects, Colorado, are under the
watchful eye of the Denver & Rio Grande
Western Railroad with a view to stimu-
lating settlement; and the North Platte
project is receiving material help from
the Union Pacific System. Much of the
recent settlement activity on the Rio
Grande project, New Mexico-Texas, is
due to the judicious advertising of the
Santa Fe; and the Riverton and Belle
Fourche projects have both profited by
the active interest and support of the
Chicago & North Western Railway.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

January, 1928

Reclamation Organization Activities and Project Visitors

DR. ELWOOD MEAD, Commissioner
of Reclamation, attended the hear-
ings before the subcommittee of the House
Committee on Appropriations in charge of
the State Department appropriation bill,
to support items in the deficiency and
regular appropriation bills providing funds
for carrying on the work of the Interna-
tional Water Commission, United St.-ilrs
and Mexico. Doctor Mead was accom-
panied by Miss Mae A. Schnurr, secretary
to the commission.

R. F. Walter, chief engineer, spent sev-
eral days during December in the Wash-
ington office in connection with the hear-
ings before Congress on the appropriation
bill.

Paul W. Bear has resigned from the
position of rate clerk in the Denver office.

I. E. Houk, of the Denver office, repre-
sented Chief Designing Engineer Savage
at the meeting in Portland, Oreg., of the
special committee on irrigation hydraulics,
one of the research committees of the
American Society of Civil Engineers.

Recent visitors to the Yuma project
included Louis C. Hill, consulting engi-
neer; and Superintendent Gaylord and
Division Engineer Corrigan of the Los
Angeles division of the Southern Railway.

Stony Gorge Dam, Orland project, was
visited during the month by Chief De-
signing Engineer Savage and Engineer
Steele of the Denver office; and by G. C.

Green, field engineer, and Walter Dreyer,
designing engineer of the Pacific Gas &
Electric Co., who also inspected the struc-
tures and concrete lining on the distribu-
tion system of the project.

Salt River ProjectMak.es
Big Payment

Statements have been current in the
press about the failure of the reclama-
tion fund to revolve, and the impression
widely prevails that the contract
obligations of the water users on the
Federal irrigation projects are not
being met. Wherever this impression
is held it is erroneolis. Since the
passage of the adjustment act payments
of the full amounts due the Government
are the rule and delinquencies the
exception.

An illustration of this is furnished
in the receipt by the Bureau of Recla-
mation of a check for $708,951 .11, from
the Salt River Valley Water Users'
Association in payment of one year's
construction charges of the Salt River
irrigation project, Arizona.

This check is for the largest amount
ever received on yearly construction
payments in the history of the Bureau
of Reclamation. It makes certain
that the payments of construction
charges by the water users on the
Federal irrigation projects for the
fiscal year 1928 will be greater than in
any previous year.

Walker R. Young, construction engi-
neer, Kittitas division, Yakima project,
presented a paper at the meeting of the
Washington Irrigation Institute in We-
natchee on the subject " Development
plans on the Kittitas division of the
Yakima project, Washington."

Hon. O. C. Moore, former Governor of
Idaho, was a recent caller at the Wash-
ington office.

John G. Marzel, formerly employed on
the Yuma, Uncompahgre, North Platte,
and Rio Grande projects as an assistant
engineer, visited the Washington office
recently.

The following delegation representing
the Columbia Basin Irrigation League
from the Pacific Northwest visited the
Washington office recently: Hervey Lind-
ley, Seattle, president of the league; R. N.
Calkins, Chicago, vice president, Milwau-
kee Railroad; Harlan I. Peyson, Spokane,
past president, Spokane Chamber of
Commerce; Dr. O. M. Lanstrum, Helena,
Mont.; C. E. Arney, Spokane, represent-
ing Mr. Donnelly, president Northern
Pacific Railway; Allison W. Laird, man-
ager Potlatch Lumber Co.; Joel L. Priest,
Boise, representing President Gray of the
Union Pacific Railway; E. H. Van Os-
trans, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, president,
Craig Mountain Lumber Co.; L. C.
Oilman, Seattle, vice president, Great
Northern Railway Co.; H. F. Hunter,
Chicago, general agent, Milwaukee Rail-
road.

tl 4-4-27 IOM

TO THE TREASURER OF THE

voucher No ._n=i99

NV 5-1!

Piy to the Order oL

Salt River Valley Water Users' Assn. *--

Phoenix, Am , Hov 25 m_7

Oommissioncr. Bureau of Heclamation

Seven Hundred Eight Thousand Nine Hundred Fifty One and

TO THE

VALLEY B

Salt River Valley Water Users'

TEAH OFF ON <MS LINE AND DEPOSIT ABOVE CHECK. RETAIN SETTLEMENT SHEET

Salt River Valley Water Users' Association

-.Commissioner. Bureau of ^co lama t ion

CHECK ATTACHED IS !

This speaks for itself

D.S. GOVEBNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:1828

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION FOR THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

HON. HUBERT WORK, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

E. C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary; John H. Edwards, Assistant Secretary; E. O. Patterson, Solicitor of the Interior Department;

E. K. Burlew, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary

Waihiniton, D. C.

Elwood Mead, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

Miss M. A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner P. W. Dent, Assistant Commissioner George C. Kreutzer, Director of Reclamation Economics

W. F. Kubach, Chief Accountant C. A. Bissell, Chief of Engineering Division Hugh A. Brown, Assistant Director of Reclamation Economics

C. N. McCulloch, Chief Clerk
Denoer, Colorado. Wilde Building

R. F. Walter, Chief Engineer; S. O. Harper, General Superintendent of Construction; J. L. Savage, Designing Engineer; E. B. Debler, Hydrographic Engineer; L. N.
McClellan, Electrical Engineer; Armand Offutt, District Counsel; L. R. Smith, Chief Clerk; Harry Caden, Fiscal Agent.

Project

Office

Superintendent

Chief clerk

Fiscal agent

District counsel

Name

Office

Newell S Dak

F. C. Youngblutt...
R. J. Newell

R. C Walber

R. C. Walber

Wm. J. Burke

Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Oreg.
El Paso, Tex.
Montrose, Colo.
Billings, Mont.

Berkeley, Calif.
Billings, Mont.
Do.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Portland, Oreg.
El Paso, Tex.
Mitchell, Nebr.

Billings, Mont.
Do.

Montrose, Colo.
Portland, Oreg.
Do.
Berkeley, Calif.

Boise '

Boise, Idaho

W. L. Vernon

B. E. Stoutemyer

Carlsbad N Mex

L E Foster

W C Berger

H. J. S. Davries

Grand Valley

Grand Junction, Colo.
Ballantine, Mont

J. C. Page...
U. M. Schilling

W. J. Chiesman
J. P. Siebeneicher. _ ..

C. E. Brodie... J. R. Alexander
E. E. Roddis

King Hill 3

King Hill Idaho

Klamath Falls, Oreg..

H. D. Newell

N. G. Wheeler

Joseph C. Avery

R. J. Coffey
E. E. Roddis

H. A. Parker

E. R. Scheppelmann

E. R. Scheppelmann..
E. E. Chabot...

Milk River

Malta, Mont

TT, TT, Jnhnsnn

E E Chabo't

___do__.

Minidoka *

E. B Darlington

G. C. Patterson Miss A. J. Larson B. E. Stoutemver

A. W Walker

Erie W. Shepard

Miss E.M.Simmonds.
L. J. Windle
N. D. Thorp ..

R. J. Coffey

North Platte 6

Mitchell, Nebr

H. C. Stetson

Virgil E. Hubbell

Wm. J. Burke
B. E. Stoutemyer

W. D. Funk

Orland

Orland, Calif

R. C.E.Weber
F A. Banks

C. H. Lillingston

R. J. Cofley

B. E. Stoutemver

El Paso, Tex
Riverton, Wyo

Salt Lake City Utah

L. R. Fiock

H D Comstock

V G. Evans

L. S. Kennicott H. J. S. Devries

Riverton....

R B. Smith

R. B. Smith

Wm. J. Burke

Salt River 7

Powell Wyo

L H Mitchell

W. F Sha

E. E. Roddis

Provo, Utah

Sun River 10

Fairfield, Mont

G. O. Sanford

H. W. Johnson

H. W. Johnson . E. E. Roddis

Umatilla n

L J Foster

G.H. Bolt .

F. D.Helm

J. R. Alexander

Vale

Vale, Oreg

H W Bashore

C. M. Voyen

B. E. Stoutemyer

Yakima

Yakima, Wash

J L Lytel

R. K. Cunningham...
H. R. Pasewalk

J. C. Gawler

P J Preston

E. M. Philebaum

R. J. Cofley

Large Construction Work

F F Smith "

L. J. Windle

Wm. J. Burke

Mitchell, Nebr.

sey Dam .

Kittitas

Walker R Young "

E R Mills

B. E. Stoutemyer

Portland, Oreg.

Ralph Lowry 1!

F. C. Lewis

F. C. Lewis _.

E. E. Roddis

Billings, Mont.

Dam.

H J Gault "

C. B. Funk

R. J. Cofley

Berkeley, Calif.

Dam.

Elk Creek, Calif.

1 Operation of Arrowrock Division assumed by Nampa-Meridian, Black Canyon,
Boise-Kuna, Wilder, Big Bend, and New York Irrigation Districts on Apr. 1,
1926.

1 Operation of project assumed by Huntley Project Irrigation District on Dec.
31, 1927.

1 Operation of project assumed by King Hill Irrigation District Mar. 1, 1926.

Operation of South Side Pumping Division assumed by Burley Irrigation
District on Apr. 1, 1926, and of Gravity Division by Minidoka Irrigation District
on Dec. 2, 1916.

1 Operation of project assumed by Truckee-Carson Irrigation District on Dec. 31,
1926.

Operation of Interstate Division assumed by Pathfinder Irrigation District on
July 1, 1926, Fort Laramie Division by Goshen Irrigation District and Gering and
Fort Laramie Irrigation District on Dec. 31, 1926, and Northport Division by
Northport Irrigation District on Dec. 31, 1926.

' Operation of project assumed by Salt River Valley Water Users' Association on
Nov. 1, 1917.

I Operation of Garland Division assumed by Shoshone Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

Operation of project assumed by Strawberry Valley Water Users' Association
on Dec. 1, 1926.

10 Operation of Fort Shaw Division assumed by Fort Shaw Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

II Operation of West Division assumed by West Extension Irrigation District on
July 1, 1926, and East Division by Hermiston Irrigation District informally on
July 1, 1926, and formally, by contract, on Dec. 31, 1926.

12 Resident engineer.
1S Construction engineer.

Important Investigations in Progress

Project

Office

In charge of

Cooperative agency

Cache la Poudre investigations

Denver, Colo

Thomas Hawthorne...
C. C. Elder

Poudre Valley Water Conservation Association
Middle Rio Grande conservancy district

States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Middle Rio Grande

Albuquerque, N. Mex.
Lind, Wash

B. E. Hayden

Truckee Kiver

Reno, Nev

A. N. Burch

Powell, Wyo

I. B. Hosig

Southern investigations . .

Washington, D. C

George C. Kreutzer
and C. A. Bissell.

NEW

RECLAMATION ERA

VOL. 19

FEBRUARY, 1928

NO. 2

A PRIZE-WINNING SHORTHORN ON THE YAKIMA PROJECT, WASHI-NQTON

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

HUBERT WORK
Secretary of the Interior

Issued monthly by the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.
Price, to others than project water users, 75 cents a year

ELWOOD MEAD
Commissioner, Bureau of Declamation

Vol. 19

FEBRUARY, 1928

No. 2

Interesting High Lights on the Federal Reclamation Projects

ONE million dollars more flowed into
the Yakima Valley in 1927 than in
1926 for agricultural, dairy, livestock, and
manufactured products. Returns for 1927
were $41,666,503 compared with $40,589,-
170 in 1926, according to the annual
report compiled by the Yakima Morning
Herald.

BY the end of the year the Ambursen
Dam Co., contractors for the Stony
Gorge Dam, Orland project, had covered
the last of the foundations with concrete,
which had been built up to a height that
would not be seriously damaged in case
of flood.

ORGANIZATION of farmers' coopera-
tive marketing associations contin-
ues on the Grand Valley project, of which
there are 10 now organized or in process of
organization. These cover the greater
portion of the agricultural produce raised
on the project. Effort is now being made
to consolidate certain allied organizations
to reduce overhead.

E cheese factory opened recently in
Montrose, Uncompahgre project, is
increasing its operations. It is anticipated
that this industry will have a beneficial
effect in increasing the dairy herds in the
valley.

IT is reported that 200 farms have been
sold in Canyon County, Idaho, which
is all in the Boise Valley, since October
28, and that 60 per cent of these sales
were made to home seekers from other
States.

THE Utah-Idaho Sugar Co. is engaged
in the contracting of sugar-beet acre-
age on the Milk River project for 1928.
At the end of the year the Chinook division
showed an increase of more than 50 per
cent over the 1927 acreage, and on the
Malta division 712 acreas had been
promised.

i 28

MORE than $91,000 was distributed
to turkey growers in the vicinity of
Rupert, Minidoka project, as a result of
the Thanksgiving and Christmas mar-
keting seasons. Large shipments were
also made from Burley.

FOUR thousand clips of wool were
sold recently by the Mini-Cassia
Wool Pool at 35.26 cents a pound. This
is reported to be the highest price paid in
the State this season. The clips all came
from project farm flocks.

"TkURING the past year 14 of the farms
*-* on the Lower Yellowstone project
on which options were held by the
Government were sold to settlers, and
about the same number of farms not
listed with the Government.

E number of chickens on the New-
lands project has almost doubled
during the last five years, more than
82,000 being reported at the close of the
year. A large increase is in prospect
through the development of the winter
and early spring broiler industry.

THE turkey pools on the Newlands
project operated through the efforts of
Farm Bureau at Thanksgiving and Christ-
mas saved the growers $15,000. Just
another good argument that organization
and scientific marketing and education
on the production end of farm products
are just as essential as owning good land
and water rights to make it productive.

THE Churchill County Bank on the
Newlands project says that "we find
that most of our borrowers have paid their
interest in full to December 31, 1927, and
a great many have favored us with a sub-
stantial reduction on the principal through
this year's operations."

rjlHE force of A. Guthrie & Co., who
* have the contract for the construc-
tion of Echo Dam, Salt Lake Basin project,
moved onto the work on December 12,
and immediately started camp construc-
tion. At the end of the month eight
buildings had been constructed, a bridge
had been built across the Weber River
below the damsite, and a road graded to
the west abutment of the dam. Clearing
of the damsite was also in progress.

TNCREASING interest in dairying is
* being shown on the Yakima project,
and an effort is being made to organize
a finance corporation at Sunnyside to as-
sist in the purchase of dairy cattle.

Tj^XPENDITURES totaling more than
*-* $3,000,000 during 1927 were made
in Yakima Valley towns and rural dis-
tricts for new buildings, municipal water
and sewer systems, pumping plants, ex-
pansion of power lines, and other improve-
ments, in addition to building permits
totaling $873,564 issued in the city of
Yakima. Included in this total was
$460,000 for cold and common storage
plants and warehouse improvements at
various points in the valley.

ONE homesteader who had previously
made entry arrived on the Riverton
project during the month, established
residence, and began preparations for
farming in 1928. One applicant and three
other prospective settlers visited the proj-
ect. One applicant was accepted, exe-
cuted water rental application, and made
homestead entry. This is the fifth appli-
cant to make his initial payment for water
and the third to make actual homestead
entry.

ON the Willwood division, Shoshone
project, 38 farm applications had
been filed up to the end of the year and
16 homestead entries had been completed.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

February. 1828

Reclamation Settlement Conference to be Held in Washington, D. C.

INVITATIONS have been extended by
Hon. Hubert Work, Secretary of the
Interior, to individuals and representa-
tives of various organizations interested
in the problems of settlement on the irri-
gations projects of the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, to attend a conference in Washing-
ton, D. C., on February 14 and 15, 1928.
The Secretary's letter and a statement by
Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of Recla-
mation, follow:

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, January 10, 1928.

DEAR SIR: A conference was held in
Washington two years ago at which land
settlement and farm development under
reclamation projects were the main sub-
jects of discussion. Those who attended
that conference believed it was worth
while.

February 14 and 15, 1928

The majority of those in attendance had
an intimate acquaintance with what takes
place in the development of an irrigation
project. There was general agreement
that our reclamation program lacks some-
thing essential to the best results, both as
regards the well-being of the settler and
his family, and the financial returns to the
Government. What is needed are meas-
ures which will hasten settlement and put
the water and land to the best use.

Since that time we have had oppor-
tunity to observe the operation of a series
of laws enacted by Congress to improve
the human and economic features of recla-
mation. It is the conclusion that this in-
creased attention to the human problems
has been amply justified by results. It has
brought about better relations between
the Government and the water users and
a marked improvement in farm practices.

While it is recognized that attending a
conference in Washington involves a con-
siderable expenditure of time and money,
it is believed that the benefits which arise
justify the sacrifice. This view has been
expressed in numerous letters from people
interested in irrigation development.

A cordial invitation is therefore ex-
tended to you to attend the second meet-
ing, to be held in the auditorium of the
Department of the Interior, February 14
and 15, 1928. The statement prepared
by Commissioner Mead, which accompa-
nies this invitation, will explain to you
some of the economic and social questions
with which the bureau is confronted, and
in the solution of which your cooperation
is invited.

Sincerely yours,

HUBERT WORK,

Secretary.

[Inclosure.]

Advance Statement by the Commissioner of Reclamation on Economic Conditions on

the Reclamation Projects

For the information oj those proposing to attend the Reclamation Settlement Conference. Washington, D. C, February 14-15, 1928

THE extent of the irrigated area and
the high acre cost of irrigation works
now being built in this country make it
desirable that attention be given to every
factor that will contribute to efficiency in
construction, to rapidity of farm develop-
ment, and to the well-being of irrigators.
This conference is not called to meet
any immediate crisis. The results in the
operation of existing works, during the
past year, have been most satisfactory.
In payment of charges, in value of crops
grown, in improved morale of water users,
they will compare favorably with any
year since Federal reclamation began.
Not only do the results under completed
works justify Federal reclamation, but
everything indicates that the Govern-
ment must be the chief agency in the
future extension of the irrigated area.
Private irrigation development under the
high construction costs and small returns
from farming which now prevail is not
profitable. With us, as in nearly all other
countries, irrigation development in the
future will have to be carried out as a
national policy. To justify this there
must be more than a creation of wealth.
There must be farm ownership instead of
tenancy. There must be attractive living
conditions as well as a successful agri-
culture.

RECLAMATION POLICIES SHOULD
CHANCE WITH CHANGING CON-
DITIONS

To achieve these results reclamation
methods and policies must change with
changing conditions. Reclamation now
is confronted with higher costs growing
out of the great war, the disappearance
of public land, the necessity of buying
privately owned land, the higher costs of
transportation, and the greater expense
of cultivation.

This leads to the belief that we should,
in the future, regard the subdivision of
land, the limitation of its purchase price
to prevent speculation, the working out
of programs of cultivation and marketing,
and the provision of credit to aid in
completing necessary farm improvements,
as essential parts of reclamation.

We have not as yet given the necessary
attention to these matters, and this
omission causes the Bureau of Reclama-
tion to look with apprehension on what
will happen when the costly works now
under consideration are completed. Un-
less provision is made for doing more than
is now being done, or which the bureau is
authorized to do, it is certain that settle-
ment will be long delayed, improvement
of farms will be costly, and the social
and economic results far less satisfactory

than could be obtained if these things are

thought out and provided for in advance.

THE RELATION OF SETTLEMENT

TO THE SOLVENCY OF NEW PROJ-

ECTS

At present the Government holds a

lien on the unimproved, unpeopled lands

under projects, as a security for the re-

payment of construction costs, but

unless

these lands are settled and cultivated

they are a liability rather than an

asset.

Owners of unimproved land derive no

benefit from irrigation works and can not

long pay reclamation charges. Solvency

depends on prompt settlement and im-

provement of the irrigable land.

Provi-

sion for this is needed to insure the solvency

of the following Government projects:

Acre-

Num-

age

ber of

Name

Cost

Total

requir-

settlers

acreage

ing

needed

settle-

(80-acre

ment

unit)

Kittitas

$11 nnn nnn

72,000

37,000

460

Owyhee I 18 000 000

115,000

75,000

940

Vale 3 r,nn nm

30,000

375

Pavette

7, 500, 000

47,000

590

M i n i d o k a

Gravity exten-

sion

5, 000, 000 80, 000

40,000

500

Riverton ...

4, 500 000' i nnn

59, 500

745

Willwood

1, 500, 000

12,000

11,000

140

Greenfields diyi-

sion

5, 500, 000

93,000

71,000

890

56, 600, 000

509,000

370.500

4,640

February, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

The above table shows that the Gov-
ernment is investing $56,600,000 in irri-
gation works, but this is not reclamation
any more than an empty building is a
factory. There will be no income nor
benefit from the investment until there
are settlers, houses, leveled fields, and
crops growing. These are the things
which create earning power and are in-
cluded in the estimates and plans of most
foreign countries. 1 They will cost for
these projects not less than $36,000,000,
made up of the following items:

Advertising and placing of settlers on the
land $500,000

Clearing and preparing the land for irriga-
tion 10, 000, 000

Erecting houses, fences and necessary farm
buildings 10,000,000

Farm equipment 7, 500, 000

Cultivation and living eipenses the first
year 5,000,000

Purchase of 200,000 acres privately owned 3, 000, 000

Much of the land on these projects is
owned by nonresidents, comparatively
few of whom intend to settle on and culti-
vate the land themselves. They expect
to sell to new settlers but there is no
coordinated program for subdivision,
sale, or settlement. Very few of those who
desire to become farmers have the money
or credit needed to provide the necessary
improvements. Forty-five per cent of the
settlement inquiries that come to the
Bureau of Reclamation are from people
who have less than $2,500, while the aver-
age cost of improving and equipping a
farm will be double this sum. Only 7 per
cent have $5,000 or over, or enough to
improve and equip a farm without borrow-
ing money. Unless some avenue of credit
is provided by which the settlers can

1 Marshall Dana, editor Journal, Portland, Oreg.:
From the statements that have been made I have
gained a partial idea of the costs of reclamation in the
various localities namely, Hawaii, $300; Japan, $500;
Meiico, $150 or more; Palestine, about $200; California,
$50 to $250; and Pacific Northwest, $30 to $200. Peru
and Australia I did not get, and should like to ask for
more information on that subject.

William Cattanach, chairman, State Rivers and
Water Supply Commission, Victoria, Australia: We
would reckon, In some cases, $150 to $200 as a very rea-
sonable figure for reclamation, but for intensified agri-
culture it will go higher about $300 to $400 an acre. It
depends entirely on the use to which the land Is going
to be put. It is a varying quantity according to the
nature of the land, the crops, etc., but the crops gener-
ally are of greater value where the land is more expen-
sive to bring under irrigation and cultivation.

Thomas Forsyth Hunt, University of California,
Berkeley, Calif.: What does the term "reclamation"
mean? Does it mean how much does It cost to develop
an irrigation enterprise, or the cost of building the
enterprise, cost of leveling the land, grading, and so on
to the point where a man can go on the land? In
Australia and some other countries, of course, they go
much further than we do and build houses, etc., before
they consider that they have completed their recla-
mation project. Proceedings of the Ftrn Pan Pacific
Conference on Education, Rehabilitation, Reclamation,
and Recreation, held at Honolulu, Hawaii, Apr. 11 to IS

tan.

without delay improve and equip their
farms, water-right payments will not be
made and many settlers will fail.

Much of this land has irregular con-
tours with slopes of varying steepness.
Farms ought to be laid out to fit these
contours. In this way the cost of irri-
gation would be lessened and economy in
the use of water promoted. But to do
this, the individual farms embraced in a
considerable area should be brought under
one ownership or control so that farms
can be laid out to meet the future require-
ments of irrigation without reference to
existing boundaries.

The question arises whether some
agency should buy these lands at prices
fixed by independent appraisal and then
lay out the farms, or should the lands be
placed under a trustee who would sub-
divide so as to secure the best results
regardless of present ownerships? If this
were done the boundaries of farms would
conform to topographic features and to
irrigation ditches, drains, and roads.
There would be a saving in the cost of
laterals, bridges, and roads. It would
give more direct access to towns and lessen
the expenses of cultivation. The control
of these lands by one agency would lessen
settlement expenses and permit a more
efficient selection of settlers. At Kittitas
a tentative subdivision in accordance with
these principles has been worked out, but
it showed that many farms would embrace
land now owned by two or more individ-
uals. One owner unwilling to cooperate
may disrupt the whole program.

URGENT NEED FOR FARM DEVEL-
OPMENT ON OLDER PROJECTS

During the past 15 years the Bureau of
Reclamation has been struggling to secure
sufficient farm development on the Milk
River, Lower Yellowstone, and Belle
Fourche projects to make them solvent
enterprises. All are where sugar beets
are profitably grown, where dairying,
lamb feeding, and the growing of vege-
tables are possible and profitable. The
projects have been operated at a loss,
because only a fraction of the land is
settled and cultivated, as is shown by the
accompanying table.

The irrigation works on these projects
now provide water for 215,070 acres of
land, of which only 89,700 acres grew
cultivated crops in 1926. Hundreds of
settlers are needed. They should be good
farmers.

Beet-sugar factories have been built on
Milk River. Lower Yellowstone, and
Belle Fourche projects. They are needed
on all others. But to give these factories
a living income there must be more
settlers and more acres of sugar beets

grown. A revolutionary change in crops
and agricultural methods is required.
Grain and native hay must give way to
dairy farms and to higher priced crops.
Large areas must be subdivided into
small farms and farm improvements must
be provided which will make these farms
real opportunities for honest, industrious
people.

Project

Acres

Cost to ,??'

June 30, "f irriga-

1927 (annual) We

Milk Elver $7,421,100 $60,000 73,250

Lower Yellowstone.... 3,175,600 70,000 58,250

Riverton' 2,843,600 I 6,000 9,000

Belle Fourche 3,666,1251 75,000! 74,570

Total 17,006,325 211,000 215,070

Project

Acres
irrigated
in 1926

Number
Acres of settlers
not ir- ' needed
rigated (80-acre
unit)

Milk River 18,800 54,450 680

Lower Yellowstone 23,330 34,920 410

Riverton i 280 8,720 110

Belle Fourche ; 36,260 38,310 480

Total 78,670 136,400

1,680

i Opened 2 years.

Efforts in 1927 to secure settlers on the
Lower Yellowstone and Belle Fourche
projects showed that good settlers can,
be secured if the farm is sufficiently im-
proved to enable the settler to begin
farming, which he understands doing;
that is, the farm must have a house, out-
buildings, and some land prepared for
irrigation. There is little demand for
unimproved farms. The owners of the
land have been unable or unwilling, ex-
cept in a few instances, to provide these
improvements. Efforts to find local agen-
cies that will undertake this work have
so far been unsuccessful.

In a recent bulletin issued by the
University of California, 1 it was esti-
mated that in California alone 1,200,000
acres of land supplied with water was
not being irrigated, and that at the
present rate it will take 12 years to settle
this land. Twelve years of taxes added
to the farmer's cost before he begins
improving the farm is a serious handicap.
It shows the need even in that favored
State of something that will enable
home seekers to overcome the obstacles
that confront every one who attempts
to change raw land into farms.

During the past year the Government
has had the generous and efficient aid
of railroads, chambers of commerce, and
State organizations, in efforts to secure
settlers under completed works, but the

Problem of securing closer relationship between
agricultural development and Irrigation companies
by David Weeks and Charles H. West.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

February, 1928

relatively small results obtained in com-
parison with the effort and money expended
show that something besides advertising
and personal solicitation is needed.

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE
CONFERENCE

The following topics are submitted
to the conference for consideration:

1. Is there need for credit in the
building of houses on the unpeopled
farms of the Milk River, Lower Yellow-
stone, Belle Fourche, and Riverton
projects?

2. Is there any source from which the
money needed can now be obtained,
assuming that the owners of the land
will give a first mortgage to insure pay-
ment of money spent on these improve-
ments?

3. What should be done to bring about
coordinated action in the settlement
of lands privately owned which will
insure subdivision of the land in accord-
ance with topography, the fixing of
prices to agree with its productive value,
and its sale on long-time, amortized
payments, with a rate of interest which
the settler can afford to pay?

4. Assuming that a credit fund for
aid in farm development is necessary,
what agency should provide that fund,
the State or the Federal Government?
What interest should be charged on these
advances and what should be the time
of repayment?

5. What should be done to lessen the
evil of tenancy on a number of the
projects?

6. Should the construction of irrigation
works cease until some plan of settlement
and farm development has been approved
and put Into operation?

7. Should Congress be asked to consider
between now and its next session the
need for further legislation to promote
settlement and farm development?

ELWOOD MEAD,

Commissioner.

DURING a recent month the Malin
Cheese & Produce Co., Klamath
project, paid the farmers in the vicinity
of Malin $6,600 for milk and cream.

MAPPING of the dairy cow population
on the Belle Fourche project shows
a favorable grouping of cows along main
roads, feasible for the establishment o"
truck hauling in case a cheese factory i
located at Newell.

Settlement of Waste Lands in Colombia

THE following article is from a recent
issue of the International Review of
Agriculture, published by the International
institute of Agriculture of Rome, Italy :

"An agreement has been made between
the Government of Colombia ajid the
Compaflca General de Negocios, the head-
quarters of which is at Barranquilla, for
the colonization of a belt of waste lands
in the regions of the Sierra Nevada de
Santa Marta (Department of Magdalena).
The whole area is 123,500 acres, not
including those lands which are classed
as national forest. The company has
the right of selecting the part on which it
will undertake to plant one or more
agricultural colonies. The number of
settlers to be thus established must not
be less than 2,000, of which 18 per cent
must be immigrants brought by the
company at its own expense and risk.

Southern Delegates
Meet in Conference

On January 24, 1928, a number of
representative men from the South,
interested in opportunities for planned
group settlement in that section and in
a more advanced type of agriculture,
met in Washington, D. C., to discuss
with their Senators and Congressmen
plans for the future.

The delegates to the meeting com-
prised largely the members of the
various southern reclamation com-
mittees. Inspiring and forward-look-
ing addresses characterized the morn-
ing and afternoon sessions and were
a conspicuous feature of the dinner in
the evening, which was attended by a
large number of Senators and Con-
gressmen from the Southern States and
administrative officials of the Depart-
ment of the Interior and the Bureau of
Reclamation.

"The company, in addition, undertakes
to build convenient hygienic houses, for
ownership by the settlers on payment of
the cost price plus 18 per cent, also to
construct the roads required for coloniza-
tion purposes. If required by the de-
velopment of the colony, the company
will also be required to take initial
measures for the foundation of one or
more urban centers.

"The Government, on its side, under-
takes to make a grant toward the con-
struction of roads to the amount of 3,500
pesos per kilometer, and to pay to the
ompany the sum of 50 pesos for each
settler.

"If the lands which are the subject of
;he agreement acquire increased value in
onsequence of the work done by the
company, such increase in value belongs
of right to the company.

"The agreement will be for 17 years.
Clauses are inserted stating the contin-
gencies in which the Government may
declare the agreement to be void.

"The company has to carry out certain
preliminary work before the arrival of the
settlers. A complete inquiry has to be
made into the agricultural possibilities of
the territory to be colonized, and a de-
tailed plan of organization has to be for-
mulated, both to be ready for submission
to the Government of Colombia within a
period of 20 months from the time of the
signing of the contract. This preliminary
work will also include provision for the
erection or purchase in Santa Marta of a
building suitable as a lodging for settlers
on their way through, and also for the
construction on the territory to be colo-
nized of buildings for housing settlers dur-
ing the time occupied in their final instal-
lation on their respective plots. In
addition one or more experimental farm
plots, of at least 494 acres each, will have
to be planted in advance, on which
studies can be made of the agricultural
possibilities of the various parts of the
colony. These will make it possible for
the settlers to obtain what they need for
beginning work e. g., livestock, seeds,
etc. At the expiration of the agreement
these plots will become national property.
Arrangements are also to be made in
advance by the company for establishing
a store, where the settlers can buy house-
hold utensils, farm implements, and other
commodities which will be sold to them
at cost price, plus 15 per cent. By pay-
ment of an interest of 7 per cent, the
settlers can have the articles they require
on credit for the first year, paying off the
amount of their debt and interest later by
means of a payment of 30 per cent of the
value of their crop. Finally the company
in under the obligation of equipping a
hospital and dispensaries and of organizing
an adequate ambulance service."

February, 1923

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

Economic Notes from the Irrigation Projects

Crop Returns Indicate Prosperity

REPORTS of the 1927 crop returns
from the Federal reclamation proj-
ects are being received by the Bureau of
Reclamation. The following illustrations
indicate the remarkable prosperity of
these irrigated areas during the past year:
One of the most striking returns is from
the Tieton division of the Yakima project,
Washington, which has been petitioning
for an extension of the period of repay-
ment of charges to the Government. The
value of crops grown on this division
during 1927 amounted to $3,379,850, or
an average value per cropped acre of
$150.22, compared with $2,059,950 in
1926, or an average value per acre in that
year of $89.18. This is an increase of
nearly $1,320,000 in the total value of
crops, and of more than $61 in the per

acre value. The per acre value of $150.22
is reported by J. L. Lytel, superintendent
of the Yakima project, as the highest of
any year for the Tieton division since the
bureau started to deliver water to the
division.

On the Carlsbad project, N. Mex., one
of the cotton-growing projects of the
bureau, the total value of crops in 1927
was $1,897,890, or $83.30 per acre, com-
pared with $1,100,620 in 1926, or $48.14
per acre. This is an increase in the total
value of crops of nearly $800,000, and in the
average value per acre of more than $35.

On the Klamath project, Oreg.-Calif.,
where the bureau recently opened to entry
145 public land farm units on the Tule
Lake division, all of which were quickly
entered by a high class of settlers with

approved qualifications of industry, ex-
perience, character, and capital, the crop
returns in 1927 amounted to $1,181,670,
or $30.43 per acre, compared with
$906,750 in 1926, or $24.40 per acre,
showing an increase in the total value of
crops of nearly $275,000, and in the per
acre value of more than $6.

The Orland project, Calif., where the
bureau is acting as selling agent for 64
farms in private ownership, reported a
crop value in 1927 of $721,330, or $54.06
per acre, compared with $624,650 in 1926,
or $49.19 per acre, an increase of $96,680
in total value of crops, and nearly $5 in
the average value per acre.

On these four projects alone the increase
in value of crops in 1927 over that of 1926
amounted to nearly $2,500,000.

The Reclamation Fund Continues to Revolve

EVIDENCE that irrigated agriculture
is on the upgrade and that the
morale of people on irrigation projects is
improving is shown by the action of the
irrigation districts, water users' associa-
tions, and individual water users in the
payment of their obligations due the
United States. The collections during
December, 1927, totaled $1,590,000, com-
pared with $574,000 collected during
December, 1926.

The Gem irrigation district of Idaho
made payment in full on December 19,
1927, of the amount due December 31,
1927.

During the depression following the
Great War, this district was in severe
financial difficulties, and there was fear at
one time that it might not be able to

Sugar-beet Farmers

Enjoy Good Returns

The Amalgamated Sugar Co. made a
final payment to Minidoka project grow-
ers of sugar beets on Depember 15, dis-
tributing $116,512, which brought the
total paid out for the season to $364,501.
The output of the Burley factory was
approximately 125,000 sacks of sugar,
13,000 tons of pulp, and 1,200 tons of
molasses. A total of 46,567 tons of beets
was received at the factory from Minidoka
project growers and about 12,000 tons
from other localities. A base price of
$7.50 a ton was paid.

survive. Now the district has improved
production by the building of drainage
canals, and has bought some of the un-
occupied State lands in order that they
might be settled and brought into culti-
vation. This prompt payment to the
United States shows that its finances are
in good condition and that it is doing
business as a solvent enterprise.

The Nampa and Meridian, the New
York, and the Boise-Kuna irrigation
districts, operating the Arrowrock division
of the Boise project, and the Burley
irrigation district operating the Pumping
division of the Minidoka project in Idaho,
paid in full prior to the due date, obliga-
tions due December 31, 1927.

The Northport irrigation district oper-
ating the Northport division of the North
Platte project in Nebraska met its first
payment promptly under its adjustment
contract; and the Pathfinder irrigation
district reduced its obligation of $135,000,
due June 30, 1926, to $25,000.

All amounts due from the Malta and
Glasgow irrigation districts on the Milk
River project in Montana have been paid,
and the Fort Shaw irrigation district on
the Sun River project has met its
obligations.

On December 17 the Hermiston irriga-
tion district, Umatilla project, Oregon,
forwarded its check for $5,500 to be
applied on the 1926 construction charge.
This cleans up the amount due on June
30, 1926, and materially reduces the
amount due in December.

The Shoshone irrigation district and the
Frannie irrigation district on the Shoshone
project in Wyoming have met promptly
all obligations due the United States.

The Lower Yellowstone irrigation dis-
trict No. 1 on the Lower Yellowstone
project in Montana tendered the largest
single check ever received by the project
office in payment of the amounts due
December 31, 1927.

Federal reclamation is on a business
basis and the outlook for the future is
bright.

Sale of State Lands in

Gem Irrigation District

Some interesting points have been noted
in connection with the sale of State lands
in the Gem irrigation district. About
3,000 acres were sold at prices ranging
from $20 to $30 an acre, subject to all
the old obligations of the district and to
the cost of a water right in the Owyhee
project. Nearly every tract was sold to
a resident of the district. These farmers
who have been paying $7.50 per acre for
a year's water charges paid down on the
lands purchased about $13,000 cash. As
the men have been farming in the Gem
irrigation district for several years, the
cash they paid represents savings from
farming Gem irrigation district lands dur-
ing the past rather lean years for agricul-
ture at the same time that the charges
above noted were being met.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

February, 1938

The New Townsite of American Falls, Idaho

RECENTLY the residents of American
Falls, Idaho, and of many near-by
cities and towns dedicated the American
Falls Dam on the Snake River. The dam
is a concrete gravity structure, flanked by
earth embankments on each end. Al-
though only 87 feet high it has a total
length of nearly a mile. The reservoir
formed by the dam is 25 miles long, aver-
ages 3H miles in width, has a capacity of
1,700,000 acre feet, and submerges 61,000
acres of land.

Construction of the reservoir involved
the flooding of a large portion of the old
town of American Falls. It was therefore
necessary to develop a new townsite above
the high-water mark. Under the act of
Congress of January 24, 1923, the Bureau
of Reclamation acquired a tract of 573.58
acres of land about a mile east and north
of the former town, and was given au-
thority to lay out, develop, subdivide,
and sell lots in the new townsite.

Active development work started in
August, 1923, and was completed in
August, 1925. The entire tract for the
new townsite was subdivided into 1,580
lots, of which the more central portion,
comprising 1,001 lots, or 63.4 per cent)
was appraised for sale to the public.

Under a contract with the city of
American Falls, the United States agreed
to expend on the new townsite approxi-
mately the following amounts:

Sidewalks, street and landscape improvements. $96, 000

Waterworks 110,000

Sewers 74,000

Cost of land 62,000

Overhead, engineering, and contingencies 103,000

Total 445,000

Other clauses in the contract provided
for the transfer to the city of an interest
in the new sidewalks, sewer system, and
landscape improvements in lieu of mu-
nicipal improvements in the portion of the
old town to be taken over for reservoir
purposes; and also for the transfer to the
city of the water system in the new town
site when the United States shall have
been reimbursed for its expenditures in
the new town. In order to offset in par^
at least the loss to the city of accrued
taxes during the development period of
the new town site, the city is also to
receive the 10 per cent excess value placed
on lots sold under "term" contracts
instead of for cash, where such contracts
were made before November 14, 1924.

The final cost of development of the
town site is as follows:

Right of way... $60,480.00

Clearing and grubbing 1,862.54

Street grading 21,977.32

Street surfacing 15,610.03

Sidewalks 44,306.10

Landscape work 10,214. 13

Sewer system... 66,630. 18

Water system 111,155.81

Field cost 332, 236. 11

Camp maintenance $339.87

Engineering and inspection (in-
cluding $17,440.49 for town

planning) 41, 128. 79

Superintendence and accounts. .. 8, 618. 32
General expense 18, 193. 26

Overhead charges 68, 280. 24

400, 516. 35

Establishing homes for Government em-
ployees 25,236.91

Gross cost 425,753.26

All parts of the new town site are pro-
vided with concrete sidewalks, although
in some sections of the residence districts

walks are constructed on one side of the
street only. Sidewalks in the residence
sections are 5 feet wide and in the business
district 10 feet. Concrete culverts of
the interlocking type are used at street
intersections.

Landscape work is a prominent feature
of the new town site, involving the de-
velopment of the public square, the
partial development of Campbell-Stebbins
Park and the Tourist Park, the planting
of trees throughout the entire developed
area of the town site, and the provision of
an irrigation system to water the trees.
Three thousand three hundred and fifty-
seven trees and 68 shrubs were set out.

The town site is furnished with an excel-
lent water system. From Rueger Springs,
the source of the supply, the water flows
through a 14-inch wood-stave pipe a
distance of about 3,725 feet to the pumps
located at the West Side power plant,
and is raised 285 feet to the two-section,
concrete-lined reservoir of 1,500,000 gal-
lons capacity. The distribution system
consists of wood-stave pipe ranging . in
size from 4 to 12 inches in diameter.
Pipe laid amounts to 56,803.9 linear feet.

To provide homes for employees of the
bureau in the new town, it was necessary
to move 14 residences, together with
outbuildings, from the old town to the
new site. It has been the policy to rent
these houses to Government employees
only, and as rapidly as they become
vacant they are sold. At the beginning
of November, 1927, seven houses had
been sold. The appraised sale price of

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Reclamation addition, city of American Falls

February, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

these seven houses was $13,950 and they
were sold for $17,681.33.

After being appraised, lots in the new
town site were put on the market in
September, 1923, for sale, either for cash
or on terms. If sold for cash, they are
sold at the appraised price; if on terms,
they are sold at the appraised price plus
10 per cent, the usual practice being to
collect one-fourth on the date of the
contract and one-fourth on each October 1
following until the full purchase price has
been paid. On deferred payments interest
is charged at 6 per cent per annum.
Interest at 10 per cent per annum is
charged on bills not paid when due. Up
to the 1st of November, 425 lots in the
first development had been sold for
$153,457.

Jn financing the development of the
new town site, it was decided that the
proceeds from the sale of salvage im-
provements in the portion of the old town
to be flooded would be credited to the

new town site. Every building in the
area to be flooded was appraised for sale,
and every building was sold. In all,
337 sales were made for $185,393.45.

The following is a summary of the
costs and credits as a result of the
development of the new town site:

Field cost $332, 238. 11

Improvements, moving and repairing
(net) _ 25,236.91

Total... . 357,473.02
Overhead 68,280.24

Gross cost... 425,753.26

Credits
Sale of lots, including 10 per cent excess on

term sales 158, 881. 62

Sale of improvements, including 10 per

cent eicess on term sales 185, 393. 45

Miscellaneous credits 9,837.26

Water system operation (net) 14,049.24

Total... 368,161.57

Net cost 57,591.69

With additional sales of lots and of the
remaining Government houses, it is ex-
pected that the net cost will eventually
be reduced to approximately $40,000.

Dairy Progress on the North Platte Project

EBEN D. Warner, of Scotts Bluff,
Nebr., whose activities in financing
shipments of dairy cattle to the North
Platte project were described in the
November, 1927, issue of the NEW REC-
LAMATION ERA, has forwarded the follow-

ing statement concerning the progress of
this constructive work:

"At the present time (December 16,
1927) we have brought in 589 head. The
cheese factories have been progressing
very rapidly. The new centralizing plant

has been in operation for some time and is
equipped to handle five or six cars of
cheese with plant facilities. The total
cost was approximately $13,000. The
factories have paid, an average price of
5424 cents for butterfat for the year 1927.
Starting on December 1 we are paying for
milk twice a month; that is, on the 10th
and 25th. We think that this will mate-
rially increase the volume. The increase
this November over November last year
was 237,514 pounds. The increase in
pounds of milk for the 11 months this year
was 2,420,274 pounds.

"The Finance Corporation has already
placed cows on more than 80 farms. The
bulk of the farmers take from 5 to 10
head and a purebred sire. We have
brought in 20 purebred bulls, and of the
15 high herds in the Cow Testing Asso-
ciation for the month of November, cows
furnished by the Finance Corporation
took the following standing Seventh,
tenth, twelfth, and fifteenth. I think
this speaks well for the quality of the
dairy cattle we have been shipping in.
The bulk of the cattle are springing 2-
year old heifers, and the reports we have
had from the farmers who are just feed-
ing them ordinary beet tops and hay
show that the least we have had is 4 gal-
lons and more of them are giving 5 gal-
lons. Where grain is being fed in addi-
tion, to roughage, they are giving as
much as 5 to 6 gallons."

Dairy herd of Joe Qisler, a water user on the Minidoka project, Idaho.

High record cow, 906 pounds of butterfat; average of herd of 21 cows, 407 pounds of butter-
fat per year

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

February, 1928

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lj Reclamation Project Women and Their Interests j[ *

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f^ fiy Mae A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner and Associate Editor, New Reclamation Era tjk

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J
8

Rural- minded Folios

LOVE of the land, to live, walk, and
work on it, to derive real pleasure and
satisfaction from looking out your front
door over acres of land instead of across
an asphalt street, to have one's mind and
heart in all the work that goes on on the
farm, these are some of the things that
place you in this envied class. Rural-
minded folks are not happy in the city
for any length of time. More successes
are made by people who are engaged in
work that they enjoy than any other class.
In many cases the woman has the
"lion's" share of farm work. The home,

and everything that that term implies, is
her particular charge. By evolving nu-
merous short cuts, and by the use of labor-
saving devices she diminishes the time
spent on housework. Through her pro-
gressiveness she interests herself and
encourages her husband in the affairs of
the farm. As a result of this teamwork,
modern machinery replaces old equipment
as soon as it can be arranged, better
methods of agriculture are employed with
resultant larger and better crops. The
progressive rural-minded woman on a
farm is worth her weight in gold, and she
has the satisfaction of feeling she is a
real partner in a worthwhile undertaking.

Eliminating rate and mice

Elimination of Rats and
Mice

The modern housekeeper, of course, no
longer climbs shrieking on the nearest
chair if she happens to see a mouse run
across the floor; much less does she indulge
in a fainting spell. Instead, three ques-
tions are likely to pop into her head
almost simultaneously: "Now, how did
that creature get in here?" " What have
I left around to attract a mouse?" and
"How shall I get rid of him and all his
tribe?"

She begins by hunting for any possible
openings in the walls, around baseboards,
near water or heating pipes, or in closets.
She also casts here eye about for traces
of careless housekeeping crumbs scat-
tered, food left uncovered, or in paper
packages, starch or waxed paper exposed
where mice can gnaw it, or any other tid-
bits likely to appeal to their wide range
of tastes. She may be horrified to find
mice tracks on the pantry shelves, in the
drawers where she keeps her tea towels,
upstairs in closets, in rugs stored in the
attic, although she has up to this time
never even suspected there was a mouse
in here entire house.

Rats, of course, leave similar indication
of their presence in gnawed clothing,
papers, food supples. They are to be
feared not only because of the damage
they do, and the rapidity with which
their numbers increase, but because they
often carry and convey diseases, kill
poultry, and other animals, undermine
foundations, and sometimes bite viciously
when cornered or attack babies or children
while sleeping.

Similar methods of control are used
against both rats and mice. The elimi-
nation of either pest from a whole com-
munity is the end to be desired, but this
can only be accomplished by the organized
effort of all the citizens. When people
realize that rats alone cause over $200,-
000,000 worth of damage a year and that
this is totally unnecessary waste, they are
more willing to take measures to get rid
of this expensive pest.

The individual housekeeper can at least
make a beginning by closing up all open-
ings through which rats and mice are
likely to get into the house. Use a
mixture of cement, sand, and broken glass
or crockery in such holes if you find any,
or cover them with a sheet of metal. If
your house has open studding in the walls

February, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

from cellar to attic they will be used by
these pests for runways and passages to
their nests. The studding should be
closed. Buildings are frequently made
entirely rat proof now, when first con-
structed, by the use of deep cement
foundations, but older buildings must be
protected as far as possible by closing
holes and runways.

A thoroughly clean and orderly house
with an exterior that is free of any spot
where trash is accumulated is a discourag-
ing place to a hungry rat or mouse.
Both animals make nests in litter and
rubbish and seek piles of trash to hide
under. Both want food. Store all sup-
plies in covered glass or metal containers,
which can not be gnawed. Dispose of
waste and garbage in tightly covered
receptacles, and get rid of any rubbish
in the cellar or under the porches or about
the garage or yard, where these unwel-
come visitors might hide. If you don't
possess any traps, get several, both rat
and mouse traps. Bait them and set
them where you have seen either animal,
or near the holes you have found.

If the traps do not eliminate the pests
try poisoning with barium carbonate, if
poison can be used with safety, where it
will not be touched by children, poultry,
or pets. This substance is an inexpensive
white powder, both odorless and tasteless,
and baits containing it are readily taken.
The best way to spread poison is to mix
it with a variety of foods and try placing
different ones about on successive nights.
Mix some with such foods as Hamburg
steak, sausage, fish, liver, bacon, or cheese.
Spread some on slices of vegetables and
fruits, such as tomatoes, cucumbers,
muskmelons, apples; or mix it with canned
corn, or squash, or pumpkin seeds, mashed
banana, boiled carrot, or baked sweet
potato. Mix another lot with rolled oats,
bread, cornmeal, flour, or cake, and with
various table scraps. Add water to the
barium carbonate when necessary to make
the baits soft, or sprinkle the powder over
the sliced baits, .rubbing it into them with
a knife. Use about 1 part poison to 4
parts food.

One way to expose the baits is to put
about a teaspoonful of each of several
kinds into different paper bags, twist the
tops, and drop them in places frequented
by the rats or mice. It is well to label
these. Another way is to put the bait
on small pieces of cardboard. Do not
use stale or spoiled food as bait. Uneaten
baits should be picked up the next day
and destroyed. Do not use baits over
again if not taken. Continue to distribute
baits until the rats and mice seem to have
disappeared. The baits are usually
carried into burrows or behind protecting

I boxes or furniture and eaten comfortably.
The effect of the poison is gradual, and
the rats generally have time to return to
their burrows before they succumb.

To Clean the Stove

The outside of all stoves should be
wiped frequently with a cloth, soft paper,
or cotton waste. Grease may be washed
off with soap and water. Rubbing the
stove with a soft, thick cloth moistened
with a few drops of kerosene or light
lubricating oil will keep it in good condi-
tion, though not polished. For cookstoves
especially, many housekeepers consider
this sufficient and prefer it to blacking,
because substances spilled can be more
easily washed off, and flatirons and the
bottoms of kettles are cleaner than if
stove polish is carelessly used.

Stove cleaner

The stove mop illustrated is very con-
venient and saves the housekeeper's
hands. It was made from an old butter
paddle and a small piece of sheepskin by

| a woman in Wythe County, Va., as one
of the many ingenious improvements in
her kitchen, entered in the county "better
kitchen" contest.

Nickel trimmings on stoves should be
cleaned like other nickel by washing them
frequently with hot soapy water and dry-
ing them with soft cloth or paper which
will usually keep them in good condition.
Whiting or some other fine scourer may
sometimes be used to brighten nickel that
has become dull.

Coal and wood stoves should be cleaned
inside frequently and thoroughly in order
to save heat and fuel. Ashes should be
removed every day, and once a week the
soot should be brushed from the bottom
of the lids. All flues should be cleaned
regularly, especially those under and on
top of the oven, through which hot air
must circulate to heat it.

When the burners on gas stoves become
clogged they may be taken out, brushed,
placed in a large pan, and boiled in water
to which washing soda has been addedjn
the proportion of one-half pound to 1
gallon, rinsed and brushed, wiped with
paper or cotton waste, fitted back in the
stove, and dried thoroughly by lighting
the gas. The tray under the burners
should be removed and washed frequently.

The burners and chimneys on oil or
other liquid-fuel stoves should be kept in
order in the same way as kerosene lamps.
In most makes the burners are detachable,
and when they become clogged may be
cleaned like those on gas stoves.

The heating elements on electric stoves
may be cleaned with water and a soft
brush. Any particles burned to char may
be brushed out.

Yakima and Yuma Projects

Have New Superintendents

IF '

J. L. Lytel, for many years superintend-
ent of the Yakima project, JWashington,
and previous to that superintendent of the
Strawberry Valley project, Utah, has
resigned, effective January 31, 1928. He
is succeeded by Porter J. Preston, superin-
tendent of the Yuma project. The va-
cancy caused by the transfer of Mr. Pres-
ton to Yakima has been filled by the
appointment of R. M. Priest as superin-
tendent of the Yuma project. Mr. Priest
has been acting superintendent of the
project during the absence of Mr. Preston.

rpHE_ Beekeepers Association on the
Milk] River {project jhas been for-
mulating plans for an improvement and
increase in the honey industry during the
coming season.

NEW RECLAMATION EKA

February, 1928

Construction of the Willwood Diversion Dam

Conctttt gratify Jam built in 1922 and 1923 diverts utaler for the Willwood division of the Shoshone project
By loan E. Hook, Research Engineer, Denver Office, Bureau of Reclamation

THE construction of the Willwood
diversion dam on the Shoshone River
about 10 miles southeast of Powell, Wyo.,
in 1922 and 1923, provides' for the diver-
sion of 320 second-feet of water to an
irrigable area of approximately 17,000
acres. This area lies south of the Sho-
shone River and constitutes what is
known as the Willwood division of the
Shoshone project.

The dam is a concrete gravity structure
320 feet long, consisting primarily of an
ogee spillway section but including a
head works section at the north end.
The spillway section is 271 feet long,
has a crest elevation 55 feet above the
foundation, and is surmounted by a 3-
span, pony Warren, riveted, steel truss
highway bridge having a reinforced
concrete floor. The headworks section
is 49 feet long, approximately 70 feet
above the foundation, and is surmounted
by a reinforced concrete approach to the

highway bridge. One of the accompany-
ing illustrations shows the completed
structure with a depth of 4.1 feet of water
flowing over the spillway section.

The dam is located in a shale and sand-
stone gorge about 24 miles below the
Shoshone reservoir. The adoption of the
present site and height of dam was
dependent primarily on the most feasible
and economical location of the main canal,
the final conclusion reached as a result
of nine separate engineering investigations
of the Willwood division being that be-
cause of the shifting river channel any
type of canal or conduit along the cliffs
of the river canyon would be less desirable
than a canal located on the high bench
lands back of the river.

DESIGN OF DAM

The gravity type of design was chosen
in preference to the various hollow types
because of the horizontally stratified and

seamy condition of the shale and sand-
stone foundation. It was found that the
cost of a hollow overflow dam on such a
foundation would be practically as great
as the cost of a gravity dam. The
gravity sections were designed to be stable
under a flood of 25,000 second-feet, a
flood which would cause a depth of 9 feet
of water on the overflow crest. Allow-
ances were made for uplift pressures over
half the area of the base varying from full
reservoir pressure at the upstream side
to full tail water pressure at the down-
stream side. A complete description of the
engineering phases of the design and con-
struction was published in the Engineering
News-Record for October 27, 1927.

Two unusual features of design incorpo-
rated in the plans for the Willwood dam
were the arrangement of the diversion
headworks and the means adopted for
preventing erosion of the stream bed
below the dam. The latter was accom-

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L^TSuff^c^^r SCCT/OM THHOUOH ountr

Location, general plan, and sections, Willwood diversion dam

February, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

plished by depressing the surface of the
apron at the downstream face of the dam,
then raising it on a gradual slope to an
elevation 5 feet higher at the downstream
edge of the apron. This arrangement
causes the standing wave or hydraulic
jump to occur at the downstream face of
the dam as shown in the accompanying
illustration of the completed structure, so
that the velocity is reduced to a non-
scouring value by the time the water
reaches the downstream edge of the apron.
The design of the canal headworks is
unusual in that the structure is made a
part of the dam itself instead of being
built as an auxiliary structure at one end
of the dam. Water is diverted through
two 5.6 by 7 foot cast-iron headgates at
the upstream face of the dam; carried
to the north abutment through an 8-foot
horseshoe tunnel 44 feet long, built within
the headworks section; then through a
9-foot, concrete-lined horseshoe tunnel in
the rock formation to the open canal sec-
tion which begins about 167 feet from the
north abutment.

The accompanying illustration shows
the location, general plan, and typical
cross sections of the dam. It will be
noticed that cut-off walls were provided
at the upstream edge of the dam and the
downstream edge of the apron; that three
sluiceways, for sand and silt control and
also for draining the reservoir above the
dam, were provided at the elevation of
the river bed; and that a 7-foot circular
outlet, for use in a contemplated future
power development, was provided in the
headworks section. The three sand sluice-
ways are controlled by 3.6 by 4.5 foot
cast-iron sluice gates, operated from the
floor of the highway bridge. The power
outlet is closed at present by a timber
bulkhead. It will ultimately be controlled
by a 5.6 by 7 foot cast-iron slide gate.

Transverse contraction joints, fitted
with keyways, 24 inches wide, 12 inches

deep, and approximately 6 feet apart,
were provided in the overflow section at
intervals of about 30 feet along the dam.
The apron was reinforced in both direc-
tions with J^-inch square bars, spaced 16
inches apart, and was built as continuous
construction without joints.

FOUNDATION CONDITIONS

The foundation for the dam consisted of
rather seamy sandstone and shale forma-
tions, the sandstone predominating, as
shown in the accompanying plans. Al-
though the hardness of the sandstone
varied considerably in different parts of
the foundation, as a general rule the shale
was softer than the sandstone. More-
over, it slacked and disintegrated badly
when exposed to the air, so that it was
necessary to go over the foundation care-
fully and remove all slacked material
just before pouring the concrete. Where-
ever the surface of the foundation under
the gravity section of the dam dipped
downstream, it was terraced off to hori-
zontal planes or with slight dips upstream,
the terraces being made from 6 to 8 feet
wide with steps about 1 foot high.

The tightness of the rock formations
was tested, prior to grouting, by sub-
jecting some of the grout holes to a
hydrostatic head of 80 feet, this head being
obtained by connecting the holes to the
water tank at the mixer plant located on
the north abutment. The head of 80 feet
amounted to 10 to 15 feet more than the
maximum head assumed in designing the
structure. Twenty-one representative
holes were tested, some in sandstone and
some in shale. Holes in the shale seemed
to be comparatively tight, but some of the
holes in the sandstone took as much as
28 gallons of water per minute.

The foundation and abutments were
thoroughly grouted under a pressure of
100 pounds per square inch, grout being

applied in holes drilled approximately 30
feet into rock. The grout holes were
spaced 10 feet apart, longitudinally, and
were arranged in four lines located as
shown in Section X-X of the accompanying
drawing. A total of 1,877 sacks of cement
and 347 sacks of sand were used in
grouting the 130 holes drilled in the
foundation, and 185 sacks of cement were
used in grouting the 16 holes located at
the abutments. The proportions of the
grouting mixture varied from one-half
sack of cement and 30 gallons of water ^o
1J^ sacks of cement, 1 sack of fine sand,
and 10 gallons of water.

Measurements of uplift pressure on the
base of the dam, made after the construc-
tion work was completed, showed that
satisfactory results were obtained from
the grouting operations. They also
showed that the total resulting uplift did
not exceed the value assumed in designing
the structure. One line of drain holes
was located under the downstream toe of
the dam, the holes being spaced 10 feet
apart and drilled to depths of approxi-
mately 30 feet. These holes were con-
nected to horizontal drain pipes leading
to the downstream face of the dam at the
lowest practicable elevation; and were
aFso piped vertically through the concrete
to the face of the dam, so as to facilitate
cleaning.

CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS

Although some stripping was done by
men and teams, the bulk of the excava-
tion was handled by dragline, excavated
material being used in building cofferdams
or wasted at convenient downstream
locations. Rock material was loosened
by blasting except in the cut-off trenches.
Cut-off trench material was comparatively
soft and was chipped out with jack ham-
mers to avoid the shattering of adjoining
rock, which would result from shooting.
Grout and drain holes were drilled with

Willwood dam. Shoshone project, under construction

NEW ftECLAMATION ERA

February, 1928

Willwood diversion dam. Water 4.1 feet deep on spillway crest

deep-hole tripod drills, using lengths of
steel from 6 to 32 feet.

The sand and gravel plant was built on
the north side of the river, about 700 feet
from the dam, where an excellent supply
of material had been located. Stripping
and loading was done by dragline. The
screening and mixing plant was located in
an open cut section of the tunnel at the
north end of the dam, the mixer being
placed under the aggregate bins where
it could be fed by gravity and where it
could discharge directly into the hopper
which fed the cableway bucket. The
bucket was hoisted and carried on the
cableway to the distributing hopper and
chute, attached to the cableway, where it
was automatically tripped and dumped.

Concrete was poured in blocks located
as shown on the accompanying plans.
The forms for the upstream face and the
sides of the blocks were built in place,
using 2-inch lumber; those for the down-
stream face were built in panels 4 by 16
feet in size, using 1-inch lumber. Panel
forms built of 2-inch lumber were used
altogether when the concreting operations
were first started, but were found to be
too cumbersome for convenient use.

Stream control during construction was
a comparatively simple problem. The
river was maintained in its natural chan-
nel at the north side of the canyon while
excavation and concreting were being
carried on at the south side. It was then
diverted through the south sluice gate
and over one block in the south section
of the dam which had purposely been left
at an elevation about 2 feet above the
river bed, while construction was carried
on at the north side. As soon as the
concreting in the north section of the
dam was brought to a sufficient height
the entire flow of the river was diverted
at the Corbett Dam, about 8 miles up-

stream, and the closure of the structure
effected, the diverted water being carried
to the Ralston Reservoir. After the
closure the flow of the river was carried
through the three sluiceways until the
overflow section was completed and ready
for operation.

A well-equipped blacksmith and car-
penter shop and a compressor plant was
located near the work. Two cableway
bridges were constructed across the river.
One was a foot bridge and the other was
used to carry the air, steam, and water
pipes for construction purposes, the pipes
being placed in a box filled with sawdust
so as to prevent freezing. The main
cableway was placed over the dam. It
consisted of a 420-foot span of 2-inch cable
designed to carry a load of 10 tons.

CONSTRUCTION CAMP

The construction camp, consisting of
cook house and mess house, nine bunk
houses, office, store house, cellar, ice
house, bath house, toilet, and garage, was
built on the south side of the river. All
buildings were constructed of 1-inch lum-

ber, drop siding, and rubberoid roofing,
and all were supplied with electricity.
Grounds were fenced, the buildings
painted, and a neat and orderly appear-
ance maintained throughout. Water was
pumped from the river to water tanks set
on a platform above the camp and from
there piped to the different buildings.
Approximately 125,000 M. feet b. m. of
lumber were used in building the camp.
The camp was planned for 200 men and
the maximum employed at any time was
212. An average number of 180 were
employed when work was in full progress.
Preparations for construction were
begun in July, 1922. Actual work on
excavation was begun with men and
teams on August 17, and with dragline on
October 5; concreting operations were
started at the south end of the apron on
December 1, 1922; the last concrete was
placed in the headworks section of the
dam on June 6, 1923; and the highway
bridge was opened to traffic on July 23,
1923. All work was done by Government
forces except the freighting of supplies and
materials, which was done by G. W.
Garrell, of Ralston, Wyo., under contract,
at unit prices varying from 24 to 45 cents
per ton-mile. Most of the hauling was
from Eagle Spur, a siding on the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, about 2
miles from the dam.

COST RECORDS

Accurate records of cost were main-
tained from the beginning of the job
until all work was completed. The total
cost of the structure, including the outlet
tunnel through the rock at the north
abutment, amounted to $337,000, ap-
proximately $25,000 less than the esti-
mate. General expense amounted to 5.8
per cent of the above total, cost of
superintendence and accounts to 3 per
cent, engineering and inspection costs to
3.7 per cent, and camp maintenance cost
to 5 per cent. The total quantities, total
costs, and average unit costs of the prin-
cipal classes of work are shown in the
accompanying table:

Willwood dam costs

Class of work

Total
quantity

Unit

6,300

Cubic yards .

10,286

841

...do

8,400

1,810

...do

Backfill

449

...do

Gates

41,000

Pounds

1,700

Linear feet

4,185

277

Cubic yards

Concrete plain 1 2J^ 6 3

16,648

213

3,173

186 550

Pounds

Total cost

Unit
cost

$192. 62

2,958.48

30, 028. 83

3, 452. 95

7, 193. 18

924.31

398. 4S

168.00

332.08

7, 074. 92

1, 165. 81

8,807.22

5,784.83

139, 944. 25

2,381.56

44,784.44

22,406.89

$0.47

2.92

4.10

.85

.81

.89

4.20

""."17

.09

2.10

20.90

8.42

11.18

14.10

.12

February, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

Maintenance of Irrigation Structures

THE following instructions concerning
the maintenance of irrigation struc-
tures were issued recently by R/ F. Walter,
chief engineer, as General Order No. 473:

General instructions for the mainte-
nance of the works of the irrigation
projects of this bureau are given on
pages 340 to 344 of the Manual. On
account of the many classes of works
involved and the varying conditions and
limitations under which they must be
operated and maintained the instructions
in the Manual are given in broad general
terms only. Dependence must be placed
on the exercise of good judgment in this
matter by the responsible field employees
and it is gratifying to know that our
important works are, in most cases
being properly operated and maintained.
This work can generally be performed
by the regular force, without greatly
increasing the cost of maintenance.

My attention has, however, recently
been called to conditions on some of the
projects which can be improved and the
following comments and instructions are
issued for your guidance:

(a) Every reasonable effort should be
made, within the funds and means
available, to keep up and improve the
general appearance of all works and
especially the more notable structures,
such as important dams and power
plants and buildings that are frequently
visited and examined by the public or
persons acting in official capacities.
The adjacent grounds, and especially
the parts of structures such as tops of
dams, parapet walls, reentrant angles
around gate houses, operating platforms,
structure intakes, etc., should be kept
free of growing or wind-blown weeds,
papers, surplus sand or soil and trash of
any nature. Landscaping and turfing
should be done in so far as possible, as this
will go far toward promoting a sense of
pride in the works on the part of employ-
ees and thus will tend to raise the quality
of all maintenance work.

(b) Surplus construction supplies, ma-
terials, or equipment should be fully
and properly disposed of, or where
reserved, should be suitably stored; or
assembled and piled in a neat and ship-
shape manner. Temporary structures
and buildings should be removed as soon
as they have served their purpose.

(c) Minor repairs to buildings, roofs,
telephone or transmission lines, fences,
bridges, etc., should be promptly made
at all times.

(d) The liberal use of paint of approved
kind and quality and of pleasing color
should be encouraged for all suitable
surfaces.

(e) The keeping of the working parts
of machinery clean and free from dirt
and grit and properly lubricated and pro-
tected from rust is of prime importance.

(/) Works of a mechanical nature
should be periodically inspected, lubri-
cated, and operated at least throughout
the operating season to ascertain that
they are in good operating condition and
to determine needed repairs or replace-
ments. This operation should be done
regularly regardless of the need therefor
in the routine operation of the project
unless prohibited by circumstances such
as impermissible waste of water from
storage reservoirs or interference with
power use. Such works include:

1. Reservoir outlet gates or valves and
operating mechanisms.

2. Reservoir spillway gates and operat-
ing mechanisms.

3. Important canal control, sluiceway,
and wasteway gates.

4. Pumping plants, including penstock
gates.

5. Power plants, including control
mechanisms.

6. Isolated mechanical devices such as
turbines or floats, etc., for operating gates
or other purposes.

7. Motive-power devices, such as elec-
tric motors, gasoline engines, etc.

Booklet on Filing

Commands Attention

Favorable notice throughout the United
States is being given to a recent publi-
cation of the Bureau of Reclamation,
prepared by J. W. Myer, chief of the
mails and files section of the Washington
office, and J. C. Beveridge, jr., principal
assistant in the section.

This 52-page booklet gives a complete
and very readable description of the
office system and the filing system of the
mails and files section, including a com-
prehensive classification of the files under
the Dewey decimal system, and numerous
illustrations showing the various steps
taken in the complicated process of
recording, routing, filing, and charging
out correspondence.

An up-to-date filing system in the
hands of competent employees justifies
the cost of installation and operation
many times over in saving the time of
administrative officers. This booklet tells
how this has been accomplished in the
Washington office of the Bureau of
Reclamation. A few copies are still
available on request for distribution to
interested persons.

8. Remote control apparatus.

(0) The following metal work and
machinery should be periodically cleaned
and painted:

1. Structural steel gates.

2. Needle valves.

3. Plate steel conduits.

4. Metal flumes.

5. Metal and other work that needs
paint to protect it from rust or deteriora-
tion or that should be kept painted for
the sake of appearance.

(h) Detail report on the condition of
the following should be made periodically
but at intervals not exceeding one year
to this office:

1. Power plants.

2. Pumping plants.

3. Needle valves.

4. High pressure gates.

5. Drum gates.

(t) Special attention should be given
in the periodic cleaning and inspection
to electrical machinery installed in damp
places.

(j) All windows in power plants and
other buildings should be kept clean and
broken glass promptly replaced.

(fc) Suitable cupboard space should be
provided for small tools and supplies,
repair parts, oils, etc.

([) All drainage outlets, vents, weep
holes, etc., upon which the safety of any
structure depends, should be watched
and any evidence of improper operating
conditions promptly investigated and
needed repairs made.

(m) At certain major structures there
are special conditions of water, climate,
topography, floods, regulation, etc., that
may not exist at others. For such
structures written instructions covering
the care and operation of the principal
features to properly meet such special
conditions should be prepared for the
guidance of the operators. These in-
structions are not intended to cover
routine operation for release of water,
but to insure that gates, valves, etc., are
examined, repaired, painted, and other-
wise so maintained that interruptions in
service are avoided.

The study of pedigrees, based on the
knowledge of characteristics of the animals
composing them, is indispensable to per-
sons wishing to excel as breeders.

Do you know how to recognize the
quality of eggs? A good egg has a clear,
firm white, an upstanding yolk, a good
flavor, and a strong shell.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

February, 1928

Canyon Power and Pumping Plant, Boise Project, Idaho

By L. N. McClelland, Electrical Engineer, Bureau of Reclamation

Til 10 Black Canyon dam on the Payette
River, about 4 miles above the town
of Emmett, Idaho, was built for the pur-
pose of diverting water into the canals of
the Emmett irrigation district and also
for diverting water for the lands of the
proposed Payette division of the Boise
project. The dam forms a small lake, the
surface of which is 88 feet above the nor-
mal water surface in the river immediately
below the dam, and this makes it possible
to divert by gravity directly from the lake
into the Emmett south side canal. The
Emmett north side canal, however, is too
high for gravity diversion and the Black
Canyon pumping plant serves to pump
water from the lake into this canal.

This pumping plant contains two units,
each consisting of a 48-inch, vertical,
screw-type, centrifugal pump direct con-
nected to a hydraulic turbine. Each unit
receives water from the lake through a
steel penstock 5 feet in diameter which
branches a short distance from the unit
into a 4-foot diameter pipe supplying
water to the inlet side of the pump and a
3-foot diameter pipe connecting to the
turbine inlet. The upper end of each
penstock is provided with a trash rack
and a 4.8 by 6-foot motor-operated slide
gate which is controlled from the switch-
board in the power plant. A 48-inch,
motor-operated, needle-type valve is pro-
vided between each pump and the dis-
charge pipe which serves both units. The

discharge pipe is 7 feet in diameter and
connects with a reinforced concrete con-
duit of the same size built into the dam,
which carries the water to the north end
of the dam where it is delivered into the
Emmett north side canal. A venturi
meter in the discharge conduit indicates
and records the amount of water pumped.
The turbines operate under a head varying
from 80 to 90 feet and the normal head
on the pumps is 25 feet. The pumps have
a combined capacity of 300 second-feet
and about 1.6 second-feet of pumped
water is delivered for each second-foot of
power water discharged through the tur-
bines.

The Black Canyon power plant has two
generating units, each consisting of a 6,000-
horsepower vertical shaft hydraulic tur-
bine direct connected to a 5,000-kv-a.
generator with direct connected exciter.
Each turbine has a steel penstock 8 feet
m diameter, the upper end of which is
provided with trash rack and a 6.4 by
10-foot motor-operated slide gate which
is controlled from the switchboard.
Power is generated at 6,600 volts. An
outdoor transformer station containing a
10,000-kv-a. bank of water-cooled trans-
formers raises the voltage to 66,000 for
transmission over a transmission line 3.75
miles in length, which connects the power
plant with the Idaho Power Co.'s system
at a point near Emmett. Through an
interchange agreement with this company,

Black Canyon dam, Boise project, Idaho

the power is transmitted over its lines to
the pumping plant of the Gem irrigation
district and the Idaho Power Co. receives
all excess power not required by the dis-
trict. The Gem district pays an annual
charge for the power received from the
Black Canyon plant which includes the
actual cost of operation and maintenance
plus depreciation on the power plant and
transmission line plus interest on the
investment in the power system at the
rate of 5 per cent per year. The cost of
power to the district under this arrange-
ment is approximately $42,000 per year,
or about half of what it formerly was when
power was being purchased from the local
power company. The Gem district will
eventually secure water by gravity from
the Owyhee River and pumping from
Snake River will then be eliminated.
Power from the Black Canyon plant will
then be available for pumping on the
Payette division of the Boise project.
w The switching equipment of this plant
is a little out of the ordinary in that it is
of the full automatic type. In case of an
abnormal^condition, such as a hot bearing,
hot generator winding, failure of insula-
tion of generator winding, overspeed, or
excess voltage, the units will be automat-
ically disconnected from the line and shut
down. The operation of synchronizing
the generators with each other or with the
system of the Idaho Power Co. is per-
formed automatically and in case of trouble
on the transmission lines the oil circuit
breaker on the outgoing circuit will try
out the line three times at predetermined
intervals and if the trouble remains on the
line the breaker will then lock itself open
and the plant will automatically shut
down without attention on the part of the
operator. This equipment has func-
tioned very satisfactorily during the two
years that it has been in service. The
power and pumping plants are housed in
the same building, which permits both to
!-e operated by one operating organiza-
tion consisting of a power-house foreman
and three operators.

Close regulation of the flow in the river
is essential as fluctuations of any magni-
tude interfere with the diversion of water
into the various canals below the dam.
The overflow section of the dam is pro-
vided with three automatic drum gates
each 14.5 feet high and 64 feet long, which
control the quantity of water passing
over the dam so as to maintain the water
surface of the lake at the desired elevation.
An increase in the quantity of water
flowing into the lake causes it to rise

February, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

slightly and this changes the position of a
float which in turn causes the drum gate to
depress sufficiently to discharge the addi-
tional water. The operation is reversed
if the quantity of water entering the lake
decreases, causing the drum gate to rise
so as to accommodate the lesser flow.
One drum gate is provided with a remote
control operated from the switchboard in
the power plant, and gauges on the switch-
board indicate the elevation of the water
surface of the lake and the height of the
gauge at the river gauging station located
several hundred feet below the plant.
By means of these gauges and the remote
control of the drum gate above men-
tioned, the operator can adjust the position
of the gate so as to maintain uniform flow
in the river below the plant.

Washington Cities Can Not Exercise

Police Powers Outside Boundaries

State Courts Suits

Against U. S. Officers

The ease of Town of Casa Colorado
Land Grant v. Pooler, U. S. District
Forester (N. M., 1927), 259 Pac. 629, is
notable for its careful review of the deci-
sions of the Federal courts in regard to
suits against officers of the United States
in their personal capacity. The defend-
ant, as forest supervisor of the National
Forest Service, was occupying certain
land as a part of the Manzano National
Forest, to which the plaintiff claimed title.
Plaintiff brought suit to restrain the
defendant from continuing to occupy the
land, and alleged in its complaint that it
owned the land and that defendant was
denying plaintiff the use thereof, to the
great damage of plaintiff. Defendant
demurred on the ground that it appeared
upon the face of the complaint that the
defendant was in possession of the land
only as the agent of the United States,
and that the suit was one therefore
against the United States, of which the
court had no jurisdiction.

The court held that the demurrer ad-
mitted the wrongful possession, and hence
that an injunction should issue. Being
a mere agent is in itself no excuse for
committing a wrong.

Whatever an animal has, so far as its
inheritance is concerned, it gets from its
parents. They get theirs from their
parents, and so on back to the beginning.

Selection has brought about the improve-
ment of the important present breeds of
livestock over the stock from which they
originated.

TN September, 1925, the city of Cle
* Elum, Wash., enacted an ordinance
by which it purported to assume jurisdic-
tion over Lake Cle Elum and to constitute
boating, swimming, and fishing on the
lake, offenses punishable by the city.

; The lake is outside the corporate limits
of the city, lying about 6 miles northwest
therefrom. The Federal Government has
at this point constructed a reservoir for its
Yakima reclamation project. In Brown
v. City of Cle Elum (255 Pac. 961), De-
partment 2 of the Supreme Court of
Washington passed upon an injunction
suit brought by Brown, who occupied a
cottage on the shore of the lake, to re-
strain the city from enforcing the ordi-
nance. The decision of the divisional
court was in favor of the validity of the
ordinance, but upon rehearing it was de-
cided by the full court, in a case not yet
printed, that the ordinance violated article
11, section 11 of the State constitution,

I which provides as follows: "Any county,
city, town, or township may make and
enforce within its limits, all such local po-
lice, sanitary, and other regulations as are
not in conflict with general laws."

The city in enacting the ordinance fol-
lowed the provisions of sections 9127 and
9473 of Remington's Compiled Statutes,

, assuming to give cities in the State of

I Washington authority to enact such or-
dinances. The ultimate holding of the
supreme court was therefore to the effect
that this provision of the State code vio-
lated the constitution.

The case is of considerable importance
to the Bureau of Reclamation which
holds all of the land around the lake, and
is compelled to utilize the lake for the
transportation of lumber cleared away in
connection with the reservoir site. The
court of its own motion requested the dis-
trict counsel of the bureau to file brief as
amicus curix. In this brief the inter-
related rights of the State and Federal
Governments were discussed, but the
court in its decision passed this matter
over in silence, putting its decision upon
the ground, as stated above, that the as-
sumed jurisdiction of the city was not
permitted by the constitution of the
State.

Project Chief Clerk

County Fair Winner

In 1926 E. R. Scheppelmann, chief
clerk and fiscal agent on the Lower Yel-
lowstone project, Montana- North Dakota,
took a remarkable number of prizes at
the Richland County Fair for vegetables
raised in his garden at project head-
quarters in Savage, Mont. Last year he
exhibited 28 different kinds of vegetables
and 3 fruits, with the result that he took
a sweepstake prize for the best and largest
variety of vegetables produced in one
garden. Just another indication of the
real opportunities for good farmers on
this project.

Chief Cl"rk Scheppolmann In his prize-winning garden, Lower Yellowstone project

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

February, 1928

Reclamation Organization Activities and Project Visitors

DR. ELWOOD MEAD, Commissioner
of Reclamation, will attend the
annual meeting of the National Bureau
of Economic Research in New York on
February 6. Doctor Mead is a director
at large of the bureau.

Floyd M. Watson has resigned
assistant clerk in the Denver office.

Miss Elisabeth von Hagen, stenog
rapher on the Rio Grande project, has
resigned to become secretary to L. M.
Lawson, International Boundary Com-
missioner, with headquarters at El Paso.

Alfred R. Wilson, former secretary of
the Strawberry Water Users' Association,
Strawberry Valley project, Utah, and
secretary of the Strawberry High Line
Canal Co., died on January 24, 1928.

F. T. Crowe, construction superin-
tendent with the Morrison-Knudsen Co.,
was a recent visitor on the Boise project

C. D. Greenfield, agricultural develop-
ment agent of the Great Northern Rail-
way, was a recent visitor on the Milk
River project.

C. C. Wilburn, of Jerome, Idaho, has
been chosen as the third member of the
board of appraisers to appraise excess
area and new lands on the Minidoka
gravity extension unit. The other mem-
bers are W. W. Johnston, representing
the Bureau of Reclamation, and J. L.
Driscoll, of Boise, representing the irriga-
tion district.

Charles R. Pollock, supervisor of
fisheries for the State of Washington,
accompanied by the State superintendents
of salmon and game fisheries, the Yakima
County game commission, the game
warden, and the superintendent of the
State fish hatchery, called recently at the
Yakima project office to discuss methods
of preventing the loss of fish in irrigation
canals.

J. L. Lytel, superintendent of the
Yakima project, and B. E. Stoutemyer,
district counsel, held a conference at
Olympia, Wash., with the State super-
visor of hydraulics and a representative
of the attorney general's office relative to
the adjudication of the waters of the
Yakima River, and it was agreed that the
State would proceed with the adjudica-
tion.

Recent visitors to the Kittitas division
of the Yakima project included A. F.
Stotler, district engineer, Northern Pacific
Railway; Mr. Clements, superintendent

of bridges, Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railway; and Charles R. Pollock,
State supervisor of fisheries.

T. A. Miller-Brownlie, who is interested
in irrigation investigations in the Punjab,
India, was a recent visitor on the Yuma
project.

Frank F. Smith, engineer, and Oscar L.
Rice, assistant engineer, have been trans-
ferred from the North Platte project to
Echo Reservoir, Salt Lake Basin project.

J. P. Siebeneicher, chief clerk on the
Huntley project, has been transferred to
a similar portion on the Belle Fourche
project.

J. R. lakisch, engineer on the Shoshone
project, has assumed charge of drainage
investigations on the Klamath project.

E. E. Lewis, water master on the
Shoshone project, has resigned to accept
the position of superintendent of the
Huntley project.

L. C. Hill and Oro McDermith, con-
sulting engineers, and S. O. Harper, gen-
eral superintendent of construction, spent
several days in the Washington office re-
viewing the reports on the Pecos River
investigations.

Jackson Lake Dam, discharging 12,000 cubic feet of water per second

U.S. GOVBBNMBNT PRINTING OFFICE! 1928

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION FOR THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

HON. HUBERT WORK, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

E. C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary; John H. Edwards, Assistant Secretary; E. O. Patterson, Solicitor of the Interior Department;

E. K. Burlew, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary

Washington, D. C.

lil wood Mead, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

Miss M. A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner P. W. Dent, Assistant Commissioner George C Kreutzer, Director of Reclamation Economics

W. F. Kubach, Chief Accountant C. A. Bissell, Chief of Engineering Division Hugh A. Brown, Assistant Director of Reclamation Economics

C. N McCulloch, Chief Clerk
Denver. Colorado, Wilda Building

R. F. Walter, Chief Engineer; S. O. Harper, General Superintendent of Construction; J. L. Savage, Chief Designing Engineer: E. B. Debler, Hydrographic Engineer;
L. N. McClellan, Electrical Engineer; C. M. Day, Mechanical Engineer; Armand Offutt, District Counsel; L. R. Smith, Chief Clerk; Harry Caden, Fiscal Agent.

Project

Office

Superintendent

Chief clerk

Fiscal agent

District counsel

Name

Office

Newell, S. Dak

F. C. Yniinehlutt

J. P. Siebeneicher

Wm. J. Burke

Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Org
El Paso, Tei.
Montrose, Colo.

Berkeley, Calif.
Billings, Mont.
Do.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Portland, Oreg.
El Paso, Tex.
Mitchell, Nebr.

Billings, Mont.
Do.

Montrose, Colo.
Portland, Oreg.
Do.
Berkeley, Calif.

Boise i

Boise, Idaho R. J. Newell

W. L. Vernon

B. E. Stoutemyer

Carlsbad

Carlsbad, N. Mex L. E. Foster
Grand Junction, Colo. J. C. Page
Ball BD tine Mont

W. C. Berger
W. J. Chiesman

W. C. Berger

H. J. S. Devries

Grand Valley
Huntley '

C. E. Brodie

J. R. Aleiandnr

King Hill*

King Hill, Idaho

Klam ath

Klamath Falls, Greg..
Savage, Mont.
Malta, Mont

H. D. Newell ; N. G. Wheeler Joseoh C. Averv

R. J. Cofley...

E. F, Rortriis

Lower Yellowstone
Milk River

H A Parker

E. R. Scheppelmann..
E. E. Chabot

E. R. Scheppelmann

E E. Chabot do

Minidoka*

E B Darlington

rt f! Pntt.nr.wm

Miss A. J. Larson B- E. Stniit.nmvftr

Fallon, Nev

A W Walker Erie W. Shepard

Miss E.M.Simmonds.
Virgil E. Hubbell
N D Thorp

R J. Cofey

North Platte 6

Mitchell, Nebr

H. C. Stetson . Virgil E. Hubbell .

Wm. J. Burke
B. E. Stoutemyer
R J Coffey

Calvin Casteel W D Funk

Orland

Orland Calif

R C E Weber C H Lillingston

C.H. Lillingston

F A Banks H N Rink-pl

El Paso Tex

L R Fiock

V G Evans

L S Kennicott H J S Devries

Riverton Wyo

H D Comstock

R B Smith

R. B Smith Wm J Burke

Sait River 7

Phoenix, Ariz

Powell, Wyo

L. U. Mitchell

W. F Sha

E. E. Roddis

Strawberry Valley

Provo, Utah_._

Sun River I0

Fairfield, Mont

G. O. Sanford H. W. Johnson

H.W.Johnson E. E. Roddis

Umatilla n

L J Foster G. H. Bolt

F. D. Helm J- R. Alnianrter

Vale

H. W. Bashore C. M. Voyen

C. M. Voyen
J. C. Gawler

B. E. Stoutemyer

Yakima

Yakima, Wash
Yuma, Ariz

P J Preston R- K. Ctinninehani

Yuma .

R. M. Priest

H. R. Pasewalk

E. M. Philebauin

R. J. Cofley

Large Construction Work

Salt Lake Basin Echo

Coalville Utah F F Smith "

C. F. Williams

Dam.

Kittitas

Ellensburg, Wash Walker R. Young 1!

E. R. Mills...

B. E. Stoutemyer

Portland, Oreg.

Sun Kiver, Gibson

Augusta, Mont Ralph Lowry 12

F. C. Lewis

E. E. Roddis

Billings, Mont.

Dam.

Stony Gorge Damsite, H J Gault 12

C. B. Funk . .

R. J. Cofley

Berkeley, Calif.

Dam.

Elk Creek, Calif.

' Operation of Arrowrock Division assumed by Nampa-Meridian, Black Canyon.
Boise-Kuna, Wilder, Big Bend, and New York Irrigation Districts on Apr. 1,
1926.

1 Operation of project assumed by Huntley Project Irrigation District on Dec.
31, 1927.

1 Operation of project assumed by King Hill Irrigation District Mar. 1, 1926.

4 Operation of South Side Pumping Division assumed by Burley Irrigation
District on Apr. 1, 1926, and of Gravity Division by Minidoka Irrigation District
on Dec. 2, 1916.

' Operation of project assumed by Truckee-Carson Irrigation District on Dec. 31,
1926.

7 Operation of project assumed by Salt River Valley Water Users' Association on
Nov. 1, 1917.

I Operation of Garland Division assumed by Shoshone Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

Operation of project assumed by Strawberry Valley Water Users' Association
on Dec. 1, 1926.

10 Operation of Fort Shaw Division assumed by Fort Shaw Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

" Construction engineer.

Important Incaligalions in Progress

Project

Office

In charge of

Cache la Poudre investigations

Denver, Colo

Middle Rio Grande

Columbia Basin Prnjflr-t

Albuquerque, N. Mex.
Lind, Wash

~B.*E. Hayden

Middle Rio Grande conservancy district.
State of Washington.

Truckee River

Heart Mountain investigations _

Reno, Nev
Powell. Wyo

A. N. Burch
I. B. Hosig

Salt Lake City, Utah

State of Utah

Cle Elum storage

P J Preston

R J Newell

Southern investigations

Washington, D. C_

George C. Kreutzur

Southern States.

and C. A. Bissell.

Cooperative agency

* f r

iiiiiilSill.
Illllllllil

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON THE BELLE FOURCHE PROJECT, SOUTH DAKOTA

Left to right: One of the publicity signs. Graveling Federal Highway between Belle Fourche and Newell. One of the four pickle-salting stations. New Utah
Idaho Co. sugar refinery at Belle Fourche. New power beet dump. Building the Vale branch of the Chicago & North Western Railway. A farm home.
Young dairy herd

RECLAMATION ERA

VOL. 19

MARCH, 1928

NO. 3

HORSE MESA DAM, SALT RIVER PROJECT, ARIZONA

CO7VOMF in Federal operations is
here to stay. True economy means the
discouragement of unnecessary expend-
itures. It carries no thought of unwise,
unscientific limitation. Rather, it makes
ample provision for things that must be
done. Pressure for retrenchment, insistance upon wiser
spending, have furnished capital to meet our new demands
without expansion of our expenditure program. We can
not absorb by economy all of our prospective new require-
ments. If we absorb as much as possible, we have real-
ized the true meaning of economy. By saving money
where money can properly be saved, we have developed
what is more properly termed a constructive economy pro-
gram in our Federal service. It is not a policy of nega-
tion. It calls for positive action. It proceeds in accord-
ance with the dictates of common sense and the princi-
ples of sound business. It is provident. It looks ahead.
It undertakes to make plans for the needs of to- morrow.

From the address by President Coolidge at the Fourteenth Meeting
of the Business Organization of the Government, January 30, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

HUBERT WORK
Secretary of the Interior

Issued monthly by the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.
Price, to others than project water users, 75 cents a year

ELWOOD MEAD
Commininner, Bureau of Reclamation

Vol. 19

MARCH, 1928

No. 3

Interesting High Lights on the Federal Reclamation Projects

THE Chicago & North Western Railway
has begun a series of newspaper ad-
vertisements calling attention to the
Black Hills region and the agricultural
opportunities in the adjacent irrigated
districts, including the Belle Fourche proj-
ect. These displays will appear weekly
in a number of mid-west dailies and will
continue for about three months.

FIVE hundred field boxes of citrus
fruit were picked from the syndicate
holdings on the Yuma Mesa during Jan-
uary, bringing the total to the end of the
month to 4,750 boxes on unit B. One
10-acre unit is being leveled and will be
planted to trees this spring, and another
10-acre unit will be used to grow nursery
stock. Present indications are that from
40 to 50 acres will be planted to citrus
trees before hot weather.

"C'XCELLENT cooperation in the settle-
" ment work on the Milk River proj-
ect has been received from representa-
tives of the Malta irrigation district.
Circular letters were sent out by the sec-
retary of the district to approximately
1,500 inquirers as a follow-up, to recent
advertising of the project by the local
press. A number of very favorable
replies were received from prospective
settlers who are planning to visit the
project this spring.

THE execution of beet production con-
tracts on the Milk River project
has progressed satisfactorily. At the end
of January an acreage had been con-
tracted considerably larger than that
planted last year, with a large portion of
the district still to be canvassed.

ONE of the largest items of wealth
shown on the census returns from
the Newlands project is dairy stock, with
a total of all classes of 9,357 head, valued
at $710,626. This is an increase of 4,016
head and of $183,656 in value over 1926.

8938228

cars of oranges were
shipped from the Orland project
during the past season, of which 47 cars
were packed and marketed by the Orland
Orange Growers' Association. In addi-
tion to a large yield, highly remunerative
prices were received. The final crop cen-
sus report for the project orange groves
show a total production of 17,500 com-
mercial pack boxes from 296 acres of trees
under irrigation, producing oranges valued
at $70,000, or an average of $236.50 per
acre.

"DECENT statistics of the 1927 opera-
" tions of the two Orland project
creameries show an increase of 22 per
cent in the amount of butter produced
over 1926. The total amount made was
1,314,000 pounds, the butterfat for which
was largely produced by the dairy herds
of the project, numbering 3,243 cows.

HPHE Guaranty Building & Loan Asso-
* ciation of San Jose has established a
local agency on the Orland project. The
company contempletes a loan service for
home buildings within the town of Orland
and the immediate adjacent residence
district, as well as an investment service.

A SEMICOOPERATIVE company has
** been formed at Sunnyside, Yakima
project, to encourage and partially finance
the growing of mint on the Sunnyside
division. Encouraging results were ob-
tained by growers of this crop last year,
but the work is still in the experimental
stage.

A COMMITTEE of sugar-beet grow-
ers on the Minidoka project met
recently with the management of the
Amalgamated Sugar Co. at Ogden to
urge operation of the Paul factory next
fall. It was estimated that under favor-
able conditions 6,000 acres of beets could
be secured for the Paul factory and 4,000
acres for the Burley factory.

ORACTICALLY all the spring wool
* crop on the Uncompahgre project has
been contracted for at a good price
ranging around 32 cents a pound.

"C1AVORABLE conditions and a good
crop gave turkey growers on the
Uncompahgre project during the past
year an average of approximately 41
cents a pound for No. 1 grade turkeys.
The shipments were made in boxes man-
ufactured by the Montrose Box Co.
located in Montrose.

TT HAS been announced by the Kraft
* Cheese Co. that in addition to the
factory which they started recently to
Montrose, Uncompahgre project, another
factory will be opened in the near future
to Delta. This development will help
to increase the dairy industry in the
lower end of the valley.

rriHE annual poultry show of the West-
-' era Slope Colorado Poultry Associa-
tion was held at Delta, Uncompahgre
project, during the early part of January.
There were 66 exhibitors. Some of the
turkeys on display were valued at as high
as $250. Poultry authorities state that
this show was the best ever held on the
western [slope, the equal of any ever held'
in the State of Colorado, and would rank
with the 10 best shows in the United'
States.

rpHE Associated Seed Growers (Inc.)'
* are making contracts for the grow-
ing of seed peas and beans on the Shoshone-
project for the coming season.

A RRANGEMENTS are being made
^*- by local banks on the Lower Yellow-
stone project to finance farmers for the-
purchase of pure-bred dairy stock. Ten-
tative plans call for two-year loans at 8
per cent, one-half of the loan to be retired!
at the end of the first year.

33.

NEW RECLAMATION EHA

March, 1928

Reclamation Settlement and Development Conference

Held in Washington, D. C, February 14 and 15, 1928

FAR-REACHING and beneficial re-
sults to reclamation and the settle-
ment and development of the Federal
irrigation projects are foreshadowed by
the settlement and development con-
ference held in the auditorium of the
Interior Department on February 14 and
15, 1928, announcement of which was
carried in the February issue of the NEW
RECLAMATION ERA.

The conference was attended by a
large number of influential and well-
informed men, representing a cross section
of individuals and organizations interested
in the problems of Federal reclamation
and in safeguarding the investment of the
Government. Among these were Sena-
tors and Congressmen from the Western
States, State engineers, members of cham-
bers of commerce, sugar company officials,
and representatives of the water users and
of the settlement and development organ-
izations of the transcontinental railroads.
The problems under discussion offered a
field for wide diversity of opinion, yet
there was an amazing unanimity in the
conclusions reached by the delegates after
full and free discussion.

The conference was called to order at
9.45 a. m. on February 14, with Hon.
E. C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary of
the Interior, presiding. The conference
was honored by the presence of Hon.
Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior,
who welcomed the delegates in a brief
but inspiring address. The Secretary
touched on the history of Federal reclama-
tion, referred to its bright outlook for the
future, and called attention to the fact
that it is now on a paying and business
basis.

Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of
Reclamation, then discussed the purpose
of the conference. Doctor Mead stated
that he thought it appropriate to first call
attention to the recent achievements of
the water users, in the matter of repay-
ments, the collections for construction in
1927 being $1,000,000 greater than in
1926. In 1927 the value of crops grown
on the projects was $18,000,000 greater
than in the preceding year. Doctor Mead
said that attention should be given by
the conference to the question whether
reclamation should include financial aid
to the settlers, preparation of the land,
and the building of houses before actual
settlement.

Hon. Addison T. Smith, of Idaho,
Member of the House of Representatives,
gave an exceedingly interesting and in-
structive talk on the public-land policy.
He referred to the unwise action of open-

ing public land to entry without regard to
its possibility of profitable cultivation and
without adequate information being given
to the settlers. There was, however, a
distinct advance made under the reclama-
tion act, although even here some projects
were unwisely selected. He stressed the
fact that the reclamation of arid lands is
not only a benefit to the individual farmer
who develops a home and to the adjacent
towns but to all parts of the country which
ship goods to these projects.

Hon. John B. Kendrick, United States
Senator from Wyoming, then addressed
the conference, stating that in the com-
monwealth building of the West the de-
velopment of irrigation projects is of the
utmost benefit. Financial aid to settlers,
he said, is the next step to be taken to
safeguard the investment of the Govern-
ment and give the settlers an opportunity
to develop a going concern before their
original meager capital has been lost.
Reclamation, he said, is the most im-
portant work the Government is doing
in the arid States.

Mr. R. E. Kelly, manager of develop-
ment of the Southern Pacific Railway,
spoke on the subject of the relation of the
railroads to reclamation, pointing out
that a reclamation project lacking rail-
road facilities to carry its crops to market
would be hard put to exist. He referred
to the railroad development of the South-
ern Pacific on the southwestern projects,
and stated that more and more attention
would be given to what can be done by
the railroad in settling the proper people
on irrigated land.

Mr. John W. Haw, director of the de-
partment of agricultural development of
the Northern Pacific Railway, urged
aided and directed settlement as a
natural and proper function of the Gov-
ernment, stating, however, that we should
start on a small scale and feel our way
along in order to develop the best pos-
sible policy.

Mr. W. H. Russell, colonization agent
of the Lethbridge northern irrigation
district, Alberta, Canada, concluded the
morning session with an interesting de-
scription of how the colonization depart-
ment of his district is assisting settlers of
small means. Actual cash is not ad-
vanced to these settlers, but they are
furnished with the necessary supplies and
materials, safeguarded by the principle
that nothing is done for a man that he
can do himself. He concluded his re-
marks with a number of examples of the
value of financial assistance to settlers
coming to the project with entirely in-

adequate capital, but who are now self-
supporting home owners.

The conference adjourned for lunch,
convening at 2 p. m. with Mr. Richard
R. Lyman, of Salt Lake City, presiding.

The first speaker was Dr. F. B. Lin-
field, dean and director of the Montana
State College of Agriculture, who de-
scribed the agricultural situation in Mon-
tana over a succession of years. He
stated that all the projects are "sick,"
the main trouble being that on all a
portion of the land is not producing,
caused by lack of settlers and poor farm-
ing. He called attention to the heavy
expense of the farmer in preparing his
land and in making it habitable in order
to make it a going concern. Some agency
must be created, he said, to finance these
costs.

Mr. W. B. Buchholz, secretary of the
Belle Fourche irrigation district, Belle
Fourche project, South Dakota, spoke
on the subject of the settlement needs of
the projects, referring to their slogan of
"A farm on every 80 acres." He
urged especially the cooperation of all
agencies, chambers of commerce, rail-
roads, State agricultural departments,
and others to aid in solving these settle-
ment problems. More and better build-
ings are a necessity, he said, if potential
landowners are to be interested in
undeveloped land on an irrigation project.

THE GROUP MEETINGS

The delegates to the conference then
divided into three groups to discuss
particular problems of settlement and
development of reclamation projects.

Group No. 1 considered projects where
irrigation works are completed, but
lacking settlement and farm develop-
ment. These projects included Riverton,
Belle Fourche, Lower Yellowstone, Milk
River, Willwood, and Uncompahgre.
The round-table discussion was led by
Mr. George C. Kreutzer, director of
reclamation economics.

Group No. 2 considered projects where
irrigation works are now under con-
struction and where there is a need now
for preparing plans for settlement and
development. These projects included
Kittitas, Vale, Owyhee, Payette, Minidoka
Gravity Extension, and Greenfields. The
round-table discussion was led by Dr.
Hugh A. Brown, assistant director of
reclamation economics.

Group No. 3 considered the costs,
possibilities, and needs of projects under
investigation. These included Columbia
Basin, Upper and Lower Colorado Basins,

Match, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EBA

Pecos Valley, Umatilla Rapids, Heart
Mountain, Casper-Alcova, Saratoga, Des-
chutes, Minidoka Pumping, Kennewick,
Yakima-Benton, Baker, Stanfield, and
Westland irrigation districts. The round-
table discussion was led by Mr. P. W.
Dent, assistant commissioner of reclama-
tion.

These groups were in session during
the afternoon of February 14 and the
morning of February 15. At 2 p. m. on
the 15th the conference again met in
general session for the submission of the
group reports and resolutions.

REPORT OF GROUP ^NO. I

The report of Group No. 1 was sub-
mitted by Mr. W. B. Buchholz, as follows:

This group composed of about 20 mem-
bers of the conference met in the audi-
torium of the Department of the Interior
at 3.15 p. m., February 14, 1928, to con-
sider problems of settlement and farm
development of projects having irrigation
works completed but lacking settlement.
These projects include Riverton, Belle
Fourche, Lower Yellowstone, Milk River,
Willwood, and Uncompahgre.

On Belle Fourche, Lower Yellowstone,
Willwood, and Riverton active settlement
work has been carried on during the past
year. As an illustration, on the Belle
Fourche project options were taken on 95
unoccupied farms at prices fixed by inde-
pendent appraisal. The terms of pur-
chase were 20 years and the interest was
fixed at 6 per cent. The land was good,
the water supply ample and cheap.
Seventeen farms have been sold. All
farms having good buildings were either
sold or leased to good tenants. The
unoccupied farms remain untaken, yet the
soil is good and ample water is available
for irrigation. Settlers did not have the
means to buy these unimproved farms and
provide the necessary improvements.
Furthermore, the owners were unable to
finance this development. No local
agency can supply this credit. Yet on
Willwood, Belle Fourche, Lower Yellow-
stone, Milk River, and Riverton the
Government has expended $18,771,000 to
construct works to irrigate 283,070 acres
of land, of which only 78,640 acres were
irrigated in 1926. About 1,400 settlers
are needed to cultivate the unirrigated and
unoccupied farms on these projects.
Results similar to those stated for Belle
Fourche were secured for Lower Yellow-
stone.

It was the opinion of this group that
the Government should provide this need
to complete the settlement of these proj-
ects by providing advances and thus
insure their solvency.

It was moved by Mr. Buchholz and
seconded by Mr. Kuska that it is the sense

of this meeting that Senator Kendrick's
bill, S. 2829, and the companion bills in
the House, introduced by Hon. William
Williamson and Hon. Charles Winter,
providing for aided and directed settle-
ment on Federal irrigation projects should
be enacted into law at this session of
Congress. This was unanimously carried.
Options on farms for sale in favor of
the Government on the Belle Fourche
and Lower Yellowstone projects expire on
December 31, 1928, and on the Orland
project on June 30, 1929. It was agreed
on motion made and carried that land
settlement work should be continued on
these projects and the options be renewed
for a period of two years after their date
of expiration.

On the projects above mentioned more
industries and cooperative marketing
should be encouraged. It was agreed
that this could best be stimulated by
placing on such projects project service
men, who would assist in settlement and
farm development and in the formation of
cooperative marketing associations, and
further that the cooperation of the United
States Department of Agriculture, State
agricultural colleges, State agricultural
departments, and all other agencies be
secured in bringing about these desirable
results.

It was the sense of the meeting that in
order to secure more and better livestock
on projects steps should be taken locally
to secure the benefits of the Federal inter-
mediate credit act.

The^following action was taken regard-
ing the disposition of temporarily and
permanently unproductive public lands
on reclamation projects:

It was duly moved and seconded that
thelbill H. R. 9958, introduced in the
House by Hon. Scott Leavitt, to authorize
the disposal of public lands classified as
temporarily or permanently unproductive
on Federal irrigation projects, be indorsed
and its passage is urged. This bill pro-
vides for the sale of class 5 and class 6
lands in public ownership to resident
entrymen and resident landowners on
Federal irrigation projects at prices fixed
by independent appraisal and in areas
not to exceed 160 acres. This would put
these lands in the hands of actual settlers
for grazing or other purposes and in this
way may become reclaimed and credit
eventually accrue to the project and the
United States Government.

On a number of Federal projects there
is a large acreage of lands for which general
homestead proof has been made for resi-
dence, cultivation, and improvements.
This land is salable and used as security
for loans on a par with neighboring
patented lands. However, such lands
are not subject to assessment for general
taxes for school, county, and State pur-

poses, for the lack of what is called recla-
mation proof, this proof simply being a
report of the irrigation which has been
done. Such lands, being freed from
general taxes, throw a heavy burden upon
the adjoining patented lands. For years
there has been a request from projects
that irrigated homesteads be taxed the
same as nonirrigable lands just as soon as
general homestead proof has been made
for residence, cultivation, and improve-
ments. Such is the purpose of House
bill 475, introduced by Congressman
Winter from Wyoming. These lands
heretofore have fully shared in the benefits
of community development but have
escaped general taxes. A motion was
duly made and seconded that the bill be
indorsed and its passage urged.

REPORT OF GROUP NO. 2

The report of Group No. 2 was sub-
mitted by Mr. J. M. Hughes, land com-
missioner of the Northern Pacific Railway
Co., as follows:

The discussion of Group 2 was limited
to the problems presented on the six new
projects under construction, namely,
Kittitas, Owyhee, Vale, Payette, Mini-
doka Extension, and Greenfields. These
six projects represent an ultimate invest-
ment by the Government of $50,600,000,
a total area of 437,000 acres, and an area
of 300,000 acres requiring some 3,700 set-
tlers. To put these projects on a paying
basis there must also be expended
$27,650,000 as a minimum for such items
as advertising and placing settlers on the
land, clearing and preparing the land for
irrigation, erecting houses, fences, and
necessary farm buildings, cultivation and
living expenses the first year, and the pur-
chase by settlers of land privately owned.

The difficulty of obtaining qualified
settlers is well known. The records of
the Bureau of Reclamation show that 45
per cent of the prospective settlers fur-
nishing information about their available
capital have less than $2,500. Only 7
per cent have $5,000 or over. It would
seem the part of wisdom, therefore, to
adopt a conservative construction pro-
gram on these newer projects, so far as
practicable in the interests of economy
and efficiency of construction.

Analysis of the situation on the Kittitas
and Vale projects, however, leads to the
conclusion that construction should pro-
ceed to the completion of the projects
without intermission. The reasons for
this view are as follows:

(a) The situation on the Kittitas
project is such that the lands requiring
settlement lie at the extreme end of the
project and can not, of course, be settled
until all construction work is done.
Lands farther up are partially irrigated

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

March, 1928

from hillside streams and are largely
settled. There would therefore be no
settlement problem in the upper sections
of the project which would not be taken
care of readily by local requirement.

(6) The Vale project comprises alto-
gether only about 25,000 acres of irrigable
land. The construction of the works will
require sufficient time to permit the set-
tlement of the smaller districts near the
upper end, so that the completion of the
project need not be in any way delayed.
The main settlement problem on this
project will begin after the major portion
of the works is completed.

With reference to the Owyhee project,
which comprises about 41,000 acres of
lands under pumping plants and has
altogether about 80,000 acres of unoc-
cupied lands requiring settlement when
the project works are completed, inas-
much as the plants under the Gem district
are now being furnished with cheap power
from the Black Canyon power plant which
in our opinion permits irrigation at very
little, if any, more expense than will be
necessary when water is furnished from
the Owyhee project, it is believed that
this unit should not be developed until
other sections of the project are fully
settled. It is further believed that the
lands now under pumping plants on the
lower end of the project, comprising
approximately 8,000 acres, will suffer no
hardship on account of delay, if furnished
Government power at reasonable rates
for carrying on their operations as at
present. It is therefore recommended
that the canal systems designed for the
Gem irrigation district and for the coun-
try north of the Malheur River should not
be constructed until satisfactory settle-
ment has been effected on the areas known
as the Nyssa Bench and the Kingman
Colony district. This recommendation
is based on the assumption that power can
be furnished at reasonable rates either
from Black Canyon power plant or from
a power plant to be constructed at the
Owyhee Dam to all pumping plants now
in operation under the project. Such a
plan would permit the settlement and
development of two of the principal areas
of the project before extending the con-
struction works to cover areas for which
it will be harder to secure settlers. It
would also obviate the necessity of keep-
ing up a long and expensive canal system
before settlement had developed to the
point where operation and maintenance
costs could be met by the settlers.

As a matter of policy it is believed that
reclamation projects should be developed
in economical units which should be
settled and developed before construction
proceeds to the completion of the project.

It is believed that the present regula-
tions should be continued without modi-
fication, providing for the selection of
settlers on the basis of approved quali-
fications of industry, experience, character,
and capital. It has been suggested that
the requirement of $2,000 in cash or its
equivalent in livestock, farming imple-
ments, or other assets . of equal value,
shuts out many potentially worthy
settlers. In view of the fact, however,
that the development of an irrigated farm
necessitates the expenditure of $5,000 to
$7,000, of which about $4,000 should be
expended in the first year if the best results
are to be obtained, we believe that $2,000
is the minimum that should be required
under present conditions. On the other
hand, to increase this requirement would
undoubtedly result in the operation of
the law of diminishing returns, and fewer
settlers than at present would be available.

We are in favor of the employment of
a project adviser, employed by and under
the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, on each new project, as soon as
a sufficient number of settlers have taken
up new land to make his services eco-
nomically profitable, and to continue as
long as it may appear necessary. The
cost of this work should, wherever
possible, be included by contract in the
construction cost, to be repaid as a part
of construction. Steps should be taken
to make this service a part of the present
contracts, or included in supplemental
contracts, with the irrigation districts.
There can be no question of the value
of such advisers if their whole time is
devoted to the settler in his farming and
building operations, in helping him in
planning crop programs, in forming
cooperative organizations for buying and
selling, and in general in helping to build
up the agricultural, economic, and social
life of the community.

The problem of land in excess and
nonresident ownership is common to
practically all of these projects. The
owners of much of this land have definitely
stated, in reply to questionnaires, that
they have no intention of developing it
themselves. In those cases where the
present owners are willing to dispose of
such land at the appraised price, it is
believed that authority should be granted
by Congress for the purchase of such
land by the Government for disposal in
promoting the development and settle-
ment of the project.

The acquisition and disposal of such
land by the Government would aid in the
coordination of construction, settlement,
and development work to a much greater
degree than is possible at present. Farm
units could be laid out in conformity with
topography, with a material saving in

both construction and operation and
maintenance costs, in the location of
laterals, and in the reduction in the
number of drops, turnouts, and canal
riders.

It is believed that the preparation of
the land before settlement, including
clearing, leveling, the development of
stock and domestic water supply, the
erection of dwellings and other farm
buildings, and other permanent improve-
ments, should be recognized in this
country, as they are in many foreign
countries, as integral parts of the con-
struction of a project. Closely associated
with these factors is the creation of some
source of credit for the settler in the
early years of development. At present
this is not available from any practical
source. The Federal land bank loans
only on patented, improved land. Local
banks loan only for inadequate periods
at high interest rates. Neither affords
a practical source of credit for the settler
of small means the man by whom these
projects must be settled under present
economic conditions. The bills (S. 2829,
H. R. 9956, and H. R. 10491) to provide
for aided and directed settlement on
Federal reclamation projects adequately
answer these needs, and we urge their
enactment into law without delay.

REPORT OF GROUP NO. 3

No written report was submitted by
this group. Mr. J. B. Lamson, agricul-
tural development agent of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railway Co., stated
that the discussion of this group had been
limited largely to consideration of the
bills providing for aided and directed set-
tlement and that their conclusions were
incorporated in the resolutions to be sub-
mitted to the conference.

THE RESOLUTIONS

Each group, at the conclusion of [its
deliberations, drafted a number of resolu-
tions for consideration by the conference.
These resolutions were submitted to the
resolutions committee comprising Mr.
Buchholz, representing Group No. 1 ; Mr.
Hughes, representing Group No. 2; and
Mr. Lamson, representing Group No. 3.
The resolutions were correlated by the
resolutions committee and submitted [to
the conference, as follows, by the chair-
man of the committee, Mr. Hughes:

Whereas the new projects now under
construction by the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, namely, Kittitas, Owyhee, Vale,
Payette, Minidoka Gravity, and ,Green-
fields, involve an ultimate investment by
the Government of $50,600,000, an area
requiring settlement of 300,000 acres, and
the need for 3,700 settlers; and

March, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EHA

Whereas in order to make these farms
going concerns there is involved an addi-
tional minimum expenditure of $27,650,000
for advertising and placing settlers on the
land; clearing and preparing the land for
irrigation; erecting houses, fences, and
other necessary farm buildings; farm
equipment; cultivation and living ex-
penses for the first year; and the purchase
by settlers of land in private ownership;
and

Whereas the solvency of these new
projects depends on their prompt settle-
ment and development; and

Whereas the Riverton, Belle Fourche,
Lower Yellowstone, and Milk River proj-
ects and the Willwood -Division of the
Shoshone project involve an investment
by the Government of approximately
$19,000,000, which provide irrigation
facilities for 238,070 acres, of which only
78,640 acres were irrigated in 1926; and

Whereas to properly cultivate the land
on these projects require about 1,400 set-
tlers upon which depend the return of
the Government's investment, and where-
as settlement work has been carried on on
these projects by the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, railroads and other agencies; and

Whereas settlers have been secured for
farms upon which there are satisfactory
farm buildings but the undeveloped farms
remain untaken; and

Whereas no source of private funds are
available to provide such improvements
on public land or unoccupied privately
owned land : Therefore be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of this
conference that the reclamation act
should be amended to provide for the use
of the reclamation fund in effecting such
improvements on privately owned land
for sale under proper safeguards and on
the public land, and that the repayment
for such advances for improvements be
made over a long term of years at a low
rate of interest;

That indorsement is given to the pro-
visions of bills S. 2829, H. R. 9956, and
H. R. 10491 providing for aided and
directed settlement, the enactment of
which and the appropriation of the funds
requested therein would enable the Bureau
of Reclamation to demonstrate on a small
scale the efficacy in this country of legis-
lation which for many years has been
part of the reclamation and settlement
laws of numerous foreign nations having
similar problems, it being the belief that
such aid in settlement will increase the
number of farm owners on projects and
lessen the evil of tenancy;

That the policy is approved of selecting
settlers on the basis of approved qualifi-
cations of industry, experience, character,
and capital, and that no change should
be made in the present capital requirement
of $2,000;

That project service men should be
employed on all new projects to help the
settlers in planning agricultural operations
and buildings, forming cooperative or-
ganizations and marketing their products;
such services to continue only so long as
they may appear necessary, the cost of
such service to be repayable as a part of
the construction cost under supplemental
contracts with the irrigation districts;

That the settlement activities of all
available agencies including the Federal
Government, States, railroads, chambers
of commerce, and other interested organ-
izations, be coordinated with a view to
attracting more and better* qualified
settlers;

That so far as practicable the land on
the new projects should be subdivided into
farm units on the basis of topography.

That construction work on the Kittitas,
Vale, and Owyhee projects should be
pushed to completion, following a con-
struction program based on economy and
efficiency; but that a, unit construction
program is consistent with economy and
efficiency of construction and of settlement
and development;

That in the case of private land in ex-
cess and nonresident ownership within the
limits of a project, which will not be de-
veloped or cultivated by the owners them-
selves, and which can be acquired with
the consent of the owners at the appraised
value, authority should be granted by
Congress for its purchase, subdivision and
disposal by the Government in promoting
the development and settlement of the
project.

Whereas on several Federal irrigation
projects there is a considerable body of
land for which final proof has been made
for residence, cultivation, and improve-
ments but for which reclamation proof has
not yet been made; and

Whereas such lands enjoy all of the
benefits of community development and
all of the protection and privileges of the
State and local governments; and

Whereas such lands can be readily sold
and used as security for loans; and

Whereas such lands can not be taxed for
the support of schools or any other State
and county purpose; and

Whereas such policy of not assessing the
lands throws a heavy and unjust burden
upon the neighboring lands which have
come to patent; Therefore be it

Resolved, That we approve the principle
of assessing irrigation homesteads the
same as nonirrigation homesteads imme-
diately after final proof has been made
thereon for residence, cultivation, and
improvements, even though the reclama-
tion proof has not been offered. Be it
further

Resolved, That we approve House bill
475, introduced by Congressman Winter,
which covers this policy, and we petition
for the enactment of this measure pending
in Congress.

Whereas on a number of existing proj-
ects a considerable area of land has been
classified as permanently unproductive
and temporarily unproductive (class 6
and class 5); and

Whereas a large area of this land has
been returned to the Government and is
at present idle; and

Whereas the homestead and reclama-
tion laws do not provide for effectively
disposing of said lands; and

Whereas said lands are required by resi-
dent entrymen and resident owners for
pasture purposes and for reclamation by
drainage or irrigation;

Resolved, That this conference indorses
and urges the passage of H. R. 9958,
which provides for sale of said class 5 and
class 6 lands by the Secretary of the Inte-
rior to resident entrymen and resident
owners on the several projects.

Whereas the object of the Purnell Act
is to make economic surveys in the vari-
ous States, we suggest that the United
States Department of Agriculture, col-
leges of agriculture, or other agencies
having the administration and direction
of the work and fund, cooperate with the
Bureau of Reclamation in making eco-
nomic surveys of each of the reclamation
projects now in the process of develop-
ment or about to be opened for settle-
ment, the object being to get information
to the settler or the intending settler
which will show him the crops or products
that can economically be produced in the
particular project. These economic sur-
veys can be of great help to the respective
communities in forming a basis upon
which credit organizations can be foun-
ded and proper organization for coopera-
tive marketing and production on a com-
modity basis, and also be a basis from
which successful industries can be estab-
lished upon the various projects or their
immediate vicinity.

Whereas many naturalized American
citizens have become citizens of Canada,
some of them for the purpose of acquiring
land and some to enter the World War
prior to the participation of this country;
and whereas many of such former Ameri-
can citizens now desire to return to this
country for the purpose of establishing
homes on irrigation projects but find
themselves barred except under the quota
of the country of their birth; and whereas
this constitutes a serious loss to the irri-
gation projects of this country greatly in
need of such worthy settlers.

Resolved, That we urge upon Congress
the importance of amending our immigra-

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

March, 1928

tion laws to permit the reentry of all
former naturalized American citizens now
residing in Canada or Mexico with the
same freedom as it now extended to
native-born citizens of those countries.
Be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution
be sent to the Senate and House Immi-
gration Committees. Be it finally

Resolved, That we are deeply apprecia-
tive of the sympathetic and businesslike
administration of Federal reclamation as
found in the policies of Secretary Work,
Commissioner Mead, and many acts of
Congress.

All resolutions were adopted unani-
mously as submitted. Doctor Mead
then introduced Col. John H. Carroll, who
summed up the problems and aims of the
conference and voiced his whole-hearted
belief in the future of reclamation. Mo-
tion pictures were then shown of settle-
ment activities and settlement and
development needs of the projects, fol-
lowed by the adjournment of the con-
ference.

On February 16 a number of the dele-
gates attended a hearing before the House
Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation
to advocate the adoption of legislation
providing for aided and directed settle-
ment on the Federal reclamation projects.

THE DELEGATES

The delegates attending the conference
were as follows:

Baker, Charles H., C. B. & Q. and N. P. Ry.,
Washington, D. C.

Batch, Otto C., associate reclamation economist,
Newell, S. Dak.

Benson, E. F., agricultural development agent, N. P.
Ry., Seattle, Wash.

Brown, Hugh A., assistant director of reclamation
economics, Bureau of Reclamation.

Buchholz, W. D., secretary, Belle Fourche irrigation
district, Newell, S. Dak.

Byerly, H. W., general immigration agent, N. P. Ry.,
St. Paul, Minn.

Cahill, T. Joe, executive manager, department of
commerce and industry, Cheyenne, Wyo.

Carey, C. C., engineer and farmer, Minneapolis,
Minn.

Carroll, J. H., C. B. A. Q. and N. P. Ry., Washing-
ton, D. C.

Childers, Chas. L., Rep. Arr. Dist. Association of
California El Centre, Calif.

Comstock, H. D., superintendent, Riverton project,
Riverton, Wyo.

Cowgill, Ralph P., Oregon Reclamation Congress,
Medford, Oreg.

Dale, William P., president, Uncompahgre Valley
Water Users' Association, Delta, Colo.

Deeds, J. F., Chief, Agricultural Division, United
States Geological Survey, Washington, D C.

Dent, Porter W., Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of
Reclamation.

Engle, Chas., Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington,
D. C.

Fly, Col. B. F., Yuma, Ariz.

Flynn, Robt., director of district No. 2, Falrview,
Mont.

Qoodner, Ivan E., consulting engineer, Los Angeles,
Calif.

Goodwin, F. M., Mills Building, Washington,
D. C.

Ouy, David J., United States Chamber of Com-
merce, Washington, D. C.

Hackney, E. C., president, irrigation board, Huntloy,
Mont.

Haw, J. W., director, department of agricultural
development, N. P. Ry., St. Paul, Minn.

Hayden, B. E., reclamation economist, Bureau of
Reclamation, Denver, Colo.

Hughes, ]. M., land commissioner, N. P. Ry., St.
Paul, Minn.

Hunter, H. F., C., M. & St. P. Ry., 816 Union Sta-
tion, Chicago, 111.

Ide, W. Q., manager, Oregon State Chamber of
Commerce, Portland, Oreg.

James, Delos L., 1815 H Street NW., Washington,
D. C.

Johnson, H. H., superintendent. Milk River project,
Malta, Mont.

Kelley, John E., Shelley, Idaho.

Kelly, R. E., manager of development, Southern
Pacific Ry. Co., 65 Market Street, San Francisco,
Calif.

Kendrick, John B., United States Senator, Wyo-
ming.

Kerr, n. C., Carlsbad, N. Mex.

Kreutzer, Geo. C., director of reclamation economics,
Bureau of Reclamation.

Kuska, Val, colonization agent, C., B. A Q. R. R.,
Omaha, Nebr.

Kyle, James W., farmer, Stanfleld, Oreg.

Larason, J. B., agricultural development agent,
C.,B. A Q. R. R., 547 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago.

Linfleld, Dr. F. B., dean and director, Montana
State College of Agriculture.

Leedy, E. C., general agricultural development
agent, Great Northern Railway, St. Paul, Minn.

Lyman, Richard R., civil engineer, Salt Lake City,
Utah.

McCluskey, H. S., member, Colorado River Com-
mission of Arizona, State Capitol, Phoenix, Ariz

Maddock, Thomas, engineer, 306 East McDowell
Street, Phoenix, Ariz.

Mason, J. Rupert, San Francisco, Calif.

Mead, Dr. Elwood, Commissioner, Bureau of Recla-
mation, Washington, D. C.

Merrill, M. C., editor, chief of publications, United
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Mlrtofl, Prof. J. A., Director, Russian Bureau of
Agricultural Information, 26 Cortlandt St., New York,
N. Y.

Mitchell, L. H., superintendent, Shoshone project,
Powell, Wyo.

Morgan, Frank T., secretary, Owyhee Irrigation dis-
trict, Nyssa, Oreg.

Nielsen, H. A., president, Idaho Irrigation district,
Shelley, Idaho.

Ohsol, J. G., vice-president and treasurer, Amtorg
Trading Corporation, 165 Broadway, New York, N. Y

Oppegaard, O. M., president, Lower Yellowstone
Irrigation district No. 1, Savage, Mont.

Plummer, G. H., western land agent, Northern
Pacific Ry., Seattle, Wash.

Pound, Earl C., president, Imperial Irrigation dis-
trict, Brawley, Calif.

Preston, Porter J., superintendent, Yakima project,
Yakima, Wash.

Putnam, W. R., Idaho Power Co., Boise, Idaho.

Rodey, P. C., attorney, Albuquerque, N. Mex.

Rose, Mark, director, Imperial irrigation district.
El Centra, Calif.

Russell, W. F., colonization agent, Lethbridge
northern irrigation district, Lethbridge, Alberta,
Canada.

Sands, W. B., Chinook, Mont.

SanforC, Geo. 0., superintendent, Sun River project,
Fairfleld, Mont.

Schnurr, Miss Mae A., secretary to Commissioner,
Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, D. C.

Seagraves, C. L., general colonization agent, Santa
Fe R. R., 900 Railway Exchange, Chicago, HI.

Shepherd, R. E., general manager. North Side Canal
Co., Jerome, Idaho.

Smith, Addison T., United States Representative,
Idaho, Washington, D. C.

Smith, R. A., supervisor of agriculture, Union Pacific
system, Omaha, Nebr.

West, Gordon R., reclamation engineer, Missouri
Pacific Lines, St. Louis, Mo.

Westervelt, E. M., land and industrial commissioner,
C. B. & Q. R. R. Co., Lincoln, Nebr.

Whiting, John A., State engineer, Cheyenne, Wyo.

Work, Dr. Hubert, Secretary of the Interior, Wash-
ington, D. C.

Aided and Directed Settlement on the Projects

SIMILAR bills (S. 2829, H. R. 9956,
and H. R. 10491) have been intro-
duced in the United States Senate and
House of Representatives, respectively,
by Senator John B. Kendrick and Rep-
resentatives Charles E. Winter, of Wyo-
ming, and William Williamson, of South
Dakota, providing for aided and directed
settlement on the Federal irrigation
projects. The text of one of the bills
follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That when
used in this act

(a) The word "Secretary" means the
Secretary of the Interior.

(b) The words "reclamation law"
mean the act of Congress of June 17, 1902
(Thirty-second Statutes at Large, page
388), and acts amendatory thereof or
supplementary thereto.

(d) The word "project" means an
irrigation project authorized by the
reclamation law.

(e) The word "farm" means an area of
privately owned irrigable land of more
than ten acres and not exceeding one
hundred and sixty acres.

(f) The words "farm unit" mean an
area of irrigable public land of more than
ten acres and not exceeding one hundred
and sixty acres designated by the Secre-
tary as a farm unit.

(g) The words "farm-worker's unit"
mean an irrigable area of public land not
exceeding ten acres designated by the
Secretary as a farm-worker's unit to
provide an area sufficient for dwelling and
necessary outbuildings and for a garden
on which the settler and his family may
grow products necessary for their own
food supply.

(h) The word "landowner" means the
holder of title to a farm on a project.

(i) The word "settler" means a person
having such farm experience, capital,
health, industry, and other qualifications
as may be prescribed by the Secretary, who
has entered into a contract with the Secre-
tary to secure title to a farm unit or a farm-
worker's unit, and who shall actually
reside on and cultivate the land.

(j) The word "purchaser" means a
person having such farm experience,
capital, health, industry, and other quali-

March, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EBA

fications as may be prescribed by the
Secretary, who has entered into a contract
with a landowner to purchase a farm,
and who shall actually reside on and culti-
vate the land.

SEC. 2. In connection with the settle-
ment and development of the privately
owned land on any project, the Secretary
is authorized in his discretion to advance
not exceeding the sum of $3,000 on account
of any one farm for effecting necessary
permanent improvements. These im-
provements may include preparation of
land for irrigation, development of stock
and domestic water supply, erection of
dwelling and other farm buildings, and
other improvements of a permanent
character. These advances shall not
exceed 80 per centum of the value of the
improvements and shall be secured by a
first mortgage or such other instrument
creating a first lien as the Secretary may
prescribe covering the land and improve-
ments, except as otherwise provided in
section 5 hereof: Provided, That prior to
the making of such advances the owner of
such land shall execute a trust agreement
or other suitable document in form ap-
proved by the Secretary providing for the
sale of such land to an actual purchaser at
prices and upon terms fixed by the Secre-
tary. This provision regarding sale of
land may be waived by the Secretary if
the landowner agrees to and resides on and
cultivates the land himself and possesses
the necessary qualifications as herein
specified for settlers and purchasers, and
provided such area does not exceed one
hundred and sixty acres of irrigable land.

SEC. 3. The Secretary is authorized, in
his discretion, to make advances for or to
clear, level, and otherwise prepare for
irrigation all or any portion of farm units
or farm-worker's units and erect thereon
dwellings and farm buildings, and to pro-
vide stock and domestic water supply and
other necessary permanent improvements
in advance of or after settlement but not
until the land has been purchased by an
approved settler when, in his judgment, it
is necessary or advisable to do so to secure
the proper settlement and development
of project lands. The cost thus incurred
for such development as fixed by the
Secretary or advances for development, or
both, shall be charged against each farm
unit or farm-worker's unit, as the case may
be, and shall be fixed separate and apart
from the cost of the water right. Each
settler shall make to the United States an
initial payment equal to 20 per centum of
the cost of improvements effected before
settlement. Advances shall not exceed 80
per centum of the value of the improve-
ments: Provided, That the total amount
of money spent by the United States in
effecting improvements as above specified,
together with the amounts advanced to
settlers, shall not exceed $3,000 on any one
farm unit and $1,000 on any one farm-
worker's unit.

SEC. 4. All sums advanced to land-
owners or to settlers, including the cost
of effecting permanent improvements
as herein specified, excepting the initial
payment provided for in section 3 hereof,
shall be refunded to the United States
with interest at the rate of 4 per centum
per annum in semiannual amortized
installments in not to exceed twenty-
eight years under terms and conditions
to be fixed by the Secretary. The charges
on account of development or advances,

or both, shall become and remain a lien
against said land until fully paid.

SEC. 5. The construction charges and
the charges for operation and maintenance
against any land involved hereunder on
account of the appurtenant water right
shall be paid under proper contracts
executed or to be executed therefor in
accordance with the requirements of the
reclamation law, and the lien on account
of such water right shall be merged with
or stand on a parity with the liens author-
ized hereunder for development or
advances, or both.

SEC. 6. The Bureau of Reclamation,
under the direction of the Secretary, shall
determine the amount of all advances
and the purpose for which they shall be
used and shall exercise such supervision
over their expenditure as will insure
economy and efficiency. Each landowner
or settler securing the benefits of this
act shall at his own expense insure and
keep insured against fire all buildings
erected through the aid of Government
advances, the insurance policies therefor
to be made out in favor of the Secretary
or such other official as may be prescribed.
The Secretary shall by regulation or
otherwise provide that all landowners
and settlers and their successors or
assigns (who shall be acceptable to the
Secretary) shall until all sums advanced
are fully paid cultivate the land in
a manner to be approved by him and
shall keep in good order and repair all
buildings, fences, and other improvements
situated thereon, reasonable wear and tear
excepted.

SEC. 7. In case of default on the part of
any landowner to comply with any of the

terms of mortgage or such other similar
instrument as the Secretary may pre-
scribe the Secretary shall have the right
to proceed under the laws of the State
within which the land is located to fore-
close under the mortgage or other similar
instrument.

SEC. 8. In case of default on the part of
the settler to comply with any of the terms
of his contract or with any regulations
promulgated by the Secretary under this
act, continuing after one year's notice,
the Secretary shall have the right at his
discretion to cancel said contract and
thereupon shall be released from all obli-
gation in law or in equity to convey the
property and the settler shall forfeit all
rights thereto and all payments thereto-
fore made shall be deemed to be rental
paid for occupancy. The Secretary shall
thereupon be entitled to the possession of
said property. The failure of the Secre-
tary to exercise any option to cancelfcon-
tract for default shall not be deemed a
waiver of the right to exercise the option
to cancel said contract for any default
thereafter on the settler's part. No for-
feiture so occasioned by default on the
part of the settler shall be deemed in any
way or to any extent to impair any lien or
security on improvements or other prop-
erty which may be obtained as provided
in this act.

SEC. 9. For the purpose of giving effect
to this act there is authorized to be appro-
priated the sum of $500,000 from the
reclamation fund.

SEC. 10. The Secretary is authorized
to perform any and all acts and to make
all needful rules and regulations for effec-
tuating the purposes of this act.

How the East Profits from Western Reclamation

AN article in a recent issue of the
Yakima Morning Herald states that
eastern firms took about $30,000,000 from
the Yakima Valley, Wash., last year in
return for goods and merchandise of all
descriptions purchased by the residents
of Yakima, Benton, and Kittitas Coun-
ties, according to an estimate prepared
by the Yakima Chamber of Commerce.

The estimate was reached after con-
siderable research and was based upon
several reliable sources of information.
While the chamber officials conceded that
corrections may be in order on some of the
items, they felt that the compilations
were not far off the mark on most of them.

AUTO VALUES HIGH

No attempt was made to obtain the
figures on the number of automobiles
shipped from the East into Benton and
Kittitas Counties, but records showed
there were 1,929 motor cars, valued at
$2,500,000, shipped into Yakima County
last year.

Tires and accessories shipped in were
worth $2,000,000, and farm machinery,

farm tractors, plows, and other agricul-
tural implements produced by eastern
manufacturers and sold in the three coun-
ties were valued conservatively at
$1,000,000.

PITTSBURGH SHIPS HARDWARE

Hardware, building, and plumbing sup-
plies furnished the valley by the Middle
West and East were appraised at
$2,050,000, of which there were 250 cars
of hardware from Pittsburgh and the
Eastern States worth $1,500,000; 10 cars
of hardwood from Arkansas and Michi-
gan, $25,000; 4 cars of celotex, $10,000;
$15,000 worth of metal lath from Pitts-
burgh; and other materials for building
and plumbing that cost $500,000.

Breakfast foods, mixed groceries, and
canned goods from the East were worth
$4,000,000. Ready-to-wear clothing,
shoes, and other articles of apparel
shipped in were valued at $4,500,000, and
cotton and woolen goods, which included
mattresses, made in the East, were bought
with $2,200,000 of valley money.

NEW BEOLAMATION BKA

March, 1928

FARMERS RECEIVE CORN

Although western factories rapidly are
taking away the furniture business from
Middle West and eastern firms, the latter
disposed of $1,700,000 worth of furniture
and household supplies in the valley last
year.

Valley fanners may be interested
particularly in the fact that Iowa,
Nebraska, Kansas, and Illinois supplied
the three counties with 100 carloads of
corn worth $120,000. The chamber heads
and others seeking to promote the growing
of more corn in the valley hope the time
is not far off when the shipments of the
middle-west product will be replaced with
corn raised on the home farms.

RADIO SETS COSTLY

One thousand radio sets valued at
$100,000, five cars of pianos, four cars of
phonographs, and other musical instru-
ments worth another $100,000 were
shipped here from New York, Pennsyl-
vania, and New Jersey. Other articles
and their estimated value were: Drugs
and sundries, $750,000; about 825 car-
loads of fruit packing house and orchard
supplies, $825,000; 15 cars of eastern
lubricating oils, $25,000; millinery, notions
and crockery, $500,000; and miscellaneous
items, $2,000,000.

Insurance premiums paid to eastern
companies totaled approximately $5,000,-
000, but, the chamber pointed out, not
all of that money was lost to the valley,
as much of it was returned in the form of
death and accident claim payments and
fire loss payments.

It is estimated that when the Yakima
Valley is fully developed, with 600,000
acres under irrigation instead of the
350,000 acres now being cultivated,
business with the East will amount to
between $75,000,000 and $100,000,000
annually. Similar statistics concerning
the tremendous flow of trade to the East
as a result of irrigation development
might be compiled for all of the Federal
irrigation projects.

Economic Results on Tule
La^e Lands, Klamath
Project

/~)N March 1, 1927, the Bureau of
^ Reclamation opened to entry 145
public land farm units comprising 8,051
acres in the Tule Lake division of the
Klamath project, Oregon-California. On
December 20, 1927, 143 units, comprising
7,938 acres, had been entered.

The assets of the 143 entrymen at the
time the land was entered were distributed
as follows:

Cash, bonds, or other securities.

Livestock and equipment

Other assets

Total Average

$206,750
390, 170
370, 362

$1,446
2,728
2,590

967,287

6,764

Improvements completed to December
15, 1927, were as follows:

Houses:

Cost less than $500. _
Cost $500 but less

than $1,000...

Cost $1,000 but less

than $1.500

Cost $1,500 but less

than $2,000...

Cost $2,000 or over...

Barns, garages, chicken
houses, etc

Num-
ber

Average
cost

Domestic water systems:

Surface wells

Deep or drilled wells.

Fence (miles)

Acres cleared and leveled

Total cost of all
improvements...

Number of farm units
with improvements

Average value of im-
provements per farm
unit...

1,737

115

$294

581

1,033

1,533
2,586

163

27
242

Total
cost

$14,680

20,325

9,300

9,200
18,100

71,605

11,103

1,105
5,576

6,681

197 !
15

13, 561
25, 579

128,529

1,118

During 1927 the cultivated area
amounted to 3,299 acres, of which 1,480
acres were cropped, producing crops
valued at $21,326. Of the balance, 1,261
acres were in young alfalfa and 558 acres
in summer fallow to kill sod.

Nearly 75 per cent of the entrymen
came from Oregon, the previous location
of 106 entrymen being given as from that
State. California furnished 25; Wash-
ington, Missouri, and Louisiana 2 each;
and Arizona, Idaho, and Illinois 1 each.
The previous location of 3 entrymen was
not stated.

Dairying Results on the
North Platte Project,
Nebraska- Wyoming

rpHE report of the North Platte Valley
-I Dairy Development Association for
the six-month period July 1 to December
31, 1927, shows that loans totaling $44,575
have been made to farmers on the project
by the association.

Nineteen carloads of choice dairy cows
have been placed on 88 farms. Of the 19
cars, 3 were purebreds and the balance
high-bred stock, principally Holsteins.
The 538 head contained in the shipments
were placed on the farms at an average
cost to the buyers of $110.76 per head.

One hundred additional head of choice
stock have been shipped in recently from
Wisconsin, and the association is planning
to ship in 1,000 head of high-bred stock
during 1928 for distribution throughout
the valley. The North Platte Valley
Dairy Development Association is stated
to be the second highest buyer of stock
in the dairying section of Wisconsin.

The association is doing extensive work
in stimulating the dairy industry through-
out the valley and in providing a steady
year-round source of income for the farm-
ers of the district, according to a recent
issue of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald.

From the same source comes the state-
ment that the North Platte Valley Cow
Testing Association produced more butter-
fat per cow than any other testing asso-
ciation in the State, due to the fact that
this territory has better dairy feeds and a
better class of dairy cows, practically all
of which were brought in originally from
Wisconsin.

An enviable record was made by Mr.
Moore, his 27 cows producing an average
of 453 pounds of butterfat. His 6 high
cows produced an average of 537 pounds
of butterfat. Eight members of the asso-
ciation had an average of more than 300
pounds of fat.

The winning of first place is a very im-
portant agricultural achievement of which
the members and the entire community
are proud.

Uncompahgre Project

Lamb- Feeding Test

The lamb-feeding test which is being
carried on by the extension service of the
Colorado Agricultural College on the
L. W. Sweitzer ranch on Garnet Mesa,
Uncompahgre project, is progressing satis-
factorily.

It was planned originally that a 110-
day period would be required to have the
lambs in condition for marketing, but
after the completion of a 60-day period on
January 10 it was believed that the full
time would not be required because of
the good gains already made.

The lambs are divided into 10 lots; one
lot being fed corn and hay; another barley
and hay; another hauled beet tops and
hay; another pastured tops and hay;
another pastured tops and hay with corn
to finish; another hauled tops, corn, and
hay; another pastured tops, corn, and
hay; another pastured mangles, pastured
corn, and hay; another wet pulp, corn, and
hay; and another wet beet pulp, molasses,
corn, and hay. The average weights of
the various lots per lamb on January 10
ranged from 73.8 pounds to 82.2 pounds.

March, 1928

NEW BECLAMATION ERA

Construction Collections

Show Great Improvement

THAT the financial adjustments pro-
vided for by the acts of December 5,
1924, and May 25, 1926, generally known
as the "fact finders' act" and the "omni-
bus adjustment act," respectively, have
greatly accelerated the rate at which the
reclamation fund is revolving is shown by
the accompanying graphic comparison of
collections of construction water-right
charges during the calendar years 1925,
1926, and 1927. The collections during
1927 exceeded the collections during 1926
by more than $1,000,000 and exceeded
the collections during 1925 by approxi-
mately $700,000. The reduced annual
construction charge installments are being
met promptly by the water users.

During the first decade of operations
under the reclamation act of June 17,
1902, the funds necessary to finance this
work were obtained mainly from the pro-
ceeds of the sales of public lands in the
Western States. During the period of
1914 to 1918 these receipts were aug-
mented by a loan of $20,000,000 from the
general treasury. In 1921 additional
funds were made available from royalties
and rentals from oil and potassium leases
of public lands. However, during the
past few years accretions to the fund
from these sources have diminished ma-
terially. The following table is a state-
ment of the amount that has been avail-
able for reclamation during the period
1902 to 1927, inclusive:

Accretions to fund:

Receipts from sale of public lands and

town lots $109,281,700

Receipts from oil-leasing royalties and

rentals 32,105,100

Receipts from potassium royalties and

rentals - 36,900

Receipts from Federal power licenses. 31, 600

Total accretions. 141,455,200

Repayment to fund, collections for con-
struction, operation and mainntenance,
and incidental operations 74,709,600

216, 164, 800
Loan from general treasury (less amount

repaid) 12,750,000

Special appropriations- 5,169,500

Total available...'. 234,084,300

The reclamation construction program
now in progress will require $56,000,000.
As the accretions to the fund from the
sale of public lands and from oil royalties
and rentals are diminishing year by year,
the progress of the present construction
program and the continuation of the pres-
ent national policy of reclamation depend
largely upon the prompt repayment by
project water users of the annual con-
struction charge installments.

Graphic Con
$3,000,000

2,500,000
2,000.000
/, 500,000
/, 000,000
500,000

Z3Z39

i pan son of Construction CoJ lections by Calender Year

/ '

/ .

i i

. -^

>
^

/926

\ 9 ^

^v *

^'"

_..-
** ^

/9Z5

^' ^

^ ^

. "

- i

^^^"^

*
* ^^

^^^S

^-*

^* *"*

/--

Jan.

Feb.

Ma/r

April

May

June

July

/Jug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

NEW RECLAMATION EBA

March,

Reclamation Project Women and Their Interests

By Mae A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner and Associate Editor, New Reclamation Era

"I71ARM journals, magazines, and papers
* catering to subscribers on farms are
continually seeking to help solve the
problems of the farm and the home on
the farm. By mixing with farm folks
you find out how resourceful they are.
Experience teaches both the farmer and
his wife many short cuts and improve-

Fio. 2

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

ments. If prosperity favors them im-
provements take the form of standardized
equipment, the first cost of which is often
high, but which pay for themselves while
being used in the saving of energy, often
effecting larger output and increase in
quality.

But there are "lean" years when the
farmer is getting established or, after get-
ting his start he has reverses that set him
back, and it is only by the strictest
economy and thrift that the farmer and
his family weather the storm, that re-
sourcefulness is given a full opportunity
to be demonstrated. Spurred on by the
continued desire for the comforts and
better things of this life, some very in-
teresting and useful conveniences are
contrived.

Of course, the kitchen comes in for at-
tention by the housewife because the
major portion of her time is spent there.
Efforts are usually directed to saving steps
and the following is an example.

Having a closet containing a hinged
shelf which can be let down to do duty as
a counter or table is a good arrangement.
(Fig. 1.) Where there is not room for a
kitchen cabinet the closet can be made to
serve instead. With the shelf up as in
Figure 2, the door can be shut and the
contents of the closet protected from the
dust and concealed effectively.

The farmer's wife who planned this
ingenious use of a closet entered her
kitchen in a county better-kitchen con-
test, under the terms of which each con-
testant was to make the most improve-
ment possible for the least outlay.

The closet was fitted up with a hinged
drop shelf which rested when down on an
extension leg. The equipment and mate-
rials for baking were grouped together in
front of the shelf, and a high stool [was
placed near by, ready for use. Groceries
were kept on the shelves above, in cartons,
glass jars, or other neat, tight, containers.
Whatever could be hung up was placed
on nails, on the door or the edges of the
shelves. Cook books were kept in a rack
on the door.

Another homemade cabinet shown in
Figure 3 has a shelf which, like that in
Figure 1 and Figure 2, is really a biscuit
board. Chains hold it in place, and the
tilting bins for flour and meal are also

Fio. 3

held by chains. The bins go back and
the shelf drops down, Figure 4, when not
in use, covering the pot closet below.
The same idea could be followed inside a
closet. Precautions should be taken in
any case to make the bins mouse and in-
sect proof by fitting them with tight
covers.

Fio. 4

March, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION EKA

Cleaning Flat Silver

Flat silver with plain handles is the
easiest to keep clean. If you have some
that is hard to clean by rubbing try the
electrolytic method for removing tarnish.
Various commercial devices for this can
be bought for use at home, or it can be
done in the following way:

Fill an enameled or agateware kettle
partly full of water in which has been dis-
solved 1 teaspoonful of either washing
soda or baking soda and 1 teaspoonful
salt to each quart of water. Heat this
solution to the boiling point, put in strips
of aluminum or bright zinc, add the
tarnished silver, and boil it. The silver
must be covered completely by the water
and each piece must be in contact with
the aluminum or zinc, either directly or
through other silver.

When the tarnish has disappeared, the
silver should be removed from the kettle,
washed, and dried with a clean, soft cloth.

This method is not recommended for
silver with a dull or satin finish.

Belle Fourche Woman

Prize Winner

Last spring or early summer the Great
Western Sugar Co., of Denver, Colo., put
on a contest, the following States to
participate, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma,
Iowa, and Minnesota.

The contest called for three samples of
one-half-pint glasses, one each of cherry
and currant jell and one of strawberry
preserves. The samples were to be
accompanied by an essay of 300 words
describing the method of making them.

The contest was open to clubs and
societies. No individual could be entered,
but the samples and the essay were to
be one woman's work who belonged to
the club or society. She was to receive a
free trip to Denver and be entertained for
five days by the Great Western Sugar Co.
The prize money went to the club or
society to which this woman belonged.

The first prize in each State was $100
and on down to $20, $10, and $5, and the
prize for the grand champion over the
eight States was $500. The woman who
won grand champion prize of $500 in this
contest is Mrs. E. H. Dinsmore, of Kansas
City.

Mrs. O. J. Soma, who represented the
Horse Creek Missionary Society, of
Newell, S. Dak., located on the Belle
Fourche irrigation project, won first
prize for South Dakota. Most of the
members of this society have been on the
project from its beginning and have
weathered its storms.

Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of Reclamation, photographed at his desk in the Interior Building on his

seventieth birthday

For the past two years this society has
won first prize on special No. 1 at the
Butte County Fair. Mrs. O. J. Soma is
its president and earned the trip to Den-
ver. She says of the trip:

"We arrived on Monday and gathered
at the Brown Palace Hotel where we were
interviewed by reporters and picture men.
There were also three representatives
from the sugar company who were with
us all the time. We had three big cars at
our disposal and were taken over Denver
and shown all points of interest, including
the beautiful parks and gardens and were
taken to theater parties and luncheons.
The last two days we spent on a trip of
about 260 miles through the Great Rocky
Mountain National Park (which is a
wonder) by the way of Estes Park and
Grand Lake. To make a long story short,
I had a wonderful trip and was royally
treated in every wav."

Woman 's Importance

on the Farm

"There is more than the man that we
place on the land. The man is the brawn
and sinew to work the land, but his wife is
the backbone of the situation. Now, a
happy, contented wife is your biggest ad-
vertisement, and she will radiate more
happiness and sunshine in your district
than any other thing you can put into it,
but a discontented woman can do the
reverse."

This is a quotation from the address
made by Mr. W. H. Russell, colonization
agent of the Lethbridge northern irriga-
tion district, Alberta, Canada, before the
conference on Federal reclamation which
was held in the auditorium of the Interior
Building February 14 and 15. It is a
reiteration of what has been said by people
in similar positions in the United States.
It is good to hear it repeated and I feel
sure if representatives from the different
farming districts in different countries
could be brought together in one meeting
and asked if the woman plays an impor-
tant part on the farm, the answer would
be unanimously in the affirmative.

Owyhee Wool Clip

Brings Good Price

Frank T. Morgan, secretary of the
Owyhee irrigation district, Owyhee proj-
ect, Oregon-Idaho, writes that for a num-
ber of years the Malheur County Bank,
of Nyssa, Oreg., has pooled its customers'
wool and sold it for them. Two or three
cents a pound above the market price
has always been obtained. This season's
clip was contracted for recently at 35
cents a pound to J. Koshland & Co., of
Boston, Mass. The clip is estimated at
750,000 pounds, which will bring the grow-
ers $262,500. Nearly all of the sheep
were wintered in the vicinity of Nyssa.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

March, 1928

Standard High-Pressure Gates

By P. A. Kinzie, Engineer, Denver Office, Bureau of Reclamation

THE enormous forces which must be
controlled :uul held within bounds
when liberating irrigation water at heads
of 75 feet or more are not generally
realized even by many who utilize the
appliances which accomplish that result.

At Tieton Dam on the Yakima project,
Washington,, two high-pressure gates 5
feet wide by 6 feet high are installed
beneath the dam, where they work under
a maximum pressure of 200 feet of water.
When operating under this head, a
volume of water passes through their
portals each second sufficient to fill a
box more than one-half mile in length
by 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep.

Were this water compelled to flow
through a box of this size, its velocity of
passage would be such that the distance
traveled in one second of time would be
approximately that of a bullet fired from
a high-power sporting rifle.

This water carries an enormous amount
of energy, which, if converted into a
useful and visible form, would be equal
to 15,600 two-horse teams, and were
these teams hitched one behind the next
in tandem formation, there would be a
double line of horses extending down the
road more than 30 miles!

From this it is evident that the tasks
required of such gates as these are no
light ones, and that their rugged construc-
tion shown in the illustration is not
inappropriate.

USUAL PLAN OF GATES

From the illustration it will be seen
that a standard high-pressure gate nor-
mally consists of two rectangular castings
forming the water passage for a distance
upstream and downstream from the leaf
approximately the same as the horizontal
width of the passage, the two mating
joint faces of these castings being recessed
on their vertical sides to carry the bronze
seats upon which the seat strips mounted
upon the downstream face of the leaf
bear and slide as the leaf is moved up
and down, the leaf with its stem extend-
ing vertically through the envelope or
bonnet, the two flanged castings forming
the envelope extending upwards from
the gate frames, and carrying the cover,
which in turn extends vertically upwards
and carries the hydraulic cylinder.

This general arrangement of the main
parts insures easy assembly and main-
tenance, and provides a completely self-
contained structure capable of with-
standing the reactions produced by the
hydraulic cylinder, which in the larger

si/.cs amount to several hundred thou-
sand pounds.

In the earlier installations these heavy
reactions were transmitted to the tunnel
roof above by strut members attached to
the cylinder heads, and into the founda-
tions by heavy embedded anchorage
members, but in many places where it
was desired to use these gates this method
was found impracticable, and the present
arrangement was adopted.

A gradual process of evolution com-
mencing with the first installations has
occurred in the design, construction, in-
stallation, and operation of these gates;
and as experience and use have developed
desirable improvements or revealed in-
herent weaknesses, these improvements
have been included and the weak or un-
desirable features removed from those
which came after. The amount of mate-
rial required for their fabrication has been
diminished somewhat, and the distribu-
tion of forces within them has been
bettered by rearranging the shape and
position of the parts in such manner as
to more advantageously resist and dis-
seminate the stresses into those parts of
the structure which formerly were giving
smaller portions of their inherent strength
to this purpose. The task of the manu-
facturer in producing them in the foundry
and the shop has been lightened step by
step by changes and additions which,
although not radical or revolutionary in
their character, or of great moment singly,
have in their cumulative effect enabled the
Government to purchase, transport, and
make final installation in a shorter time
and at a lesser cost than otherwise would
have been possible.

Experience derived from any diversified
installations over a considerable period of
time clearly shows that these gates can not
safely be used for the regulation of flow
through protracted periods of time when
the head on the gates is greater than 75
feet. Expressing this in another way,
these gates can be built to successfully
close and open against the highest heads
yet encountered by the Bureau of Recla-
mation, but they will not function satis-
factorily for any considerable length of
time when operated at partial opening as is
frequently required for regulation pur-
poses, as in irrigation release, at heads
greater than 75 feet. The reason for
this is that when the leaf is in the partially
open position, and water is passing be-
neath it under the high velocities produced
by heads greater than 75 feet, the vibra-
tion of the leaf produced by the high

velocity of the water becomes very acute,
and this condition is accentuated by the
vacuum produced when discharging into
a conduit whose outer end is water sealed,
and having no air inlet immediately below
the gate leaf.

When a condition of this sort arises
one practicable solution is to attach a
balanced needle valve below the gate,
admit air downstream from the gate leaf,
open the gate wide, and use the needle
valve below it for regulating purposes.

In the first installations the importance
of avoiding all possible abrupt changes in
the surfaces of the water passages, such
as recesses, bolt heads, etc., and of the
necessity of the admission of air below the
gate leaf was as yet unknown, and these
earlier installations had been in service
only a comparatively short period when
it was discovered that the metal down-
stream from each bolt, recess, or other
break in continuity of the water passage
surfaces was being eaten away at an
alarming rate.

VIBRATION AND CAPITATION

Of the first gates of this general nature
put into operation under high heads were
those at Roosevelt Darn, Salt River proj-
ect, Arizona, in 1908, which were in-
tended for service under a maximum head
of 220 feet. These two sets of three
gates each were 5 by 10 feet in size, and
their hoist cylinders were located in wells
extending from the top of the dam to a
point 33 feet above the sluiceway floor.
The gates were put into operation under
heads much less than their designed capac-
ity, and upon later inspection their
condition and that of the tunnel below
them revealed that serious damage had
occurred. The concrete and metal linings
had been loosened, damaged, or washed
out, the bolts and fastenings of the gates
themselves had become loosened and in
some cases were missing, the bronze seats
damaged by the blows of loosened parts,
and the bronze roller trains used behind
the gate leaves either broken or carried
entirely away. The concrete in the floor,
roof, and walls was badly eroded by the
water jets, and there were holes torn in
the tunnel floor from 4 to 6 feet deep.
Repairs were made, but the continued
release of water through these gates
damaged them still further until finally
they could no longer be safely used and
they were abandoned, the tunnel was
plugged with concrete, and two 38-inch
needle valves, protected by bronze slide
gates were installed.

March, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

At Pathfinder Dam, North Platte
project, Wyoming, in 1909, four 44 by
77 inch high-pressure gates were instal-
led in the north tunnel, which is cut
through solid granite. When the dis-
charge from these gates was sufficient to
nearly fill the tunnel below them, it was
noticed that reverberating and hammering
sounds issued from its outlet end, and
that the intensity of these noises increased
as the flow from the gates increased.
These hammering, pounding reverbera-
tions fluctuated, resembling an approach-
ing thunderstorm, varying from low and
indistinct rumblings during the incipient
stages to sharp peals and explosions
during the periods of maximum discharge,
and attaining such violence as to cause
the dam and canyon walls to tremble.
A draftsman's triangle hanging on a nail
on the wall of the operator's house some
distance back from the canyon was ob-
served to dance and quiver in time to
the violent detonations. Upon the water
being shut off and an inspection of the
gates and the tunnel below being made, a
condition somewhat similar to that found
at the gates of Roosevelt Dam was
disclosed.

The solid granite walls, floor, and roof
of the tunnel had large masses torn out,
portions of the concrete below the gates
were destroyed or damaged, the three-
fourths-inch steel plate linings were torn
as if made of paper; anchor bolts were
sheared off in some cases and the nuts
stripped from the bolts in others. The
gates themselves, having been operated
wide open, had suffered little injury.

The damage was repaired, an inclined
air shaft cut through into the tunnel roof
immediately below the gates, and when
water was again turned through them,
it was found that the airway had removed
the damaging influences so markedly !
apparent formerly.

From the experience derived from
these first installations, it was found
essential to have the walls of the water
passages free of cavities and projections
and to admit air in large quantities into
the water passage immediately behind
the gate leaf. When this was done, the
later installations were found to be
practically free of these destructive
vibrations and the erosive effects, now
known as "cavitation," even when
working under greater heads and higher
velocities than those encountered in the
earlier installations.

WIDE RANGE OF USE

The diversity of uses to which gates
of this type may be applied is of wide
range. Storage reservoirs having heads
on the outlet conduits of 70 feet or under
utilize one or more of this type for outlet

and control regulation purposes. An
excellent example of this condition is
found at the newly completed American
Falls Dam on the Minidoka project,
Idaho, where a battery of twenty 5 by 5
feet high-pressure gates are used to release
and regulate the irrigation and power
water through the dam under a maximum
head of 70 feet. These gates are em-
bedded within the concrete of the dam,
and their bonnet covers and hoist cylinders
rise above the floor of the operating
gallery. Two common header pipe lines
on the gallery wall run the length of the
gate battery, with a pipe connecting
the top of each hoist cylinder to the top
header, and another pipe connecting
from the bottom of each hoist cylinder
to the bottom header. A stop valve is
provided in each of these pipes connecting
the cylinders to the headers, and an
electric push-button control station on the

wall immediately behind each hoist cylin-
der. Two triplex motor-driven pumps
with automatic safety pressure release
are placed midway of the length of the
gallery, and by a simple arrangement of
valves the operator can put pump pressure
into either the top header for closing the
gates or the lower header for opening
them, the header line opposite that
carrying pump pressure being used in
either case as the return line. Having
set the valves at the pumps for the
closing or opening of the gates, as the
case may be, the operator can then go
along the battery of gates and by opening
the stop valves at each hoist cylinder
can put any or all of the gate battery
into action as he wills, and by the push-
button control station provided at each
gate he can also start and stop the pumps.
This type of gate is frequently used
under high heads in the pipe line between

High pressure gates for Gibson Dam, Sun Klver project, Mont., undergoing shop test*

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

March, 1028

the reservoir and a balanced needle valve
as an emergency gate. It may, by means
of a transition casting, be mounted
directly on the upstream end of the needle
valve, as in the case of the two 58-inch
balanced needle valve installations in the
north tunnel at Pathfinder Dam, North
Platte project, the gates being designed
for such direct connection to the needle
valves, or they may be installed several
hundred feet upstream in a chamber under
the dam, at the upper ends of the pipe
lines or penstocks leading to the balanced
needle valves, as was done at Tieton dam,
Yakima project, and at McKay dam,
Umatilla project. In these two cases last
mentioned, the gates are embedded in the
concrete tunnel plugs with the joints
between the bonnets and the bonnet
covers nearly flush with the floor of the
operating chamber, this arrangement
permitting disassembling of the hoist cyl-
inders and covers, the withdrawal of the
stem and leaf and the renewal of the seats,
etc., without disturbing the remaining
main castings, embedded. By closing
these gates, any painting, maintenance,
or inspection work can be performed upon
the penstocks or the needle valves below.
This type of gate makes an excellent
closure for sluiceways under the higher
heads. The bottom of the power intake
tunnel elbow at Guernsey Dam, North
Platte project, Wyoming, is equipped with
three 5 by 5 foot gates which permit
sluicing silt through into the diversion
tunnel. These gates are also intended
for use in releasing irrigation water
whenever the reservoir water surface
falls below the floor of the north spillway.
Two of these gates have automatic hy-
draulic gate hangers which will carry the
two outside gates in the wide open posi-
tion, and the center gate is equipped
with a mechanical hanger which will
carry the leaf in either wide open position
or any intermediate position required
for the close regulation of the outflow.
This hanger is provided with electro-
magnetic interlocks between it and the
hydraulic control valves, which operate
its gate, so that improper sequence of
operation of the valves and of the hanger
is prevented.

OPERATION OF EMERGENCY GATES

When gates of this type are used under
conditions where they are known as
emergency gates, the ability to operate
them under the most adverse conditions
is of supreme importance, as their failure
to function under these conditions might
mean the loss of a dam representing sev-
eral millions of dollars, together with the
possible loss of life and the untold damage
to the lands, highways, bridges, and set-
tlements below. In such cases the gates

are usually provided with a remote con-
trol system which may be located on top
of the dam with a wholly independent
pressure pump from that used when
operating under direct control like the
direct and remote control systems pro-
vided for the two 5 by 6 foot gates at
Tieton Dam; or they may be installed
with a remote control system with the
pressure pump and the control valve
board located in the outlet works house
with the balanced needle valves similar
to that at McKay Dam, where the hy-
draulic piping connecting the emergency
gates in the tunnel chamber beneath the
dam with the outlet works house at the
downstream toe of the dam is embedded

in the concrete lining of the tunnel so
that a rupture in one or both of the pen-
stock lines with the attendant rush of
water through the tunnel can not carry
this piping away. The two gates in this
case are provided with automatic gate
hangers each of which has an automatic
electric signalling system which indicates
upon the signal board immediately above
the control valves in the needle valve
house the position of each gate and the
sequence of action of each hanger.

NOTE. The Bureau of Reclamation standard de-
signs for 4 by 4 foot and 5 by 5 foot high-pressure gates
are available in published form, consisting of sets of
eight lithograph prints, 8 by 10M inches. These prints
may be obtained from the chief engineer's office at Den-
ver at a price of $2 per set.

International Water Commission, United States
and Mexico, Meets

AS copy goes to the printer for this
issue of the ERA, the American and
Mexican sections of the above-mentioned
commission are planning their first joint
meeting at El Paso, Tex. The American
section is made up of Dr. Elwood Mead,
chairman; Gen. Lansing H. Beach, United
States Army, retired; W. E. Anderson, of
San Benito, Tex.; and M. A. Schnurr, sec-
retary. The Mexican section is composed
of Gustavo P. Serrano, chairman; Fed-
erico Ramos; and Javier Sanchez Me-
jorada.

The commission was set up by act of
Congress of May 13, 1924, and had funds
to its credit for operating up until July
1, 1927. At that time the funds lapsed,
and owing to the failure of the deficiency
bill pending in the Sixty-ninth Congress,
the commission found itself without funds
on July 1, 1927.

Until that time members of the Mexi-
can section had not been designated by
the Mexican Government. Shortly there-
after, however, the American section was
notified that Mexico was ready for a meet-
ing. This meeting had to be postponed
until Congress met in December and pro-
vided the necessary funds, which it did
by a deficiency act which passed Decem-
ber 22, 1927. With funds available, com-
munication with the Mexican section was
immediately held and the earliest con-
venient date decided as February 27.

The commission plans to meet a short
time at El Paso, and then visit the terri-
tory involved in its studies.

The findings of the commission will be
shaped into recommendation to Congress,
to form the basis of a treaty between the
Republic of Mexico and the United
States for the equitable distribution of

our three international streams on the
south, the Rio Grande, Colorado, and Tia
Juana.

Illustrated Booklets

Meet Educational Needs

The Washington office has on hand
several thousand copies of the illustrated
booklet "Federal Irrigation Projects"
which it has found of considerable value in
supplying information concerning the
projects operated by the bureau. This
booklet contains a short introduction
telling of the need for reclamation, of
the passage on June 17, 1902, of the recla-
mation act, and of the accomplishments
under the act. This is followed by brief
descriptions and illustrations of a few of
our important storage and diversion
dams, then by short paragraphs outlining
the methods of financing the construction
of the projects and the repayment of the
costs by the settlers after they have
acquired their farm units, and then a
brief description of each project with
appropriate illustrations.

Schools, clubs, and other organiza-
tions are making daily requests for sup-
plies of this booklet in lots of 25, 50, or
more for educational purposes. If any
project organization cares to obtain
copies of this publication without charge,
a letter addressed to the Commissioner,
Bureau of Reclamation, Washington,
D. C., will receive prompt attention.

Eggs deteriorate rather rapidly if held
longer than five days, and none should
be saved for incubation more than 10
days.

Marcn, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

Recent Legislation by Congress

Special provisions of the first deficiency ad, fiscal year 1928, approved December

22, 1927

INDIAN LANDS, NEWLANDS PROJECT

Paiute allotted lands, Truckee-Carson
project, Nevada (reimbursable) : To carry
out the provisions of the act entitled "An
act to authorize the cancellation and re-
mittance of construction assessments
against allotted Paiute Indian lands irri-
gated under the Newlands reclamation
project in the State of Nevada and to
reimburse the Truckee-Carson irrigation
district for certain expenditures for the
operation and maintenance of drains for
said lands," approved June 26, 1926,
fiscal years 1924 and 1925, $611.55.

REFUNDS ON CLASS 6 LANDS

Refund of construction charges: For
refunds of construction charges heretofore
paid on permanently unproductive lands
excluded from the Federal reclamation
projects specified in the act approved
May 25, 1926, in accordance with section
42 of such act, fiscal years 1928 and 1929,
$100,000, to be paid out of the reclama-
tion fund.

FLOOD LOSS, RIO GRANDE PROJECT

For personal services and traveling
and other expenses necessary to enable
the Secretary of the Interior to determine
the property loss by flood sustained by
certain property owners residing at or in
the vicinity of Hatch and Santa Teresa,
New Mexico, in accordance with the pro-

visions of the act of February 25, 1927
(Forty-fourth Statutes at Large, page
1792, Private, Numbered 396, Sixty-
ninth Congress), $5,000, or so much
thereof as may be necessary, to be ex-
pended from the reclamation fund.

INTERNATIONAL WATER COMMISSION
International water commission, United
States and Mexico: The unexpended bal-
ance of the appropriation of $20,000 made
by the second deficiency act, fiscal year
1924, and continued available until June
30,1927, for the Commission on Equitable

Use of Waters of the Rio Grande, shall
remain available until June 30, 1928, for
thejexpenses, including the purchase, at
not to exceed $1,500, and maintenance of
a passenger-carrying motor-propelled ve-
hicle, of the commission authorized by
the resolution approved March 3, 1927,
entitled "Joint resolution amending the
act ofj May 13, 1924, entitled 'An act pro-
viding a study regarding the equitable
use of the waters of the Rio Grande,' and
so forth."

Any moneys received from the Repub-
lic of Mexico for the purpose of securing
information on which to base a treaty be-
tween the United States and Mexico
relative to the use of the waters of the
'Rio Grande, Lower Colorado, and Tia
Juana Rivers as authorized by the act ol
March 3, 1927, shall be covered into the
Treasury.

Contracts Calling for Performance "To the
Satisfaction 9 of a Government Officer

IN Steacy-Schmidt Manufacturing Co.
v. the United States, decided by the
Court of Claims January 23, 1928, the
court passed upon a case where the
Department of the Interior had granted
extensions of time on account of certain
delays in delivering materials in connec-
tion with the King Hill and Riverton
projects, and where on the theory that
such extensions were vaJidly granted,
payment was made to the contractor
without deductions of liquidated dam-

ages, as provided for in the contracts, for
delays by reason of unforeseen causes
beyond the control of the contractor.
The Comptroller General, in passing
upon the settlements, held that the ex-
tensions of time were improperly granted,
and made deductions for liquidated dam-
ages against other credits of the company.
The company took the case to the Court
of Claims, and the court stated:

In accordance with the express pro-
vision of each contract the full amount of
the contract price was payable "when all
the material shall have been received at
its destination and the terms of the con-
tract shall have been fully complied with
to the satisfaction of the engineer, and a
release of all claims against the United
States under or by virtue of the contract
shall have been executed by the con-
tractor and filed with the engineer."
The terms of the contract were complied
with "to the satisfaction of the engineer,"
a release of all claims against the United
States was executed by the contractor,
and the full amount of the contract price
was paid. In the absence of fraud or mis-
take, or of lack of authority on the part of
the engineer or other governmental agents
concerned in the transaction, both the
Government and the plaintiff were bound
by the final settlement. Plaintiff is en-
titled to recover the amount sued for, and
it is so ordered.

JBaby beeves on the Belle Fourche project, 8. Dak

TWELVE cars of Bliss Triumph cer-
tified seed potatoes were moved
recently from the Milk River project to
southern markets at $1.50 a bushel.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA.

March, 1923

Reclamation Organization Activities and Project Visitors

DR. ELWOOD MEAD, Commissioner
of Reclamation, and Miss Mae A.
Schnurr, secretary to the commissioner,
planned to leave Washington, D. C., on
February 21 to attend the first joint
meeting of the Mexican and American
sections of the International Water Com-
mission at El Paso, Tex., on the 27th.
Doctor Mead is chairman of the American
section and Miss Schnurr is secretary.

L. N. McClellan, electrical engineer,
Denver office, spent several days in the
Washington office in connection with the
proposed power development at American
Falls and the interpretation of the con-
tract with the Idaho Power Co.

Benjamin C. Hillard, commissioner of
municipal waterworks, Denver, Colo.,
and W. H. Nalder, engineer from the
Denver office, were recent visitors at
Stony Gorge Dam, Orland project.

H. W. Bashore, construction engineer,
Vale project, visited the Boise project
office during the month.

Mac T. Hardwick, recorder of surveys,
Minidoka gravity extension unit, has re-
signed to return to college.

H. F. McPhail, engineer, Denver office,
was on the Shoshone project recently to
make an inspection of the power system
and of the distribution system of the
Oil Fields Power Co.

B. E. Stoutemyer, district counsel, was
a recent visitor on the Boise, Minidoka,
and Vale projects.

John A. Whiting, State engineer of
Wyoming, was on the Riverton project
during the latter part of the month.

Collections by Bur ley

Irrigation District

The Burley irrigation district, Minidoka
project, Idaho, recently closed a very
successful collection campaign, according
to an item in the Burley Bulletin. State-
ments covering the 1927 construction
charge were mailed November 1, 1927.
Collections began immediately and con-
tinued at a steadily increasing rate until
December 19, the last day of the collection
period, when more than $10,000 was
received. Total collections during No-
vember and December were $70,646.96.

The 1927 construction charge on con-
senting lands totaled $110,955.45, of
which one-half, or $55,477.73, became
delinquent if not paid by December 19.
Collections of this charge totaled $51,-
617.97. The 1927 construction charge on
nonconsenting lands totaled $16,511.13,
all of which was due and payable on
December 1, of which $14,692.16 had
been collected by the end of thejyear. In
addition, $3,419.61 was paid on delin-
quent 1926 construction charges and
$489.74 on advance 1928 operation and
maintenance charges.

These collections enabled the district
to meet in full the charges due the Govern-
ment on December 1 and 31, 1927.

Klttitaa main canal, Yakima project, showing completed lining near Easton, Wash.

C. D. Greenfield and Leonard Ball,
agricultural development agents of the
Great Northern Railway, spent several
days recently on the Milk River project.

R. J. Coffey, district counsel, spent
three days recently on the Orland project
in connection with legal matters relative
to Stony Gorge Reservoir rights of way.

W. L. Rowe is acting superintendent
on the Yakima project while Superin-
tendent Preston is absent in Washington
in connection with the study of economic
conditions on Indian projects.

J. R. lakisch, associate engineer, has
been engaged recently on a report of
drainage conditions in the Klamath
irrigation district. He has worked in
close cooperation with the district direc-
tors and made a number of field inspec-
tions in company with directors or inter-
ested water users.

I. H. Sherwood, electrical engineer,
Oregon Public Service Commission, was
a recent visitor on the Klamath project.

J. W. Lawlor, president of the General
Construction Co., contractors on the
construction of the railroad to the Owyhee
Dam site, visited the work during the
latter part of the month.

Recent visitors on the Belle Fourche
project were S. S. Long, district superin-
tendent of the Chicago & North Western
Railway, and State Game Warden John-
son, who called at the project office
relative to the seining of carp in Orman
Reservoir.

Recent visitors on the Rio Grande proj-
ect were Barry Dibble, consulting engi-
neer, of Redlands, Calif., and Messrs.
Murphy and Wilcox, representatives of
the General Land Office.

H. G. McDowell, chief of field party,
Kittitas division, Yakima project, has
resigned to accept employment with a
private firm in Cuba.

Leslie Coffin, district manager of the
Puget Sound Power & Light Co., was a
recent visitor on the Kittitas division of
the Yakima project.

C.H. GOVEUNMKNT PRINTING OFFICE: 1028

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION FOR THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

HON. HUBERT WORK, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

E. C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary; John H. Edwards, Assistant Secretary; E. O. Patterson, Solicitor of the Interior Department;

E. K. Burlew, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary

Washington. D. C.

Elwood Mead, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

Miss M. A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner P. W. Dent, Assistant Commissioner George C Kreutzer, Director of Reclamation Economics

W. F. Kubach, Chief Accountant C. A. Bissell, Chief of Engineering Division Hugh A. Brown. Assistant Director of Reclamation Economics

C. N. McCulloch, Chief Clerk
Dtnctr, Colorado. Wilda Building

K. F. Walter, Chief Engineer; S. O. Harper, General Superintendent of Construction; 3. L. Savage, Chief Designing Engineer: E. B. Debler, Hydrographic Engineer
L. N. McClellan, Electrical Engineer; C. M. Day, Mechanical Engineer; Armand Offutt, District Counsel; L. R. Smith, Chief Clerk; Harry Caden, Fiscal Agent

Project

Office Superintendent

Chief clerk

Fiscal agent

District counsel

Name

Office

Belle Fotirche

Newell, S. Dak

F. C. Youngblutt...
R. J. Newell

i
J. P. Siebeneicher...
W L Vernon

Wm. J. Burke

Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Org
El Paso, Tex.
Montrose, Colo.

Berkeley, Calif.
Billings, Mont.
Do.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Mitchell, Nebr
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Portland, Oreg.
El Paso, Tex.
Mitchell, Nebr.

Billings, Mont
Do.

Montrose, Colo.
Portland, Oreg.
Do.
Berkeley, Calif.

Boise'

Boise, Idaho

Carlsbad

Carlsbad, N. Mex

L. E. Foster
J. C. Pare...

W C Berger

W. C. Berger...
C. E Brnrfie

H. J. S. Devries

Grand Vallev

Grand Junction, Colo

W. J. Chiesman

Huntley"

Ballantine, Mont

King Hill'

King Hill, Idaho

Klamath

Klamath Falls, Oreg..
Savage, Mont

II. D Newell

N. G. Wheeler Joseph C. Avery
E. R. Scheppelmaun.. E. R. Scheppelmann..
E. E. Chabot E E Chabot

R. J. Coffey...
E E Roddis

Lower Yellowstone

II. A. Parker

Milk River

Malta, Mont H.H.Johnson

Minidoka

Burley, Idaho E B Darlington

G C Patterson Mic A T T-OI-Q^TI

B. E. Stouteinyer..-
R J Coffey

Newlands'

Fallon, Nev... . A. W. Walker

Erie W. Shepard

Miss E.M.SimmondS-
Virffil F. TTnhholl

North Platte*

Mitchell, Nebr

H. C. Stetson

Virgil E Hubbell

Wm. J. Burke
B. E. Stoutemyer
K.J. Coffey

T) E. Stoutemyer
H J S Devries

Okanogan

Orland

Okanogan, Wash
Orland, Calif
Nyssa, Oreg

Calvin Casteel
R C E Weber

W.D.Funk . j NT. D. Thorp...
C H Lillingston ' C H Lillingston

Owyhee

F. A. Banks

H. N. Bickel

Rio Grande

El Paso, Tei

Riverton, Wyo

L. R. Fiock

V. G. Evans...
R B Smith

L. S. Kennicott

Riverton

H. D. Comstock

R B Smith

Salt River'

Phoenix, Ariz .

Shoshone'.-

Powell, Wyo

L. H. "Mitchell

W F Sha

E E Roddis

Strawberry Valley ...

Provo, Utah

Sun River'

Fairfleld, Mont_.

G. 0. Sanford

H/W. Johnson 1 1. ~W Johnson

E E Roddis

UmatUla''

Hermiston, Oreg .

Uncompahgre...

Montrose, Colo

L. J. Foster ..

G. H. Bolt

F D Helm

Vale.. ...

Vale, Oreg...

H. W. Bashore
P. J. Preston

C. M. Voyen

Yakima

Yakima, Wash

R. K. Cunningham T fl Gawlar

Yuma _

Yuma, Ariz

R. M. Priest

H. R. Pasewalk

E. M. Philebaum

R. J. Cotfey

Large Construction Work

Salt Lake Basin, Echo

Coalville, Utah F. F. Smith '

C. F. Williams

C F Williams

Montrose Colo

Dam.
Kittitas .

Ellensburg, Wash Walker R Young "

E R. Mills

Sun River, Gibson

Augusta, Mont Ralph Lowry "

F. C. Lewis .

F. C. Lewis

E E Roddis

Dam.
Orland, Stony Gorge

Stony Gorge Damsite, H. J. Gault ".-.

C. B. Funk

R. J. Cofley

Berkeley, Calif

Dam.

Elk Creek. Calif.

1 Operation of Arrowrock Division assumed by Nampa-Meridian, Black Canyon,
Boise-Kuna, Wilder, Big Bend, and New York Irrigation Districts on Apr. 1,
1926.

1 Operation of project assumed by Huntley Project Irrigation District on Dec
31, 1927.

3 Operation of project assumed by King Hill Irrigation District Mar. 1, 1926.

1 Operation of South Side Pumping Division assumed by Burley Irrigation
District on Apr. 1, 1926, and of Gravity Division by Minidoka Irrigation District
on Dec. 2, 1916.

1 Operation of project assumed by Truckee-Carson Irrigation District on Dec. 31,
1926.

; Operation of project assumed by Salt River Valley Water Users' Association on
Nov. 1, 1917.

' Operation of Garland Division assumed by Shoshone Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

> Operation of project assumed by Strawberry Valley Water Users' Association
on Dec. 1, 1926

' Operation of Fort Shaw Division assumed by Fort Shaw Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

11 Operation of West Division assumed by West Extension Irrigation District on
July 1, 1926, and East Division by Hermiston Irrigation District informally on
July 1, 1926, and formally, by contract, on Dec. 31, 1926.

11 Construction engineer.

Important Iniestisations in Progress

Project

Office

In charge of

Cooperative agency

Cache la Poudre investigations
Middle Rio Grande

Denver, Colo

Albuquerque, N. Mex.
Llnd, Wash

Poudre Valley Water Conservation Association.
Middle Rio Grande conservancy district.
State of Washington.

State of Utah.
Southern States.

Columbia Basin Project ..

B E Hayden

Truckee River

\ N" "Rllrnh

Heart Mountain investigations

Powell, Wyo I R TTnsitr

Utah investigations

Salt Lake Citv. Utah. .
Yakima, Wash
Boise, Idaho
Washington, D. C

E. 0. Larson
P. J. Preston..
R. J. Newell

Cle Elum storage

Payette storage

Southern investigations

George C. Kreutzer
and C. A. Bissell.

>y-:'

FEDERAL IRRIGATION PROJECT HOMES

RECLAMATION ERA

VOL. 19

APRIL, 1928

NO. 4

THE IRRIGATION SEASON WILL BEGIN SOON ON THE PROJECTS

WHAT IS
RECLAMATION?

~\ TO land is reclaimed until it has
people who will live on it and
worf^ it; until it has railways, high-
ways, drainage, churches, schools,
ban^s, health centers, markets, towns
and cities filled with businesses, places
of amusement and attraction.

Hon. T. WEBBER WILSON

Member of Congress from Mississippi

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

HUBERT WORK
Secretary of the loterior

Issued monthly by the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.

Price, 75 cents a year

ELWOOD MEAD
CommiMioner, Bureau of Il*clmaUoB

Vol. 19

APRIL, 1928

No. 4

Interesting High Lights on the Federal Reclamation Projects

E ASTON DAM has been decided upon
as the name of the dam to be con-
structed on the Yakima River at Easton,
Wash., for the diversion of water for the
irrigation of the Kittitas division of the
Yakima project.

E Public Service Co. of Colorado has
been considering the possibility of
developing the power site at Orchard
Mesa pumping plant, Grand Valley proj-
ect, and utilizing the power which could
thus be made available in the city of
Grand Junction and its surrounding
territory.

/CONTRACT has been awarded to
~* Hardie-Tynes Manufacturing Co., of
Birmingham, Ala., for two 42-inch bal-
anced needle valves for the outlet works at
Stony Gorge Dam, Orland project, at the
contract price of $13,705.

/CONSTRUCTION of Stony Gorge
^ Dam, Orland project, has passed the
stage of greatest uncertainty, the excava-
tion and placing of foundations, and
possible delays and damage by floods. If
the needle valves are delivered on time
the construction should proceed without
hindrance to completion ahead of the
scheduled time.

E Southern Pacific Co. is advertising
the Orland project farms, on which
the bureau holds options, in the Nebraska
Farmer, the Farmer, the Prairie Farmer,
the Missouri Ruralist, the Hoosier Farmer,
and Farm Life. Nearly 400 letters of
inquiry concerning these farm oppor-
tunities have been received by the local
office.

|7"LAMATH FALLS, on the Klamath
" project, Oregon-California, voted
recently in favor of a $300,000 bond issue
for the construction of main outlet sewers
and a disposal plant.

9374228

"DEAN shipments continued to be made
"-* from the bonded warehouse estab-
lished by the cooperative association at
Fruita, Grand Valley project, Colo. The
association pools all produce for the entire
season and the range of prices for the crop
has been from $4.80 to $6.70 per hundred.
An advance of 2J^ cents per pound was
made to the growers, and it is anticipated
that another payment of 1 cent per pound
will be made shortly.

TWO carloads of big mules were pur-
chased recently from farmers on the
Minidoka project and shipped to Love-
land, Colo. They were pronounced the
highest class mules ever shipped from this
locality. Missouri papers please note.

A NEW highway bridge has been con-
^*- structed across Snake River be-
tween Heyburn and Burley, Minidoka
project. It is a substantial timber struc-
ture, supported on creosoted pile trestles.
The floor is built of 2 by 6 inch lumber
set on edge and carried on 6 by 20 inch
Douglas fir stringers. A <^-inch wearing
surface of gravel-bitumen will be placed
upon the floor. There are now five high-
way bridges across Snake River within the
project, and a sixth structure is proposed
at Frenchman's Island, a few miles above
the Heyburn bridge.

E organization of a potato growers'
association on the Milk River project
has been completed, to cooperate with the
State organization in the improvement of
certified-seed marketing.

T>LANS are being made by the Utah-
* Idaho Sugar Company to install
a pulp press in connection with the
Chinook plant, Milk River project, in
order that the beet growers in localities
remote from the factory may have the
benefit of pulp for stock feeding.

Burley sugar factory of the Amal-
gamated Sugar Co., on the Minidoka
project, has won a pennant and bronze
tablet for having been the most econom-
ically operated of the company's plants
in 1927. The Amalgamated Company
has agreed to operate the Paul factory
provided that not less than 3,000 acres
of beets, with an estimated yield of 33,000
tons are contracted on the project north
of Snake River.

A HOLDING company on the Yuma
** project, affiliated with one of the
local banks, has planted a 160-acre unit
in the valley division to paper-shell
pecan trees, and is offering the land for
sale in 1 to 10 acre blocks. It is the
purpose of this company to plant 1,000
acres to trees as fast as nursery stock
may be obtained. The company takes
care of the land for the first six years
and turns the land over to the purchaser
in bearing trees.

HPHE season's picking of grapefruit on
Unit B, Yuma Mesa, resulted in
a yield of about 8,000 field boxes, the
picking, packing, and shipping being
handled by the Imperial Valley Grape-
fruit Growers' Association.

/COLLECTIONS made by the Tieton
^ Water Users' Association, Yakima
project, for the month of February
totaled $15,432.67, compared with
$8,004.19 for the same month in 1927.

E Castberg Creamery, Shoshone
project, manufactured 10,060 pounds

of butter and 160 gallons of ice cream

during the month.

E Great Western Sugar Co. has
announced the 1928 price of sugar
beets on the Shoshone project as $7.50
per ton, with possible additional pay-
ments based on the sugar content and
the price of sugar.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

Economic Notes from the Reclamation Projects

Settlement and Development Problems of the Milk River, Sun River, and Lower

Yellowstone Irrigation Projects, Montana

By F. B. LinfielJ, President, Montana Agricultural College, Boatman, Mont.

IN considering what should be done with
the Milk River, Sun Iliver and Lower
Yellowstone irrigation projects in Mon-
tana, it must be realized that we are not
dealing with the problem of whether these
projects should have been built in the
first place. The conditions with which
we in Montana must deal arise from the
facts (1) that most of the engineering
works have already been constructed at
considerable expenditure of public funds;
(2) that the projects are partly settled
by people who have come with the prom-
ise of completed development and we are
under certain obligations to assist them
in making needed adjustments either by
establishing themselves on a permanently
prosperous basis or moving to more
favorable locations; and (3) the land
being partly settled the ditches have to be
maintained and cared for but the limited
use of water makes a very heavy over-
head for these users.

Since the Federal Government is
already heavily involved in the reclama-
tion projects it is evident that there are
two alternatives from which to choose in
planning the future policy. The first
alternative would be to close the projects
with consequent loss of the money
already invested. The second course
would be to invest sufficient funds in
addition to engineering enterprisDs to
increase the area farmed and thus the
gross yield so that the maintenance cost
per unit farmed may be reduced.

If the first alternative is chosen, we may
as well face the situation squarely,
acknowledge complete failure of these
large and important reclamation systems,
and assist enough of the present settlers
to move off so that the remaining ones
may adjust themselves to nonirrigated
farming.

POTENTIAL SUCCESS

Those of us who are familiar with exist-
ing conditions, however, are firmly con-
vinced, as a result of studies already com-
pleted, that with the investment of a
relatively small amount of capital, these
projects can be settled in a successful
manner and that the Government will
then be able to recover the moneys ex-
pended from engineering construction.

The studies of the Montana Experi-
ment Station show that settlement and
development of irrigated areas are now
entirely different from what it was at the

time the reclamation act was passed. In
the first place, the old self sufficing pioneer
conditions are over. It is no longer
possible for a farmer to eke out an exist-
ence on a farm which produces most
necessities of life and attain economic
independence in the course of time
through a rise of land values. With land
values already as high as they can reason-
ably be expected to go for several years,
the farm must now be something more
than a source of subsistence. It must
be a commercial enterprise, producing
commodities which can be sold on national
markets and produced at costs which will
return interest on the investment and
profits to the operator.

In the second place, opportunities in
other fields appear more attractive than
farming, so that people who move from
agricultural districts seek urban employ-
ment to a much greater extent than was
true before the agricultural depression.
Thus, conditions must be such that pros-
pective settlers can be as sure of financial
success on the irrigated projects as they
are in other business in which they might
engage, before they will consider moving
to these irrigated projects.

From the studies of the Montana Ex-
periment Station information has been
secured which will show (1) Whether or
not farming can be profitably followed
on the projects we are considering, (2) the
types of farming most likely to succeed,
and (3) the extent to which the total
national production would be increased
by complete development of the projects.

FARMING PROFITABLE

In answer to the question, "Can farm-
ing be profitably followed on the irrigated
projects of northern Montana?" let me
refer to an economic survey of the Milk
River project. In the summer of 1927 a
representative of the experiment station
interviewed a group of successful farmers
with the purpose of obtaining a record
of their personal history and experiences,
the types of farming in which they were
engaged, and the financial progress they
have made. Fifteen out of twenty farm-
ers from whom complete records were
obtained have made enough money farm-
ing on that irrigated project to accumulate
property and financial reserves as a result
of their farming operations. The average
labor income from this group of 20 suc-
cessful farmers was $2,600 in 1926. This

represents the returns to the operator's
labor after cash expenses, depreciation,
and interest at 6 per cent on the capital
investment have been deducted from the
gross incomes. From the results of
detailed soil surveys it has been estimated
that 40 per cent of the land on the Milk
River project and 75 per cent of the land
on the Greenfields division of the Sun
River project is suitable for a type of
farming that will yield such returns from
80 to 160 acre farms. It is thought that
90 per cent of the land in the lower
Yellowstone project would come under
this classification.

By way of comparison we can refer to
the Yellowstone Valley where irrigated
farming has been carried on successfully
for a long period of years and where the
irrigated lands are completely settled. In
1924 a similar analysis of 17 of the most
profitable farms in the Yellowstone region
showed an average labor income of $2,780,
which is not much higher than what the
successful Milk River farmers obtained.
The average profitableness of all farms in
the Milk River Valley, however, is much
lower than in the Upper Yellowstone Val-
ley because of (1) a larger percenatge of
poor soil and (2) retarded settlement and
development.

Since it is possible to find such success-
ful farmers operating in the Milk River
Valley, we feel safe in concluding that
others could also succeed if they were
properly educated along the lines of cor-
rect farming methods and were properly
financed to secure the buildings and equip-
ment necessary.

SUCCESSFUL TYPES OF FARMING

The second question that can be an-
swered from our studies is " What types of
farming are most likely to succeed on
these irrigated projects?" In addition to
interviews of successful farmers, economic
conferences have been held to secure an
agreement between farmers, business men
and development agents as to the types of
farming that can be recommended on the
Milk River and Sun River projects. It
was agreed by the farmers present at these
conferences that for land lying within 6
miles of a railroad, sugar beet farming is
the most profitable type. A typical sugar-
beet farm adapted to the region would
have about 80 acres and would roughly be
divided so that one-fourth of the land

April, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

would be planted to sugar beets, one-
fourth to small grains and one-half to
alfalfa and pasture. The three alterna-
tives from which to choose in placing live-
stock on such a farm are (1) beef cattle,
(2) sheep, either as feeders or farm flocks
and (3) dairying and hogs. It is esti-
mated that with complete development
60 per cent of all the land on the Sun
River, Milk River and lower Yellowstone
projects would be devoted to this type of
farming.

On lands lying beyond the 6-mile limit,
or where the soil is not suitable for inten-
sive beet farming, more extensified types
of farming are necessary. Weed control
where sugar beets and other intertilled
crops can not be raised must be accom-
plished by raising alfalfa, sweet clover, and
other legumes and occasional summer til-
lage which necessitates a certain portion
of the ground lying idle for one season. It
has been suggested, therefore, by these
conferences of farmers, that on the out-
lying portions of irrigated districts, the
farms should be 160 acres in size and
should have one-third of the land in small
grains and two-thirds in hay, pasture, or
fallow. The livestock enterprises on such
farms would be the same as on the more
intensified beet farms.

SURPLUS NOT AFFECTED

The third question that we should at-
tempt to answer is "To what extent will
the total agricultural production be in-
creased by the complete settlement of
these projects"? According to figures
given out by the Commissioner of Recla-
mation, the total area requiring settlement
on the Milk River, lower Yellowstone, and
Greenfields division of the Sun River
projects is 160,370 acres. About 2,000
additional farmers are needed to divide
this area into 80-acre units.

Assuming that this 160,000 acres con-
tains a lower percentage of good beet land
within 6 miles of the railroads than the
remainder of the projects, we have
roughly estimated that 85,000 acres
could be used for beet farming and 75,000
acres for grain and stock farming. This
division would result in the importation of
about 1,060 farmers operating 80-acre
units and 470 farmers operating 160-acre
units.

It must be remembered that a good
portion of the land which we refer to as
requiring settlement, is not entirely
unproductive at present. Large native
blue joint meadows are used for hay and
pasture and small grains are already
grown on portions of this "unsettled"
area.

Assuming that there is no production
from such lands at the present time and
that the entire 160,000 acres are brought

under cultivation by 1,500 farmers follow-
ing recommended cultural methods and
business practices, the largest increase
we could possibly expect in the production
of the major crop and livestock enter-
prises would be as follows:

Item

Wheat ..- bushels..

Flax (first year only).. do

Sugar beets tons..

Beef cattle head--
Sheep do

Hogs do

Butter __ pounds. .

Increase of

production

expected if

160,000

acres of

irrigable

land are

brought into

intensive

cultivation

1, 087, 500

640,000

212. 500

12.500

38,000

16,500

1, 280, 000

Per cent
of national

produc-
tion 1927

Per cent
0.1
2.4
3.0
.03
.1
.03
.1

Hence sugar beets and flax are the only
commodities in which the increase in the
irrigated districts would exceed one-tenth

of 1 per cent of the total national produc-
tion, and both of these are on an import
basis.

From these estimates we should feel
safe in predicting that increasing the effi-
ciency of these irrigated projects would
have no effect whatever upon the agricul-
tural surplus.

MORE SETTLERS NEEDED

On the other hand, if a project is not
fully occupied it means that settlers on
one-third of the land must pay for the
construction on the whole. This amounts
substantially to confiscating the property
of the present settlers to take care of
overhead construction costs. Further-
more, we are faced with an ethical prob-
lem of keeping faith with the beet-sugar
companies which have built factories in
good faith with the understanding that
enough settlers would be brought into
the region to keep them operating to
capacity.

A fine field of sugar beets on the Milk River project Mont.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

With knowledge that the productive-
ness of the land is adequate for profitable
farming and with moral responsibility to
the settlers and industries already estab-
lished, the college of agriculture feels jus-
tified in going to considerable length to
assist new settlers to become established.
The responsibility of securing these new
settlers lies with the Bureau of Reclama-
tion and railroad colonization depart-
ments. As a result of our studies and
conferences, however, we have found that
the most serious obstacle to proper devel-
opment of the projects is lack of proper
credit facilities. Settlers lack necessary
funds to build houses, clear, level, and
ditch raw land, buy necessary implements
and livestock and pay living expenses
until the first harvest. Local banks are
operated as deposit agencies whose re-
sources are needed to finance current
stock and livestock enterprises. Their
assets must be kept liquid and can not be
tied up in real estate investments.

Local merchants can usually furnish
sufficient credit for livestock and equip-
ment to put in the first year's crop, but
credit for real estate improvements must
come from outside the local community.

Much of the land, especially on the
Milk River project, is held in large tracts,
varying in size from 160 to 1,500 acres.
Such tracts have only one set of buildings,
sometimes occupied by the owner and
sometimes uninhabited and in a run-down

condition. Many owners of such farms
desire to subdivide them into smaller
units but, although they are willing to
sell their land at reasonable rates, they
lack capital to provide the necessary
buildings.

Regular loaning agencies, such as trust
and mortgage companies and the Federal
land banks, are not loaning money in
Montana at present. This is not due to
the poor character of the security which
might be offered, but to the fact that the
Government already has first lien on the
land for construction costs. Few agencies
in any region would consent to loaning
money for real estate improvements on
the security of a second mortgage on
unimproved land.

FINANCIAL AID NECESSARY

Since local agencies and landowners do
not have sufficient capital to finance the
further development of these partly
settled areas and since the Federal Govern-
ment already has a considerable invest-
ment at stake, we believe that the best
way out of the difficulty would be for the
Government to appropriate sufficient
funds to put houses on the unoccupied
tracts. Sufficient machinery is already
present in the Bureau of Reclamation to
administer such a type of credit and local
owners would be willing to give full cooper-
ation to such a venture. These houses

need not be very elaborate, and the pros-
pective settler should be required to sup-
ply the labor to build them. The cost
of materials for suitable house and barn
would not exceed $800 under such cir-
cumstances. As a precautionary measure,
in the light of construction costs and other
overhead charges on the land, we sug-
gest that the owner should be willing to
sell at a price not above the value of the
land for dry-farming purposes.

If such a credit system can be satis-
factorily arranged by the Bureau of
Reclamation, the Montana State College
is prepared to follow up the work already
commenced in developing farming methods
suited to the region. The economic con-
ferences held last fall recommended cer-
tain standard practices and farm organiza-
tion systems. It is proposed to secure
the cooperation of a number of farmers
who desire to adopt more profitable
farming methods. Theses farms will be
put under the supervision of an experi-
enced irrigated-farm manager, who will
have full authority to plan farm organi-
zations and direct cultural practices. The
aim will be to have each farm, so directed,
develop into a standard type within
three or five years. Such farms will be
used as object lessons for their neighbors
and guides for new settlers who are
endeavoring to adapt themselves to the
region.

Land Settlement on the Belle Fourche Project, South Dakota

THE Belle Fourche project, developed
in the center of one of the largest
livestock sections of the West, was opened
at the beginning of one of the greatest
land movements this country has had.
As a result, it found itself populated by a
small number of resident stockmen, whose
original holdings were included in the
area placed under irrigation, and a large
number of homesteaders, many of whom
were not qualified to farm in an irrigated
section. Many homesteaders filed on
claims because the land was free. Some
thought a large profit could be made by
selling out after patent was issued. At
the beginning of the period of agricultural
inflation, speculation ran riot. When the
slump came, a veritable panic resulted,
with every one running for cover and very
few attempting to meet their contract
obligations. In the final analysis, owner-
ship, outside of the original established
livestock men, became scattered over
almost the entire United States; only a

By Otlo C. Batch, Associate Reclamation Economist

small per cent of the irrigable area was
cultivated by 'resident owners and over 50
per cent of the land idle. In 1925, through
the concerted action of those who were
vitally interested in the welfare of the
project, a plan of readjustment came into
existence on an economic basis com-
mensurate with the ability of the project
to reestablish itself. A part of this plan
provides for the resettlement of the vacant
lands with resident farmer-owners; the
successful consummation of this resettle-
ment program is the chief problem con-
fronting this project at present.

Land settlement on the Belle Fourche
project, under the present plan, had its
inception in the fall of 1926 when 95
farms were placed" under option agree-
ments of sale, with prices fixed by an
independent appraisal and on long terms
of purchase. The initial payment is 10
per cent of the purchase price with the
balance spread over a period of 20 years
on the amortization plan. At the present

time (February 15, 1928) 11 of the listed
farms with buildings have been sold and
6 farms sold with either no improvements-
or buildings of little use or value..

MORE BUILDINGS NECESSARY

With the need for buildings on the un-
occupied project farms so apparent, an
effort was made in the late spring of 1927
to enlist the owners of such unimproved
land to place improvements on their
farms. A questionnaire stating the need
for improvements, either new buildings
or repairs to existing buildings, was sent
to 158 owners of choice unoccupied farms.
As a result of this solicitation, 3 new
houses were erected during the remainder
of the year; 2 favorable replies were re-
ceived provided some means could be
secured to finance the building, while of
the remaining 153, only 29 returned the
questionnaire, with only 4 favorable to-
building, and then only when the situa-

April, 1028

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

tion demanded. If the results obtained
are indicative of the ability of the land-
owner to add improvements unassisted,
the development of the project, both
agriculturally as well as industrially, will
be so slow that its full development will
be delayed many years. The prospective
purchasers who visited the project in
1927, with hardly an exception, were
adverse to considering the unimproved
farm. This is well illustrated in the case
of a man from Iowa who came to the
project with a very definite location in
mind; a farm on the edge of the project
with some dry land pasture and access
to outside range, in the vicinity of one
of our successful sheep farms. The farm
he finally selected and purchased does
not meet with any of his original require-
ments, although there were listed farms
in the neighborhood specified. Why?
Because the farm he did select had a
complete set of buildings and all the re-
quirements for the establishment of a
stock farm, while the land we were able
to show in the vicinity specified had
nothing to offer in the way of buildings
and farm development which were re-
garded by him as essential to his success.
The lack of buildings is felt more keenly
in the farms available for tenancy. The
rate of sales of land on the Belle Fourche
is indicative of the need, at least for the
next few years, for more tenant farmers.
The present supply of available farms,
farms with livable buildings, will not
begin to meet the demand for rentals.
With the new sugar factory in operation,
a new class of farmers has come to the
project and will continue to come if we
can provide places for them. I refer to
beet tenants from other districts who, as
a class, are hesitant to purchase land and
only do so when they are fully convinced
that the farm will grow good beet crops.

The slogan of the Belle Fourche super-
intendent of the Utah-Idaho Sugar Co. is
"a set of buildings on every 80 acres and
every farm a beet farm." He has stated
that, whenever conditions justify it, the
Utah-Idaho Co. will erect another factory
on the Belle Fourche project. With a
second factory in operation it means that
sugar beets, as a cash crop, must supplant
grain and the production of livestock on
many of the farms on the heavier soils
supplemented with diversification, with
sugar beets as a part of the crop rotation.
The establishment of a second sugar
factory will be an incentive for the further
expansion of the dairy and stock 'feeding
activities. To grow sugar beets profitably
high yields must be maintained and high
yields require fertile soil. The cheapest
and in fact, the only fertilizer required
on the Belle Fourche project, is barnyard
manure; the farm with a maximum live-
stock population will be the farm that
continues to be profitable. With the

time for payment of construction costs
in addition to operation and maintenance
charges approaching, production on all
land on the project must be increased over
its present average in order to meet this
added tax.

A TYPICAL ILLUSTRATION

To meet industrial expansion more
farmers are needed, and more farmers on
the Belle Fourche project reverts back to
the question of more buildings. And
again we are confronted with the question
as to who is to furnish the credit to pro-
vide the new improvements. The new
farmers are chiefly tenant farmers who
desire farm ownership and a permanent
home. We are drawing farmers from a
class least able financially to provide these
necessary improvements and, at the same
time, meet payments on land purchase
and for other development. The capital
required to complete the development of
a typical unimproved farm on the Belle
Fourche project is illustrated in the esti-
mated expense in connection with one
farm listed in the booklet. It is described
as: 80 acres, 69 irrigable, 35 in cultiva-
tion, balance mostly low draw and raw
irrigable land; clay soil, somewhat rolling;
woven-wire fence in fair condition; two-
room cabin; on school bus route; 4 miles
to Newell; price $3,000, deposit $300,
semiannual payments $123.66. The house
is not fit to live in, is not properly located
with respect to the tillable land, would
not lend itself to enlargement, and is con-
sidered valuable only as a beet laborer's
house. To develop this farm as a dairy
or stock farm, with sugar beets as a part
of the cropping system, would require the
following capital for the first year's oper-
ations:

Initial land payment $300.00

Operation and maintenance, at $1.60 (69 acres) 110. 40

General taxes 8. 25

Interest (6 months, at 6 per cent on $2,700)... 81. 00

Farm equipment 935. 00

(Includes beet cultivator, beet lifter,
wagon gear, plow, disk, harrow, drill,
mower, rake, and cream separator.)

Beet hand labor (for 10 acres) 240.00

Seed 70.00

Feed for stock 125.00

Living expenses to harvest 250.00

(To be supplemented by income from
cows.)

Horses (4 head, at $125) 500.00

Dairy cows (5 head, at $100) 500.00

Poultry 75.00

Brood sow 25.00

Buildings:

4-room house 1,250.00

Repairs to cabin 75.00

Sheds and outbuildings 600.00

Total capital required 5,222.65

Building requirements 1, 925. 00

Working capital 3,297.65

Local credit would take care of the
financing of the beet hand labor and possi-
bly living expenses with aid of income
from dairy cows. The purchase of the
cows could be handled through the Agri-
cultural Credit Corporation. The bal-
ance of the financing must come either
through actual possession of cash or
through the cooperation of some outside
agency with available funds on long-term
loans at a moderate rate of interest. The
providing of such a credit fund is the chief
need of this project to increase its earning
power and assure settlement and pros-
perity.

"We are highly pleased with the NEW
RECLAMATION ERA. It gets better every
year. We prize it the highest of any
of our Western farm papers." Arthur
Gurley, Selah, Wash.

'*.** /^-V
>S -^ .T*> r*t f '.:
'^ -'"'^ ' *

*:*".

An acre plat of cucumbers

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

Financing Irrigated Farms

Editorial appearing in the February 23, 1928, issue of the Morning Oregonian

HAVING put water on arid land, the
Government has only half finished
the work of reclamation. In order to
complete that work it should level, fence.
and prepare the land for cultivation,
build house and barn, select an experi-
enced farmer to cultivate the farm one
who has at least $2,000 capital make
him a long-time loan of half the needed
capital, provide expert advice on crops
and cultivation, and organize settlers on
each project into a cooperative associa-
tion. Such is the substance of the con-
clusions reached by the reclamation con-
ference at Washington, and of several
bills introduced in Congress with ap-
proval of the conference, authorizing use
of the reclamation fund as proposed.

That plan is a radical departure from
the public land-policy under which the
West was settled by the pioneers, when
the Government provided the land and
the settler and his family provided every-
thing else; but the agricultural public
land has all been brought under cultiva-
tion, and the man who wants a farm can
buy one ready-made. That plan is also
a decided departure from the original
reclamation law, which authorized rec-
lamation of public land and its sale
to any person who established often
a merely nominal residence and paid
the annual water charges. Experience
proved that some persons "settled" as
a speculation, rented irrigated farms at
high rates, and lived in adjoining towns,
that renters usually failed to pay the
Government's charges, and that there

were far from enough actual settlers to
occupy an entire project. The invest-
ment in reclamation was not returned to
the Government, and the reclamation
fund revolved more slowly year by year
with a prospect that it would stop.

Commissioner Mead takes the prac-
tical view that the work of reclamation
is not completed until every farm on a
project is occupied by a qualified farmer,
equipped with all requisites for his in-
dustry and producing from the soil the
money that will pay for land, reclama-
tion, and loans for equipping the farm.
On several projects already reclaimed but
only partly settled, the Government can
get its money out only by putting more
in, either by preparing farms for settle-
ment or by loans to settlers. The pro-
portion of private to public land that is
included in a project has increased to
half and sometimes more, and it is pro-
posed that the Government buy this
land at its unreclaimed value and sell it
to selected settlers.

By going so far in order to make arid
land produce, the Government practices
paternalism to a degree that will arouse
serious objection from those who pin
their faith to individualism as the chief
source of American progress. But the
Government has gone so far that its only
way out is through by getting the land
under production by farmers in the one
way by which they can be induced to
settle. Doctor Mead estimates that from
$5,000 to $7,000 are necessary to establish
a farmer in a home and to start him at

Sugar-beet factory on the North Platte project, Nebraska-Wyoming

farming. An experienced farmer with
that much capital can buy a ready-made
farm in a well-settled community with
all the conveniences of civilization at
hand. He must be offered something at
least as good in order to be attracted to
an irrigated farm. The attractions are
high fertility of the soil and certainty of
crops, independent of the whims of
weather. Other things being equal, irri-
gated farms should draw buyers, and the
plan is to make other things equal.

Other means have been proposed to ob-
tain loans to start settlers farming, but
all encounter obstacles. The States have
been asked to cooperate by selecting and
financing settlers, but they have not
responded. Oregon spent much money
in paying interest on irrigation district
bonds, and is giving its officials much
mental labor on schemes to get its money
back. All the Western States are making
large investments on highways and, with
large parts of their area exempt from
taxation because it is in the public do-
main, they are not disposed to assume
new liabilities. Private finance com-
panies have been proposed, but they do
not enter the field, probably because the
best security for loans that they could
obtain would be mortgages second to the
Government's claim for reclamation.
Federal farm land banks make loans only
on farms already improved; therefore are
barred from this field. It should be
practicable, however, for the Reclamation
Bureau after a farm is producing to com-
bine its loan with the water charge, to
transfer its mortgage to the farm land
bank and to get its money back, while
the farmer would continue payments
through 36 years on the amortization plan.

The end in view is to bring the whole
area of a reclaimed tract under cultivation
as soon as possible after water is on the
land, and out of the produce to secure
regular repayment in annual installments
of the total cost of reclamation. It would
be better to invest more in preparing land
for settlers and in financing them than to
permit projects to remain half settled by
men whose burdens are increased by
failure to settle the other half. The plan
now recommended, if carefully worked,
should keep the reclamation fund revolv-
ing at .the full speed of the 40-year-
payment plan, which means more recla-
mation as long as the supply of feasible
projects lasts. The Government's profit
will consist in the amount of internal
taxes paid by thousands of prosperous
farmers and by the towns they would
support in regions of which the sole prod-
ucts have been sagebrush and greasewood.

April, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

Appropriations for the Bureau of Reclamation for the Fiscal Year Ending

June 30, 1929

THE following sums are appropriated
out of the special fund in the Treas-
ury of the United States created by the
act of June 17, 1902, and therein desig-
nated "the reclamation fund," Jo be
available immediately:

Commissioner of Reclamation, $10,000;
and other personal services in the District
of Columbia in accordance with "the
Classification Act of 1923," $135,000; for
office expenses in the District of Columbia,
$23,000; in all, $168,000;

For expenses, except membership fees,
of attendance upon meetings of technical
and professional societies required in con-
nection with official work of the bureau,
$2,000;

For all expenditures authorized by the
act of June 17, 1902 (Thirty-second
Statutes, page 388), and acts amendatory
thereof or supplementary thereto, known
as the reclamation law, and all other acts
under which expenditures from said fund
are authorized, including not to exceed
$165,000 for personal services and $30,000
for other expenses in the office of the
Chief Engineer, $25,000 for telegraph,
telephone, and other communication serv-
ice, $8,000 for photographing and mak-
ing photographic prints, $50,000 for
personal services, and $13,000 for other
expenses in the field legal offices; exami-
nation of estimates for appropriations in
the field; refunds of overcollections and
deposits for other purposes; not to ex-
ceed $20,000 for lithographing, engrav-
ing, printing, and binding; purchase of
ice; purchase of rubber boots for official
use by employees; maintenance and oper-
ation of horse-drawn and motor-pro-
pelled passenger-carrying vehicles; not
to exceed $40,000 for purchase of horse-
drawn and motor-propelled passenger-
carrying vehicles; packing, crating, and
transportation (including drayage) of
personal effects of employees upon per-
manent change of station, under regula-
tions to be prescribed by the Secretary of
the Interior; payment of damages caused
to the owners of lands or other private
property of any kind by reason of the
operations of the United States, its
officers or employees, in the survey, con-
struction, operation, or maintenance of
irrigation works, and which may be com-
promised by agreement between the
claimant and the Secretary of the In-
terior, or such officers as he may desig-
nate; payment for official telephone
service in the field hereafter incurred in
case of official telephones installed in

Ad approved March 7, 1928

private houses when authorized under
regulations established by the Secretary
of the Interior: Provided, That no part of
said appropriations may be used for main-
tenance of headquarters for the Bureau
of Reclamation outside the District of
Columbia except for an office for the
chief engineer and staff and for certain
field officers of the division of reclama-
tion economics: Provided further, That
the Secretary of the Interior in his ad-
ministration of the Bureau of Reclama-
tion is authorized to contract for medical
attention and service for employees and
to make necessary pay-roll deductions
agreed to by the employees therefor:
Provided further, That no part of any sum
provided for in this act for operation and
maintenance of any project or division
of a project by the Bureau of Reclama-
tion shall be used for the irrigation of any
lands within the boundaries of an irriga-
tion district which has contracted with
the Bureau of Reclamation and which is
in arrears for more than twelve months
in the payment of any charges due the
United States, and no part of any sum
provided for in this act for such purpose
shall be used for the irrigation of any
lands which have contracted with the
Bureau of Reclamation and which are in
arrears for more than twelve months in
the payment of any charges due from
said lands to the United States;

Examination and inspection of projects:
For examination of accounts and inspec-
tion of the works of various projects and
divisions of projects operated and main-
tained by irrigation districts or water-
users' associations, the unexpended bal-
ance of the appropriation for these pur-
poses for the fiscal year 1928 is reappro-
priated for the same purposes for the
fiscal year 1929;

For operation and maintenance of the
reserved works of a project or division of
a project when irrigation districts, water-
users' associations, or Warren Act con-
tractors have contracted to pay in ad-
vance but have failed to pay their pro-
portionate share of the cost of such
operation and maintenance, to be ex-
pended under regulations to be prescribed
by the Secretary of the Interior, $75,000.

Yuma project, Arizona-California: For
operation and maintenance, $255,000;
for continuation of construction of drain-
age, $20,000; for continuation of con-
struction of protective works at Picacho
and unnamed washes, $30,000; in all,

$305,000: Provided, That of the unex-
pended balance of the appropriation of
$200,000 for the Yuma auxiliary project,
contained in the second deficiency act,
fiscal year 1925 (Forty-third Statutes at
Large, page 1330), $35,000 is hereby made
available for the same purposes for the
fiscal year 1929: Provided further, That
not to exceed $25,000 from the power
revenues shall be available during the
fiscal year 1929 for the operation and
maintenance of the commercial system;

Orland project, California: For oper-
ation and maintenance, $36,000: Pro-
vided, That the unexpended balance of the
appropriation of $605,000 for construction
of Stony Gorge Reservoir, contained in
the act making appropriations for the
Department of the Interior for the fiscal
year 1928 (Forty-fourth Statutes at
Large, page 934), shall remain available
for the fiscal year 1929 for completion of
construction;

Grand Valley project, Colorado: For
operation and maintenance, $50,000;
continuation of construction, $25,000; in
all, $75,000;

Boise project, Idaho: For continuation
of construction, Payette division, $400,-
000: Provided, That of the unexpended
balance of the appropriation for this
project for the fiscal year 1927 there is
reappropriated for operation and main-
tenance, Payette division, $17,000; for
investigations, examination and surveys,
Payette division, $18,000; for continu-
ation of construction, Arrowrock and
Payette divisions, $75,000;

Minidoka project, Idaho : For operation
and maintenance, reserved works, $29,000;
continuation of construction, $1,075,000:
Provided, That not to exceed $50,000 from
the power revenues shall be available
during the fiscal year 1929, for the oper-
ation of the commercial system; in all,
$1,104,000;

Minidoka project, American Falls Res-
ervoir, Idaho: For operation and main-
tenance, American Falls water system,
$12,000; for acquiring rights of way,
$5,000; construction of power plant,
$550,000; in all, $567,000: Provided,
That the unexpended balance of $700,000
for construction of power plant, contained
in the act making appropriations for the
Department of the Interior for the fiscal
year 1928 (Forty-fourth Statutes at Large,
page 934), shall remain available for the
same purpose for the fiscal year 1929;

Milk River project, Montana: For
operation and maintenance, $27,000;

NEW BECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

continuation of construction, $17,000; in
all, $44,000;

Sun River project, Montana: For
operation and maintenance, $19,500;
continuation of construction, $1,139,500;
in all, $1,159,000: Provided, That not to
exceed $25,000 of the appropriation for
continuation of construction, Greenfields
division, contained in the act of January
12, 1927 (Forty-fourth Statutes at Large,
page 934), shall remain available for
drainage construction Greenfields division
until June 30, 1929;

Lower Yellowstone project, Montana-
North Dakota: For continuation of
construction of drainage system, $180,000;

North Platte project, Nebraska-Wyo-
ming: Not to exceed $75,000 from the
power revenues shall be available during
the fiscal year 1929 for the operation and
maintenance of the commercial system;

Newlands project, Nevada: Not to ex-
ceed $100,000 of the appropriation of
$125,000 for operation and maintenance
contained in the act making appropria-
tions for the Department of the Interior
for the fiscal year 1928 (Forty-fourth
Statutes, page 934) , is hereby made avail-
able until June 30, 1929, for the recon-
struction of the Truckee Canal;

Carlsbad project, New Mexico: For op-
eration and maintenance, $50,000;

Rio Grande project, New Mexico-
Texas: For operation and maintenance,
$350,000; continuation of construction,
$80,000; in all, $430,000: Provided, That
the unexpended balance of the appro-
priation of $400,000 for continuation of
construction, contained in the act mak-
ing appropriations for the Department of
the Interior for the fiscal year 1928
(Forty-fourth Statutes at Large, page
934), shall remain available for the same
purposes for the fiscal year 1929;

Owyhee project, Oregon: For continu-
ation of construction, $2,000,000;

Umatilla project, Oregon: For opera-
tion and maintenance of reserved works,
$5,000 of the unexpended balance of the
appropriation for this project for the fis-
cal.; year 1927 shall be available for the
fiscal year 1929, and the remainder of
said unexpended balance shall be turned
back to the reclamation fund upon the
approval of this act;

Baker project, Oregon: The unexpend-
ed balance of the appropriation for this
project for the fiscal year 1928 is reap-
propriated and made available for the
same purpose for the fiscal year 1929;

Vale project, Oregon: For operation
and maintenance, $6,000; continuation of
construction, $744,000, of which amount
not more than $150,000 shall be available
for the purchase of a proportionate inter-
est in the existing storage reservoir of

the Warm Springs project; in all,
$750,000;

Klamath project, Oregon-California:
For operation and maintenance, $35,000;
continuation of construction, $206,000;
for refunds to lessees of marginal lands,
Tule Lake, which lands because of flood-
ing could not be seeded prior to June 1,
1927, and/or June 1, 1928, $30,000; in
all, $271,000;

Belle Fourche project, South Dakota:
For continuation of construction, $250,000;

Salt Lake Basin project, Utah, first di-
vision: For construction of Echo Reser-
voir and Weber-Provo Canal, $1,750,000;

Yakima project, Washington: For op-
eration and maintenance, $288,000; con-
tinuation of construction, $500,000; in
all, $788,000;

Yakima project (Kittitas division),
Washington: For continuation of con-
struction and operation and maintenance,
$1,500,000: Provided, That the unex-
pended balance of the appropriation of
$2,000,000 contained in the act making
appropriations for the Department of the
Interior for the fiscal year 1928 (Forty-
fourth Statutes at Large, page 934), shall
remain available during the fiscal year
1929;

Riverton project, Wyoming: For oper-
ation and maintenance, $30,000; contin-
uation of construction under force ac-
count, $400,000, together with the un-
expended balance of the appropriation for
this purpose for the fiscal year 1926,
which is hereby reappropriated : Provided,
That not to exceed $20,000 from the
power revenues shall be available during
the fiscal year 1929 for the operation and
maintenance of the commercial system;
in all, $430,000;

Shoshone project, Wyoming: For con-
tinuation of construction of drainage, Gar-
land division, $115,000; Frannie division,
$20,000; WiUwood division, $25,000; in
all, $160,000: Provided, That of the un-
expended balance of the appropriation
for this project for the fiscal year 1927
there is reappropriated for operation and
maintenance of the Frannie division,
$11,000; and of the Willwood division,
$10,000; in all, $21,000: Provided further,
That not to exceed $20,000 from the
power revenues shall be available during
the fiscal year 1929 for the operation and
maintenance of the commercial system;

Secondary projects: For cooperative
and general investigations, $75,000;

For investigations necessary to deter-
mine the economic conditions and financial
feasibility of new projects and for inves-
tigations and other activities relating to
the reorganization, settlement of lands,
and financial adjustments of existing proj-
ects, including examination of soils, classi-
fication of land, land-settlement activities,

including advertising in newspapers and
other publications, and obtaining general
economic and settlement data, $75,000:
Provided, That the expenditures from this
appropriation for any reclamation project
shall be considered as supplementary to
the appropriation for that project and
shall be accounted for and returned to
the reclamation fund as other expenditures
under the reclamation act;

Under the provisions of this act no
greater. sum shall be expended, nor shall
the United States be obligated to expend
during the fiscal year 1929, on any
relcamation project appropriated for here-
in, an amount in excess of the sum herein
appropriated therefor, nor shall the whole
expenditires or obligations incurred for
all of such projects for the fiscal year 1929
exceed the whole amount in the "reclama-
tion fund" for the fiscal year;

Ten per centum of the foregoing
amounts shall be available interchange-
ably for expenditures on the reclamation
projects named; but not more than 10
per centum shall be added to the amount
appropriated for any one of said projects,
except that should existing works or the
water supply for lands under cultivation
be endangered by floods or other unusual
conditions an amount sufficient to make
necessary emergency repairs shall become
available for expenditure by further trans-
fer of appropriation from any of said
projects upon approval of the Secretary
of the Interior;

Whenever, during the fiscal year end-
ing June 30, 1929, the Commissioner of
the Bureau of Reclamation shall find that
the expenses of travel, including the local
transportation of employees to and from
their homes to the places where they are
engaged on construction or operation
and maintenance work, can be reduced
thereby, he may authorize the payment
of not to exceed 3 cents per mile for a
motor cycle or 7 cents per mile for an
automobile used for necessary official
business;

Total, from reclamation fund, $12,644,-
000.

To defray the cost of operating and
maintaining the Colorado River front
work and levee system adjacent to the
Yuma Federal irrigation project in Arizona
and California, subject only to section
4 of the act entitled "An act authorizing
the construction, repair, and preservation
of certain public works on rivers and
harbors, and for other purposes," ap-
proved January 21, 1927 (Forty-fourth
Statutes, page 1010), $100,000, to be
immediately available.

For investigations to be made by the
Secretary of the Interior through the
Bureau of Reclamation to obtain necessary
information to determine how arid and

April, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

semiarid, swamp, and cut-over timber-
lands in any of the States of the United
States may be best developed, as author-
ized by subsection R, section 4, second
deficiency act, fiscal year 1924, approved
December 5, 1924 (Forty-third Statutes,
page 704), including the general objects
of expenditure enumerated and permitted
in the fourth paragraph in this act under
the caption "Bureau of Reclamation,"
and including mileage for motor cycles
and automobiles at the rates and under
the conditions authorized herein in con-
nection with the reclamation projects,
$15,000.

Reclamation Dams
To Be Examined

Secretary Work is having all storage
dams under the jurisdiction of the
Interior Department on reclamation
projects and on Indian reservations
examined to determine their safety.
Those that would endanger human life,
if they were to break, are being ex-
amined first. There are some 50 stor-
age reservoirs under the control of the
Department of the Interior, located at
various points in the West, which are
used principally for irrigated agricul-
ture, ranging from small capacity to as
much as 2,600,000 acre-feet in the case of
Elephant Butte Dam in New Mexico.

Appropriations available, fiscal year 1929 (act of March 7, 1928)

ings.
Eiamii
Operat:
Yuma.
Yumas
Orland.
Grand
Boise.
Minid
Minid
Milk 1
Sun R
Lower
North
Newla
Carlsb
RioGi
Owyhee.
Umatil'
liaker.
Vale..
Klam
Belle
Salt I
Yakima-

Project or office

Direct

Estimated
unexpend-
ed balance

Estimated p _
contrib- J w ,er
uted funds "venues

Total

amation fund:
ington Office

$168,000

dance at technical and professional meet-

2 000

ination and inspection of projects

$15 000

15 000

tion and maintenance of reserved works. .

75,000

i .

305,000

$25 000

330 000

i auxiliary

35 000

36 000

24,000

1 1)110

1 Valley

75 000

400 000

75 000

$35 000

510 000

loka

1, 104, 000

80,000 50,000

1,234,000

loka American Falls

567 000

700 000

1 267 000

River ..

44 000

30 000

74 000

liver

1, 159 000

25 000

10 000

1 194 000

r Yellowstone

180 000

70 000

250 000

L Platte

40 000 75 000

115 000

ands

100 000

bad

50,000

50 000

rande

430 000

150 000

730 000

lee

2, 000, 000

2 000 000

ilia

5 000

440 000

750,000

750 000

ath

271,000

75,000 ..

346,000

250 000

75 000

325 000

1,750 000

788 000

1 500 000

350 000

1 850 000

ton

430 000

180 000

20 000

630 000

one

160,000

21,000

15, 000 20, 000

216,000

dary

75,000

20,000

95,000

)mic investments . .

75,000

12, 644, 000

2, 120, 000

600, 000 190, 000

15, 554, 000

neral Treasury:
ado River front work . -

100,000

semiarid, etc .. _. . . .

16,000

15,000

al_ ..

12, 759, 000

2, 120, 000

600, 000 190, 000

15,669,000

Elephant Butte District

Ma^es Large Payment

Here is another instance of the ability
of the water users on the Federal irriga-
tion projects to meet their payments to
the Government under the present con-

tracts. The Elephant Butte Irrigation
District on the Rio Grande Federal irri-
gation project, New Mexico-Texas, has
sent to the Bureau of Reclamation its
check for $133,470 as payment in full of
the construction charges of the district
due March 1, 1928, being one-half of the
total yearly charges of $266,940.

Money-makers when properly cared for

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

fl *A.
T $
--~. A V.~ tj?

By Mae A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner and Associate Editor, New Reclamation Era

Don't Leave the Windows Curtainless A II Summer

WITH a good many housekeepers it is
the custom to take down every
window curtain in the house at the period
of spring cleaning. After they have been
laundered the curtains are put away until
fall cleaning or some other traditional date
permits them to go up again. In the
meantime the windows remain bare and
unattractive and rooms lose their charm.
They are filled with the unobscured glare
of summer sunshine, which, while tempt-
ing in the first days of spring, is almost
unbearable on hot days in many parts of
the country. It helps to fade rugs and
other furnishings. When privacy or sub-
dued light is necessary the only course is
to pull down the shades and incidentally
to shut out most of the fresh air.

Curtains undoubtedly need cleaning
from time to time, but this old-fashioned
idea of housekeeping has given way to
the more modern idea that it is not neces-
sary to make our homes bare, uncomfort-
able, and ugly in order to have them clean.
If the curtains used during the winter
seem too elaborate or heavy for spring
and summer, it would be a good plan to
have a second set made of lighter, sheerer
materials. They would be in harmony

with fresh slip covers and gay-colored
decorations. They would serve every
necessary purpose of curtains, retain
softness and charm in each room, and add
to its comfort. Side draperies, valances,
and unnecessary trimming could well be
omitted. As the hot summer sun fades
many fabrics, these might be made of
plain cream or white material or of some
guaranteed fast-colored fabric. Draw
curtains would be useful. They could be
pulled back at night to permit the maxi-
mum circulation of air, and yet, when
drawn, their texture would allow more air
to penetrate into the room than a shade
would.

When need for economy makes it im-
possible to have two sets of curtains, an
all-year type of material can be selected
that will stand the necessary wear and
laundering required by double-duty
curtains.

How to Mal^e Curtains

Before you buy your material it is a
wise precaution to draw to scale the
window to be curtained. Use a yardstick

Measure with care when making curtains

or folding ruler, as a tapeline may stretch,
resulting in inaccurate measurements.
Note the exact dimensions of the window
on your drawing, and also the width of
the trim and apron. Then sketch in
lightly the kind of curtains you wish to
have and decide whether or not they are
suited to that type of window. If the
window is very broad, you may not need
a valance, since that emphasizes the hori-
zontal lines; if the window is narrow and
high, a valance and side draperies set far
over at the edge of the trim will help to
correct its proportions.

Let us assume that you aie going to
make glass curtains of scrim, marquisette,
or net, with side draperies and a gathered
valance of cretonne, unlined. They are
to be shirred on a rod without a heading,
as the valance hides the top of them. The
measurement for their width is taken on
the plan drawn to scale, on the part of
the trim nearest the glass. Allow twice
the width of the window in soft materials
almost two breadths, usually. They
should be just long enough to escape the
sill. Glass curtains may have hems from
\}/2 to 3 inches wide at the front and lower
edges, and one-fourth-inch hems on the
outside. A common rule is to add 9
inches to the length of any finished cur-
tain for hems, heading, and shrinkage, but
since the glass curtains are to be run on
rods through a casing at the top, without
a heading, 2 inches less may be allowed.

Each curtain length should be meas-
ured and checked before any material is
cut off. Before cutting, draw threads, if
possible, to provide an accurate guide.
Trim off all selvedges and put in the side
hems, then the top and bottom hems.
They should all be turned under the depth
of the hem. Otherwise, when light shines
through the curtains, an irregular line is
seen inside the hem. A tuck should be
taken just below the casing to allow for
shrinkage when the curtain is laundered.
Hems look better when put in by hand
rather than by machine stitching, and
will not draw. If there are many curtains
to be made, however, machine stitching
is advisable.

Skimpy side draperies are not attrac-
tive. Cretonne is usually 36 inches wide
and you will need a length the full width
of material for each side. Fifty-inch
material may sometimes be split length-
wise and finished with an extension hem.

April, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

In estimating the length of the side
draperies, measure from the top or middle
of the upper trim to the bottom of the
apron and add 9 inches for hems, casing,
and shrinkage. If there is a decided
pattern in the material, you must see that
the pattern balances on each side before
t he material is cut. A little extra yardage
may have to be allowed for matching
patterns.

Measure and cut the side draperies with
the same care as in making the glass cur-
tains. Clip the selvedges at intervals of
3 or 4 inches or trim them off. Turn a
hem \ l /2 inches on the lengthwise edges
and a 2 or 3 inch hem at the bottom.
Make a casing at the top for the rod to
run through, since there is to be a valance.

The valance when finished is usually
one-sixth of the length of the finished side
draperies. Hem, heading, and casing
allowances are added to this depth in
calculating the material required. The
length of the valance across the window
is one and a half times the width of the
window and side trim if the valance is
gathered, twice that much if it is plaited.
Make the valance in the same way as
the curtains.

Three rods will be needed for hanging
these curtains, since the valance and side
draperies should not be hung on the same'
rod. The glass curtain must be set
closer to the window than the other
hangings. The neatness and general
attractiveness of the finished curtains
will depend on the way they are hung.
Solid round rods which fit into sockets
are desirable for glass curtains. Flat
or round rods may be used for the over-
draperies.

All curtains should be pressed when
finished. Avoid making crosswise folds
in them or any unnecessary lengthwise
creases.

Curtains for a Casement

Casement windows, either single or in
groups, are picturesque and appropriate
in both large and small houses. If well
made they are charming and convenient,
but they must be curtained so as not
to interfere with their opening.

The material of which the casement
curtains are made is the same as that
used for any other windows in the room,
unless some special effect is desired. In
a hall or alcove a casement may some-
times be treated as an entirely separate
decorative feature. If the living room
has both casements and double sash
windows, the material chosen for curtains
must be adapted to both types of window,
and to the atmosphere of the living room,
whether formal and dignified or informally
gay and cheerful. Plain fabrics such as

poplin, pongee, rayon, silk and cotton
mixtures, monk's cloth, heavy gauze, or
casement cloth are good. Richly pat-
terned cretonnes suit some living rooms
if the walls are plain. They may be
used as draw curtains for the casement
and as side draperies for other windows.
If the casement opens out, there is
less chance of the curtains being in the
way of the sash. Draw curtains can
be pulled back to the extreme edge of
the window frame when the casement is
opened. If glass curtains must be used
they should be hung from the upper
casing so that they remain inside the
room when the casement is unfastened.
Otherwise they would soon be spoiled by
rain and outdoor air. Side draperies
and draw curtains should end on a line
with the apron or sill.

If the casement opens in, glass curtains
may be shirred on rods at the top and
bottom of the sash, or hung with rings
from the top of it, so that they swing with
the window. If a valance and side dra-
peries are used with the opening-in case-
ment, the valance must clear the top of
the sash as it swings in. On the whole,
draw curtains will be found best for case-
ments. They are generally arranged in
clusters of pleats on rings to be drawn back
and forth on a solid rod by means of double
cords passing over small pulleys. The
illustration shows casement curtains of
plain-colored pongee for the living room.

All eggs for hatching should be uniform
in shape and size, sound in shell, and of
good size. No eggs weighing less than 2
ounces should be used.

Curtains for a casement

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

The Guernsey Power Plant, North Platte Project, Nebraska -Wyoming

By H. F. McP/iail, Engineer. Denser Office

THE Guernsey power plant is located
on the North Platte River about 1J^
miles northwest of the town of Guernsey,
Wyo., immediately below the Guernsey
Dam. The dam is a sluiced gravel and
rock fill structure approximately 105 feet
high and 500 feet long and was constructed
jointly to conserve and store water for
irrigation purposes and to create a power
head.

The power head available will vary
from a minimum of approximately 40
feet to a maximum of 90 feet. The water
surface on the upstream side of the dam
is expected to vary about 40 feet and the
tail-water elevation about 19 feet under
normal conditions. Throughout the irri-
gation season there are available for
power purposes 3,000 or more second-feet
of water, but during the nonirrigation
season the water is limited to the natural
flow in the river plus such small amounts

as can be used without endangering the
supply required for irrigation storage.

The plant is designed for the ultimate
development of 12,000 kv.-a., but at
present a power tunnel and a power plant
building designed only for the develop-
ment of 6,000 kv.-a. have been constructed.
Two 3,000 kv.-a. hydroelectric units have
been installed. Additional development
will require the construction of a second
power tunnel and an extension of the
present building.

Power water is diverted from the
Guernsey reservoir through a reinforced
concrete inlet structure covered with a
steel trash rack having a total area of
approximately 5,000 square feet. The
water is then led into a 20 by 15 foot
rectangular concrete-lined tunnel, which is
controlled by a 20 by 26 foot Stoney gate
operating on a 45 slope. This gate is
motor operated and can be closed from the

power plant in case of emergency. The
20 by 15 foot rectangular tunnel section
after a short drop on a 45 slope enlarges
to a 25-foot horseshoe section and joins the
diversion tunnel originally built for the
construction of the dam. The power
water then passes through about 170 feet
of the diversion tunnel to a point where
the 12-foot diameter power tunnel starts,
and it is contemplated in the ultimate
development that a second power tunnel
will take off at this same point. The
diversion tunnel is plugged immediately
below the point where the power tunnel
starts and through the plug are three
sluicing conduits each controlled by a 5
by 5 foot hydraulically operated sluice
gate, which will permit sluicing of any
silt accumulation in the large tunnel and
which will also serve to discharge irriga-
tion water if so desired.

GENERAL PLAN

100 200 300

POWER INTAKE
AND^TRASH RACK

Z0'x!6'-
Penstock Sots .

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LONGITUDINAL SECT/ON -SOUTH SPILLWAY

NORTH PLATTE PROJECT
NEBR.-WYO.

GUERNSEY DAM
POWER DEVELOPMENT

20-D-750

23208

April, 1928

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

The 12-foot circular tunnel is about
700 feet long and connects at its lower
end with a plate steel penstock of the
same diameter. This penstock divides
into two 8 foot 6 inch diameter branches,
one for each unit in the power plant. The
penstock is anchored in the rock of the
power tunnel and also by a large rein-
forced concrete anchor over the wye sec-
tion where it branches. This latter
anchor also serves to support the 22-foot
diameter by 85-foot high steel surge tank. 1

At the end of each penstock, at the
inlet of each turbine, is installed an 8-foot
6-inch motor-operated butterfly valve,
which allows either unit to be inspected
or repaired without interfering with the
operation of the other. Each turbine is
rated at 3,400 horsepower at 65 feet head
and is of the vertical-shaft, single-runner,
spiral-casing type, with the plate steel
casing embedded in solid concrete. The
first turbine was manufactured by the
S. Morgan Smith Co. and the second by
the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry
Dock Co. The normal speed is 240
r. p. m. Each unit is controlled by a
Woodward oil-pressure type governor
with motor-driven fly balls. Each gov-
ernor is equipped with a control device
which allows adjustment of the gate
travel at high heads so as not to allow
overloading the generator but still allow-
ing full travel of the governor.

Each generator is supported above its
turbine by a cast-iron pit liner surrounded

1 See article by R. E. Glover in the September, 1927,
Issue of the NEW RECLAMATION ERA, p. 136.

with reinforced concrete. The height is
such as to place the top of the generator
at about the elevation of the gallery floor
of the plant and access to the exciters,
which are direct-connected to and on top
of the generators, is gained by a steel
walkway from the gallery floor. Each
generator is of the 2,300-volt, 3-phase,
60-cycle, vertical, water-wheel driven type
having a capacity of 3,000 kilovolt-
amperes, or 2,400 kilowatts at 80 per cent
power factor. Each exciter has sufficient
capacity to excite its own generator plus
10 per cent additional load. All electrical
equipment in the plant was furnished by
the General Electric Co.

THE POWER PLANT BUILDING

The power plant building is a rein-
forced concrete structure approximately
72J^ feet long, 50 feet wide, and 77 feet
high from bottom of foundation to top of
walls. The east wall of the plant is
composed of structural steel members
covered with an inside and outside layer
of metal lath and plaster and all of such
a nature that it can be readily removed
when it is desired to enlarge the installa-
tion. The main body of the plant con-
sists of a single room running the entire
length of the building and approximately
32 feet wide by 40 feet high, which houses
the two generating units. At the eleva-
tion of the main floor of the building and
extending away from the river are rooms
15 feet wide and of various lengths which
provide for a machine shop, a storage
room, an oil room, a storage-battery room,
and a shower bath, toilet, and lavatory.

Immediately over these rooms and 12
feet above the main floor elevation is a
galley containing the switchboard room,
the 2,300-volt switch room, and the office.
On the roof over these rooms is the 33,000-
volt switching apparatus.

The voltage is raised from 2,300
33,000 volts by two banks of oil-insulated,
self-cooled, outdoor-type, single-phase
transformers of 1,000 kv.-a. capacity
each, which with one spare unit, are
installed immediately back of and at the
same elevation as the switchboard gal-
lery. By means of a transfer car these
transformers can be interchanged or
brought into the main building for re-
pairs. Two outgoing 33,000-volt circuits
leave the plant, each being controlled by
a 37,000-volt oil circuit breaker with a
third breaker installed for connecting
them on the 33,000-volt side if desired.
Each line is protected against lightning
by an oxide film type, 33,000-volt
arrester.

The main switchboard consists of nine
panels and a swinging bracket. It con-
tains all meters for measuring the various
loads and all protective relays. All
circuit breakers are controlled electrically
from the main board. An auxiliary
board of two panels placed behind the
main board supports the generator field
switches and high voltage relays. Light,
power, and heat for the plant are all
furnished from four 37H kv.-a. trans-
formers installed in the rear of the main
switchboard. A 30-ton traveling crane
with a motor-operated hoist for handling
the machinery, a small air compressor for

Guernsey Dam, North Platte project, Nebraska-Wyoming

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

Guernsey power house, North Platte project, Nebraska-Wyoming

Sugar Beets Grown on
Projects in 1927

Crop statistics recently compiled by the
Bureau of Reclamation show that in 1927
sugar beets were grown on 65,288 acres on
13 Federal irrigation projects, producing
743,201 tons of beets, an average of 11.4
tons per acre. The crop was valued at
$5,842,980, or $89.50 per acre.

More than half of the total acreage in
sugar beets was on the North Platte proj-
ect, Nebraska-Wyoming, where 35,220
acres were in this crop, producing 433,000
tons of beets, valued at $3,410,000, or $97
per acre. The highest yield per acre,
amounting to 13.5 tons, was on the Mini-
doka project in Idaho. The highest value
per acre on projects having at least 1,000
a,cres in the crop was on the Huntley
project, Montana, amounting to $108.

Statistical data concerning the crop are
given in the accompanying table.

general use around the plant, and a
centrifugal oil purifier and dehydrator for
conditioning transformer oil are also
installed in the plant.

The entire development was built under
contract by the Utah Construction Co.,
with F. T. Crowe, superintendent, in
charge of the work for the contractor and
F. F. Smith, resident engineer for the
Bureau of Reclaimation.

SALE OF POWER

The first unit of the plant was placed
in service July 26, 1927, and has operated
steadily since that time. The plant feeds
into a power system covering all the
territory adjacent to the North Platte
River from Casper, Wyo., to Broadwater,
Nebr., a distance of over 250 miles.
Power is being sold at wholesale to the
towns of Gering, Mitchell, Merrill, and
Lyman, Nebr., and Torrington, Lingle,
Fort Laramie, Guernsey, and Wheatland,
Wyo.; to the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co.
for use in connection with the operation
of its iron mine at Sunrise, Wyo.; to the
Mountain States Power Co. for distribu-
tion in the towns of Yoder, Douglas, and
Casper, Wyo.; and to the Western Public
Service Co. for distribution in Scotts-
bluff, Nebr., and other towns east of that
point which are now served by this
company.

Project

Area

Yield

Value

Total

Average
per acre

Total

Per acre

Grand Valley, Colo

Acres
1,225
3,139
3,223
4,587
619
90
3,439
35,220
1,073
26
6,021
1,436
5,190

Tom
12, 918
32, 905
43, 674
55, 614
6,136
698
34, 102
433, 076
3,262

Tons
10.5
10.5
13.5
12.12
9.9
7.8
10.0
12.3
3.0

$101, 158
213, 882
332, 827
494, 964
42, 952
6,584
249, 034
3, 410, 320
25,280
4,579
403, 535
86,899
471,966

$82. 57
68.14
103. 27
108.00
69.40
62.56
72.41
97.00
23.55
176. 11
67.02
60.51
90.94

Uncompahgre, Colo

Minidoka, Idaho

Huntley, Mont

Milk River, Mont

Sun River, Mont

Lower Yellowstone, Mont.-N. Dak

North Platte, Nebr.-Wvo

Newlands, Nev

Rio Grande, N. Mex.-Tex

Belle Fourche, S. Dak

Strawberry Valley, Utah

55, 660
11,912
53,244

9.2
8.3
10.2

Shoshone, Wyo

Total and average

65,288

743, 201

11.4

5, 842, 980

89.50

One of the great troubles with the mar-
keting of poultry in the United States is
the excessive number of immature,
scrawny chickens sent to market.

Sugar beets grown on reclamation projects, 1927

Citrus Fruit Grown on

the Projects in 1927

Citrus fruit was grown on 3,000 acres
on three Federal irrigation projects in
1927. The total yield amounted to
50,550,000 pounds of fruit, an average of
17,000 pounds per acre. The entire crop

was valued at $1,550,000, or an average
of $520 per acre.

Most of the crop was grown on the
Salt River project, Arizona, where 2,302
acres produced 48,342,000 pounds of fruit
valued at $1,450,260, or $630 an acre.

The following table gives, by projects,
statistics concerning the citrus crop:

Citrus fruit grown on reclamation projects, 1927

Project

Area

Yield

Value

Total

Average
per acre

Total

Per acre

Salt River, Ariz

Acres
2,302
1
382
296

Pan nda
48, 342, 000
4,000
1,042,341
1, 161, 600

Pounds
21,000
4,000
2, 732
3,924

$1, 450, 260
150
48, 938
50,336

$630. 00
150.00
128.28
170. 05

Yuma, Ariz.-Calif

Yuma auxiliary (Mesa) l

Orland, Calif. .

Total and average

2,981

50, 549, 941

16, 957

1, 549, 684

520.00

' Young trees not in full bearing.

April, 1928

NEW KECLAMATION ERA

Reclamation Policy in Russia

By Prof. J. A. Mirtoff, Director, Russian Bureau of Agricultural Information, New York., N. Y.

THE problem of colonizing unsettled
lands and supplying them with
irrigation water is a very important one
for Russia for the following reasons:

(a) The national economy of Russia
has completed its period of reestablish-
ment and has now come to the reconstruc-
tion period on the basis of the industriali-
zation of the country as a whole, and the
industrialization of agriculture in par-
ticular. The country has to face a prob-
lem of commercializing agriculture and
of extending both domestic and foreign
markets. To obtain these results it is
necessary to increase the area of the
national domain; that is, to bring under
cultivation numerous areas of unsettled
lands.

(b) Parallel with the growth of the
productive forces of national economy in
Russia there can be observed in several
sections of the country a surplus of
agricultural labor. This surplus labor,
not finding any employment in the vil-
lages, is drifting to the cities to swell the
ranks of the unemployed. The country
has to face the problem of giving rational
employment to the surplus labor of the
villages. This problem can be solved by
colonizing the unoccupied lands as well
as by other measures designed to increase
the productivity of labor by increasing the
efficiency and intensity of agriculture.

UNOCCUPIED LAND

The exact area of unoccupied lands in
Russia is, unfortunately, unknown, as a
complete land survey has never been
made in Russia. According to the avail-
able and entirely incomplete data the
total area available for colonization in
the Union of Socialistic Soviet Republics
can be estimated as follows:

In the European part of Russia the
total area of unoccupied lands is about
24,000,000 acres. Part of this land is
used by several tribes such as reindeer
herdsmen. This area, is comparatively
speaking, small and part of it is already
settled. The main problem here is to
assist in the settlement of the native
population.

The semifrozen marshes, or "tundra,"
which start at the border of Finland and
extend as far as the Okhotsk Sea, have an
approximate area of about 900,000,000
acres. This territory, at present occupied
by small nomadic tribes of reindeer
herdsmen, is rather a difficult proposition
for agricultural purposes. The long dis-
tance from markets, the total absence of
means of communication, and the wilder-

ness of this area demand enormous re-
sources and expenditure of labor for
subjugating this land to cultivation.
This immense territory must be excluded
from immediate cultivation.

Prairie and forests, known as "taiga,"
occupy about 2,500,000,000 acres. Part
of this area, located in European Russia,
is quite thickly populated in the valleys
of its principal rivers. The plateaus
between the rivers, however, are almost
entirely unused. The problem is to
convert these river plateaus into agricul-
tural lands.

According to investigations made dur-
ing various periods, it has been ascer-
tained that the natural conditions of this
territory will permit agricultural opera-
tions in latitudes up to 60 and in some
places up to 54. Keeping within the
limits of the above latitudes, the area of
suitable lands will amount to 90,000,000
acres. From the above there are located:

Acres

In European Russia 6, 000, 000

In Siberia 54, 000, 000

In thje Far East 30, 000,000

The reclamation of the "taiga" entails
many obstacles, as it will require immense
capital to build roads, drain swamps, and
to stump the cut-over lands.

The Khirgis Republic has about 90,-
000,000 acres of unoccupied land which
is composed of the so-called "Khirgis
Steppes."

Turkestan has about 18,000,000 acres,
from which about 9,000,000 acres if put
under irrigation could be used for cotton
growing and the balance for grain growing.

In the pre-war period the total area
sown to cotton was about 1,440,000 acres.
The cotton yield from the above area was
504,000,000 pounds per annum. The con-
sumption of cotton in pre-war times was
about 1,008,000,000 pounds per annum.
The irrigation, therefore, of 9,000,000
acres of additional land would increase
the cotton yield five times, thus covering
not only all requirements of the domestic
market but bearing also a surplus for
export.

SETTLEMENT PLANS

The physical difficulties in reclaiming
the above-mentioned unoccupied terri-
tories, also lack of financial resources for
colonization work on a large scale, compel
the Government of Russia to go slowly
and gradually in its work of converting
these waste lands into tillable farms.
For the immediate 10-year period (1927-
1935), the Government of Russia has

made the following tentative colonization

plan:

Persons

Far East 1, 250, 000

Siberia 2,000,000

Ural Province 500,000

Volga Province 264, 000

Northern Caucasus 200,000

Northern European part of

R. S. F. S. R 500,000

Total 4,714,000

In connection with water communica-
tions in the territories to be colonized
(Lena, Enissei, Obi, Pechora, northern
Dvina and Amur with their tributaries)
the Government of Russia is planning to
use dredging machinery for the purpose of
deepening and cleaning the river channels,
the building of locks, docks, etc. These
have been worked out on a definite annual
appropriation schedule. Much to my
regret I do not have these figures on hand.

The average length of railroads in
Russia is about one-fourtieth of a kilo-
meter per capita, or 0.0031 kilometer per
hectar. For every kilometer of railroad
to be constructed it is customary to
survey 2 kilometers; that is, 50 per cent
of the survey is made on various projects,
which are eventually abandoned. The
cost of building a kilometer of railroad
exclusive of rolling stock and stations in
the Far East is estimated at 4,500 rubles,
and in all other sections 3,000 rubles.
The capital repairs are figured at 800
rubles a kilometer and the cost of survey-
ing 30 rubles a kilometer.

COLONIZATION EXPENSES

The expenses for opening up land for
colonization are estimated as follows: In
the Far East, 750 rubles per farmstead;
;n Siberia and the Urals, 700 rubles; and
in the steppe district, 300 rubles. In
addition to the above expense, 150 rubles
is added per farmstead for cultural and
economic needs of the settler (schools,
hospitals, mails).

The following credits are to be granted
to settlers: In Sakhalin, 600 rubles; in
the Far East, 500 rubles; and in all other
sections, 400 rubles per farmstead.

Besides, every settler must have his
own capital for equipment; in Siberia at
least 500 rubles is required; in other
sections slightly different amounts.

Every settler will be granted special
privileges: (a) For traveling he will pay
only one-fourth of the railroad fare and
his children will be carried free; (b) com-
plete exemption from all taxes during the
first three years after settlement.

NEW BECLAMATION ERA

April, 1928

Reclamation Organization Activities and Project Visitors

DR. ELWOOD MEAD, chairman, and
Miss Mae A. Schnurr, secretary of
the American Section of the International
Water Commission, spent the first half
of March in consultation with the mem-
bers of the Mexican section of the com-
mission, visiting a number of places in
California, Arizona, and Texas in con-
nection with their study of conditions.
Doctor Mead then left for Los Angeles
on the St. Francis dam investigation.
Miss Schnurr returned on March 22.

P. W. Dent, Assistant Commissioner
of Reclamation, has been the Acting
Commissioner of the bureau during the
absence of Doctor Mead.

J. E. Overlade, employed in the
accounting division of the Washington
office, has been designated a fiscal in-
spector, and left for the field the latter
part of February.

R. C. Walber, former chief clerk of the
Belle Fourche project, has been transferred
to the accounting division of the Wash-
ington office.

Consulting Engineers D. C. Henny,
Charles H. Paul, and A. J. Wiley, and
Construction Engineer F. A. Banks met
recently in the Denver office to consider
designs for five different types of dam,
comprising three arch studies and two
gravity studies, for the Owyhee project,
the type recommended being the heavy
arch or so-called arch-gravity type.

Dr. Fredrik Vogt, a fellow of the Uni-
versity of Norway, has entered on duty
in the Denver office under temporary
appointment as an associate engineer.
His services will be utilized on research
work pertaining to arch dams.

Howard G. Knutson, clerk in the Den-
ver office, broke his leg recently while
skiing on Gennesse Mountain near Den-
ver.

B. O. Aylesworth, Colorado State
Director of the Bureau of Markets, and
Tom Howard, secretary-treasurer of the
State Farmers Union, held a number of
meetings recently on the Uncompahgre
project for the purpose of interesting proj-
ect farmers in the organization of farmers'
unions.

Recent visitors at Stony Gorge Dam,
Orland project, were C. P. Williams, Los
Angeles; J. L. Favela, engineer for the
Mexican Government, Mexicali, Mexico;
and Walter Ward, San Francisco.

J. S. Pyeatt, president, and A. C.
Shields, general manager of the Denver &
Rio Grande Western Railroad, attended
the recent "farmers' spree" and annual
banquet given by the Delta Chamber of
Commerce, Uncompahgre project.

Doctor Mead to Study
Failure of Dam

Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of
Reclamation of the Department of the
Interior, has been asked by the Los
Angeles City Council to act as chair-
man of a committee of engineers to
investigate the cause of the breaking
of the St. Francis Dam, Calif., con-
structed by the city of Los Angeles for
supplying water for domestic use.
The Chamber of Commerce also is
securing a list of engineers competent
to pass on the question from the
American Society of Civil Engineers,
from which a committee can be ap-
pointed to serve with Commissioner
Mead.

The board of directors of the Burley
irrigation district, Minidoka project, have
appointed George A. Haycock manager
and Hugh L. Crawford engineer for the
district.

J. P. Fitzgerald, associate airways en-
gineer of the Department of Commerce
visited the Minidoka project recently to
obtain data concerning suitable sites for
a landing field.

H. N. Bickel, chief clerk for several
years at the American Falls office, has
been transferred to the Owyhee project.

E. E. Roddis, district counsel, was on
the lower Yellowstone project recently to
appear before the county commissioners
of McKenzie County relative to obtaining
the payment of interest and penalty on
water charges which have been withheld
by the county.

W. F. Brooks, ditch rider on the Yuma
Mesa, Yuma project, a disabled veteran
of the World War, died recently of pneu-
monia.

John W. Cunningham, consulting en-
gineer of Portland, Oreg., visited the
Boise project recently in connection with
discharge records of Southern Idaho
streams.

Recent visitors to the Arrowrock Dam,
Boise project, were C. H. Paul, con-
sulting engineer of Dayton, Ohio, who
constructed the dam, and F. A. Banks,
construction engineer of the Owyhee
project.

L. E. Mayhall, general superintendent
of fish hatcheries for the State of Wash-
ington, accompanied by Mr. Dunstan, of
the department of fisheries and game,
were recent visitors on the Yakima
project.

Lloyd J. Windle, clerk, has been trans-
ferred from the North Platte project to
the Shoshone project as bookkeeper, cost-
keeper, and timekeeper.

E. B. Debler, hydrographic engineer of
the Denver office, spent several days on
the Newlands project in connection with
the report by A. N. Burch on upstream
storage.

L. R. Fiock, acting superintendent of
the Rio Grande project, and L. C. Hill,
consulting engineer, met recently with
representatives of the El Paso Electric Co.
and the board of the El Paso County
Water improvement district No. 1 in
regard to the proposed contract for Ihe
sale of power at Elephant Butte Dam.

J. W. Lawler, president, and J. A.
McEachern, vice president of the General
Construction Co., made an inspection re-
cently of the work by their organization
on the Owyhee project.

Miss Marguerite B. Riswold, assistant
clerk, has been transferred from the
Huntley project to the Kittitas division
of the Yakima project.

George W. Sturm has been reelected
president of the board of directors of the
Orland Unit Water Users' Association,
Orland project, California, for his eighth
successive term.

C.S. GOVIUNMENT PRINTING OFFICE :lIS

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION FOR THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

HON. HUBERT WORK, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

E. C. Finney, First Assistant Secretary; John H. Edwards, Assistant Secretary; E. O. Patterson, Solicitor of the Interior Department;

E. K. Burlew, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary

Wasfilntlon. D. C.

Elwood Mead, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

Miss M. A. Schnurr, Secretary to the Commissioner P. W. Dent, Assistant Commissioner Oeorge C Kreutzer, Director of Reclamation Economics

W. F. Ktibach, Chief Accountant C. A. Bissell, Chief of Engineering Division Hugh A. Brown, Assistant Director of Reclamation Economics

C. N. McCulIoch, Chief Clerk
Denver. Colorado. Wilia BaiUlng

R. F. Walter, Chief Engineer; S. O. Harper, General Superintendent of Construction; J. L. Savage, Chief Designing Engineer; E. B. Debler, Hydrographic Engineer;
L. N. McClellan, Electrical Engineer; C. M. Day, Mechanical Engineer; Armand Offutt, District Counsel; L. R. Smith, Chief Clerk; Harry Caden, Fiscal Agent.

Project

Office

Superintendent

Chief clerk

Fiscal agent

District counsel

Name

Office

Belle Fourche Newell, S. Dak

F. C. Youngblutt...
R. J. Newell

J. P. Siebeneicher...
W. L. Vernon

Wm. J. Burke.
B. E. Stoutemyer.. ..

Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Oreg
El Paso, Tex.
Montrose, Colo.

Berkeley, Calif.
Billings, Mont.
Do.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Mitchell, Nebr.
Portland, Oreg.
Berkeley, Calif.
Portland, Oreg.
El Paso, Tex.
Mitchell, Nebr.

Billings, Mont.
Do.

Moutrose, Colo.
Portland, Oreg.
Do.
Berkeley, Calif.

Boise 1 Boise, Idaho .- --

Carlsbad Carlsbad. N. Mex

L. E. Foster

W. C. Berger

H. J. S. Devries .. ..

Grand Junction, Colo.

Rnllnntino Mnnt

J C Page

\V J Chiesman

C E Brodie

E E Lewis

King Hill" 3 Kins Hill. Idaho

F. L. Kinkaid...

Klamath

Klamath Falls, Oreg..
Savage, Mont
Malta, Mont

H. D. Newell

N. G. Wheeler

Joseph C. A very

R. J. Coffey...
E. E. Roddis

Lower Yellowstone
Milk River

H. A. Parker

E. R. Scheppelmann
E. E. Chabot

I E. R. Scheppehnann

H. H. Johnson

E.E. Chabot

Minidoka *

Burley, Idaho

E. B. Darlington

G. C. Patterson

Miss A. J. Larson . .

B. E. Stoutemyer
R. J. Coffey . . -.

Fallen, Nev

A. W. Walker

Erie W. Shepard

Miss E.M.Simmonds

North Platte fl

Mitchell, Nebr

II. C. Stetson

Virgil E. Hubbell

Wm. J. Burke

Calvin Casteel

W. D. Funk

N. D. Thorp

B. E. Stoutemyer
R. J. Cofley

Orland

Orland, Calif

R. C.E.Weber..
F. A. Banks

C. H. Lillingston...

.. C.H. Lillingston

H. N. Bickel

B. E. Stoutemyer
H. J. S. Devries

El Paso, Tex.

L R. Fiock

V G. Evans

L. S. Kennicott

H D Com stock

R. B. Smith

Wm. J. Burke

Salt River :

C. C. Cragin

Powell Wyo

L H Mitchell

W. F Sha

E. E. Roddis

Pavson Utah

Lee R Taylor

Sun River I0

Fairfield, Mont . -

G. O. Sanford
A C Houghton

H. W. Johnson

... H. W. Johnson

E. E. Roddis

Umatillau

L. J Foster

U. H. Bolt -.

II F. D. Helm

J.R.Alexander. . ..

Vale

Vale, Oreg

H. W. Bashore"
P. J Preston

C.M. Voyen
R. K. Cunningham.
H. R. Pasewalk

_., C. M. Voyen

B. E. Stoutemyer .. .

Yakima

Yakima, Wash

J. C. Gawler

R M. Priest

..| E. M. Philebaum

R. J. Cofley

Large Construction Work

Salt Lake Basin Echo

Coalville Utah F F Smith

C. F. Williams

C.F.Williams

J. R. Alexander...

Montrose, Colo.

Dam.

Kittitas

Ellensburg, Wash Walker R. Young " ..

E. R. Mills...

B. E. Stoutemyer...

Portland, Oreg.

F. C. Lewis

F C Lewis

E. E. Roddis

Billings, Mont.

Dam.

Stony Gorge Damsite, H. J. Gault 1!

C. B. Funk

R. J. Coffey

Berkeley, Calif.

Dam.

Elk Creek, Calif.

' Operation of Arrowrock Division assumed by Nampa-Meridian, Black Canyon,
Boise-Kuna, Wilder, Big Bend, and New York Irrigation Districts on Apr. 1,
1926.

1 Operation of project assumed by Uuntley Project Irrigation District on Dec.
31, 1927.

3 Operation of project assumed by King Hill Irrigation District Mar, 1, 1926.

4 Operation of South Side Pumping Division assumed by Burley Irrigation
District on Apr. 1, 1920, and of Gravity Division by Minidoka Irrigation District
on Dec. 2, 1916.

1 Operation of project assumed by Truckee-Carson Irrigation District on Dec. 31,
1926.

8 Operation of Interstate Division assumed by Pathfinder Irrigation District on
July 1, 1926, Fort Laramie Division by Goshen Irrigation District and Gering and
Fort Laramie Irrigation District on Dec. 31, 1926, and Northport Division by
Northport Irrigation District on Dec. 31, 1926.

; Operation of project assumed by Salt River Valley Water Users' Association on
Nov. 1, 1917.

' Operation of Garland Division assumed by Shoshone Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

' Operation of project assumed by Strawberry Valley Water Users' Association
on Dec. 1, 1926.

11 Operation of Fort Shaw Division assumed by Fort Shaw Irrigation District on
Dec. 31, 1926.

11 Operation of West Division assumed by West Extension Irrigation District on
July 1, 1926, and East Division by Uermiston Irrigation District informally on
July 1, 1926, and formally, by contract, on Dec. 31, 1926.

" Construction engineer.

Important Investigations in Progress

Project

Office

In charge of

Cooperative agency

Middle Rio Grande

Albuquerque, N. Mex.

Middle Rio Grande conservancy district.

Powell, Wyo ..

I. B. Hosig

Salt Lake City, Utah

E. O. Larson

State of Utah.

o
I
in

o
i

o
i
in

RECLAMATION ERA

VOL. 19

MAY, 1928

NO. 5

A DAIRY HERD ON THE MILK RIVER PROJECT, MONTANA

RECLAMATION

'HE policy of reclamation is a success.

The only remaining great West and the only

remaining surplus of agricultural land in this

country are the arid lands of the Western States.

The richest lands in America, lacking only the

application of Water to make them produce

abundantly, have been kept there, no doubt,

under some divine provision as a residuum

awaiting the necessity for their development

to constitute homes, rural life, and economic

development for theStates in which they

are located as well as for the

entire Nation. '

HON. SAMUEL B. HILL

Member of Congress from
Washington

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

HUBERT WORK
SMrvUry at the Interior

Issued monthly by the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.

Price, 75 cents a year

BLWOOD MEAD
Commiiimr, Horoaa of rUclimiUoi

Vol. 19

May, 1928

No. 5

Interesting High Lights on the Federal Reclamation Projects

STONY GORGE DAM, under construc-
tion on the Orland project, was 85.5
per cent completed at the end of March.
On March 26 Stony Creek flow reached
a maximum of 12,000 second-feet, the
greatest on record at the dam site. The
flow was passed safely through two open-
ings between buttresses No. 32 to 34
with no resulting damage.

RATHER more interest than usual is
noted in cooperative marketing
associations on the Grand Valley and
Boise projects. Fruit growers are leading
in this activity on the Boise project.

THE office of the Idaho Wool Growers
Association has been moved from
Twin Falls to Burley, on the Minidoka
project, R. C. Rich, of Burley, having
been elected president. The association
has a membership of about 600 and rep-
resents an ownership of nearly 1,000,000
sheep.

TT IS estimated that almost a million
* eggs were marketed from the Un-
compahgre Valley during March by the
newly organized Delta and Montrose
Poultry Growers Cooperative Association,
at a price 4 cents or more above what
would have been realized without the
services of the association. The five cars
of about 500 cases each brought $12,000
to the valley. The association also
handled 17,000 pounds of poultry during
the month.

HT1HE Great Northern Railway has let
* the contract for the construction of
their Klamath Falls station at an esti-
mated cost of $50,000.

HE Klamath County agriculturist has
received 33,000 trees from the State
Forestry Nursery at Corvallis, Oreg.,
which have been distributed to Klamath
project farmers. The shipment included
black locust, green ash, Russian mulberry,
Russian olive, black walnut, and Port
Orford cedar.

9992428

rpHIRTEEN new families have been
*- placed on the Chinook division and
one on the Malta division of the Milk
River project. Options have been ob-
tained on 11 tracts in private ownership
for sale to prospective settlers at reason-
able prices on amortized payments over
a period of 20 years.

A MEETING was held recently at
** Fairfield, Sun River project, under
the supervision of the project superin-
tendent and the county agent for the pur-
pose of discussing a diversified farm pro-
gram under irrigation with livestock as
the principal means of disposing of grain
and forage crops. The farmers realize
that continued wheat growing will not
give sufficient returns to make a com-
fortable living and pay construction and
operation and maintenance charges.

HHHERE is considerable agitation on
-- the North Platte project for the
construction of a farmers' cooperative
sugar factory.

TJECENT tests by the United States
-*' Department of Agriculture indicate
that the dairy herds on the Newlands
project are practically free from tuber-
culosis. As a result, there is a brisk
demand, particularly from California, foi
producing cows.

"DECENT developments indicate that
" a pipe line from the Montana gas
fields will be constructed in the near
future to convey this fuel to the vicinity
of the Belle Fourche project. The sur-
veyed line runs east of Belle Fourche
toward Rapid City, and it is planned to
supply all communities where consump-
tion will warrant the investment.

SWIFT & Co. have expressed their in-
terest in the possibilities of the cheese
industry on the Belle Fourche project.

\ MOVEMENT is on foot on the New-
* lands project to form a branch of
the Federal intermediate credit system
connected with the Federal farm loan
bank at Berkeley, Calif., the function of
which will be to advance loans to dairy-
men.

WORK on the electrification of the
Stillwater, Harmon, Soda Lake,
and Sheckler districts, Newlands project,
is progressing steadily. In addition to
the advantages of lighting, most of the
farmers are planning to capitalize the
electrical power in making it do a large
part of the farm work.

E financial condition and credit of
the Truckee-Carson Irrigation Dis-
trict appear to be excellent. They have
a standing offer from one of the local
banks for all of their improvement district
bonds at par plus accrued interest.

E planting of Yuma Valley lands to
paper shell pecans continues to gain
favor among the water users. Several
farmers are planning to plant small acre-
ages to trees next year and others will
plant this year if nursery stock can be
obtained.

rpWENTY acres of grapefruit trees were
* planted on the Yuma Mesa during
March and 15 additional acres were being
leveled for planting. Five acres were
being leveled for the headquarters of a
new syndicate formed largely of local men
who expect to plant a considerable acre-
age this year and next.

ON the Willwood division, Shoshone
project, 63 farm applications have
been filed and 25 entries completed. It
is expected that all desirable units will
have been taken by the first of June, and
plans are being made to have the second
opening sometime prior to the 1st of July.

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

May, 1028

The St. Francis Dam Failure

From the report of the committee appointed by the city council of Los Angeles to investigate and report the cause of the failure of the St.

Francis Dam

By Dr. Elwood Mead, chairman; L. C. Hill; and Gen. Lansing H. Beach. Concurred in by D. C. Henny and R. F. Waller

Los ANGELES, CALIF.,

March SI, 1928.

To the CITY COUNCIL,

Los Angeles, Calif.

GENTLEMEN: This committee was
formed pursuant to the following resolu-
tion of the city council of Los Angeles:

2500 (1928). MARCH 16, 1928.

Mr. ELWOOD MEAD,

Chief of Reclamation Service of the
United Stales, Department of Interior,
c/o Councilman Peirson M. Hall.

DEAR SIR: This is to advise that at
regular meeting of the city council held
March 16, 1928, the following resolution
presented by the water and power com-
mittee, was adopted:

Whereas the council has heretofore in-
structed this committee to negotiate
with Elwood Mead, Chief of Reclamation
Service of the United States Department
of Interior, to ascertain whether or not he
would act as chairman of a committee of
engineers to investigate the cause of the
destruction of the St. Francis Dam; and

Whereas, pursuant to said instruction,
said committee has negotiated with said El-
wood Mead, and has received his consent
to act as chairman, and is informed that
the Secretary of the Interior has author-
ized his release from duty of the Depart-
ment of the Interior for such purpose;
and

Whereas said resolution further in-
structed this committee to secure from
the American Society of Civil Engineers
the names of competent engineers who
would act upon said committee; and

Whereas, your committee is informed by
the Secretary of the American Society of
Civil Engineers that said society, instead
of submitting a list of names, would prefer
to serve by collaborating with Elwood
Mead as to the formation of said com-
mittee;

Now, therefore, be it resolved: That said
Elwood Mead is hereby designated as
chairman of a committee of engineers to
investigate the cause of the destruction of
St. Francis Dam, and

Be it further resolved: That said Elwood
Mead, as chairman, in collaboration with
the American Society of Civil Engineers,
be and he is hereby authorized to select
an additional two members of said com-
mittee.

Respectfully,

(Signed) ROBT. DOMINGUEZ,

City Clerk.

After communicating with Mr. George
T. Seabury, secretary of the American
Society of Civil Engineers, the chairman
with Mr. Seabury's approval designated
by you, selected as the other two mem-
bers, Mr. Louis C. Hill, of Los Angeles,
formerly supervising, now consulting en-
gineer of the United States Bureau of
Reclamation, who directed preparation of

plans and construction of the Roosevelt
and Elephant Butte Dams, and Maj. Gen.
Lansing H. Beach, ex-Chief of Engineers,
United States Army, under whose direc-
tion the Wilson Dam at Muscle Shoals
was built. By your authority Mr. D. C.
Henny, of Portland, Oreg., formerly super-
vising, now consulting engineer, United
States Bureau of Reclamation, was en-
gaged as investigator and consulting en-
gineer to the committee. Mr. Raymond
F. Walter, chief engineer, United States
Bureau of Reclamation, having been de-
tailed by the Secretary of the Interior to
investigate for that branch of the Federal
Government the cause of the failure of the
dam, your committee has felt free to have
him join it in its investigations and to take
advantage of his experience in its investi-
gations and discussions.

All the parties named promptly visited
the site of the dam, took samples of the
concrete of which the dam was built
and also secured specimens of the rocks
upon which the dam founded, and care-
fully examined all materials connected
with the construction and which affect
the stability of the structure. A descrip-
tion of the samples taken and the results
of the tests made of them are given in the
report of the testing laboratory.

The city council was requested by letter
to furnish the committee certain data
relative to the construction of the dam
and other matters connected with its
failure. The character of the data re-
quested and the action taken by the
council in regard to it are shown by the
reply thereto under date of March 23,
1928, and are as follows:

MARCH 23, 1928.
Mr. PEIRSON M. HALL, Chairman
Water and Power Commission,

City Hall, Los Angeles, Calif.

DEAR SIR: The 16 questions submitted
by Dr. Elwood Mead to your committee
and referred to this department for atten-
tion, are answered as follows:

1. Q. Samples of concrete, from various
blocks scattered along the canyon. These
samples are to be tested for strength,
weight per cubic foot and for absorption.

A. These samples were taken yesterday
(March 22) in the presence and under the
instructions of Dr. Elwood Mead and
Mr. Louis C. Hill, transported to the city
and are now in their possession.

2. Q. Samples of schist, taken from
left abutment, from points where it
adheres to the dam, and from the right
abutment. These are to be tested for
strength in compression, in shear, and
for absorption.

A. Samples of schist were obtained
under the same circumstances as in ques-

tion 1, and are now in Doctor Mead's and
Mr. Hill's possession for test requested.

3. Q. Samples of conglomerate taken
from various points on the right abut-
ment and tested both dry and wet for
compressive strength. Samples are also
to be immersed in water and after being
wet and crushed a sieve analysis should be
made, and an analysis made to determine
the composition of this conglomerate.

A. Samples of conglomerate have been
taken and are now in Doctor Mead's and
Mr. Hill's possession.

4. Q. Record of recording gauge on
dam during the period March 8, 1928,
until after the accident.

A. Photostat copy of recording gauge
record was transmitted to Doctor Mead
on March 22 by this office.

5. Q. Plans of the dam.

A. Blue prints of the dam are now in
the possession of Doctor Mead and his
committee.

6. Q. Topographic map of the dam site
before the work began.

A. Topographic prints, etc., are also in
Doctor Mead's possession.

7. Q. Notes of resident engineer on
foundation's condition as found during
excavation for the dam.

A. (See answer to question 8.)

8. Q. Topographic map of the dam
site or cross sections just before pouring.

A. These records are now in Doctor
Mead's possession, as shown by drawing
1142.

9. Q. All reports of the resident engi-
neer during the construction of the dam.

A. Block report now being made and
will be furnished when same has been
completed.

10. Q. Report of the geologists, Pro-
fessor Tolman, Dr. Robert T. Hill, and
Dr. D. W. Murphy, on the geology of the
foundation of the St. Francis Dam.

A. Report of the geologists will be
rendered by them.

11. Q. Record of all seepages or leaks,
both as to location and quantity, and
time of starting. This record wants to
be complete enough so that any changes
in either the quantity or character of the
seepage can be determined, and the time
at which changes occurred.

A. Record of all seepages and leaks has
been transmitted and is now in Doctor
Mead's possession.

12. Q. What changes occurred in the
widths of the openings of the contraction
joints previous to the failure of the dam?
This applies both to the cracks in the dam
and in the abutment. Inspection shows
that cracks in that portion of the dam
along the ridge had been caulked with
oakum, and that since these cracks were
caulked the cracks had opened still wider
than when originally caulked. Did the
opening of these cracks occur before the
dam failed, or afterwards, or at the time
of failure?

A. This question will be answered by
Mr. Mulholland at an interview before
the committee.

13. Q. What work was done to take
care of leakage along the dyke on the west
side and when was the drain dug?

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

St. Francis Dam, downstream face of standing section

NEW RECLAMATION ERA

May, 1928

45 or more and lying in such a direction
that this dip is practically parallel to the
east side of the canyon at the site of the
dam. In fact it may be considered that
it is the face of this rock which now forms
the bank on this side. This cleavage
extends over large areas along uniform
planes from bottom to top and provides
slippery sliding surfaces with small adher-
ence, extremely favorable to the formation
of large slides when undercut. This
explains the extensive slides which have
occurred at the east end of the dam.

On the west bank of the canyon it is
the edges of the layers which are exposed,
permitting a greater penetration of water
and perhaps a deeper decomposition with
greater friability, but not the same tend-
ency to slide as on the east side. The
schist showed a compressive strength for
the six samples tested of from 3,600 to
11,000 pounds per square inch and it was
found that samples soaked in water for
10 minutes and for 24 hours developed no
less strength than those tested dry, owing
no doubt to the water-tightness of the
material itself.

Above this schist on the west bank is a
mass of red material commonly called
conglomerate on account of the consider-
able number of pebbles and pieces of
harder material imbedded in it. The line
of separation between the schist and the
red conglomerate is very clear and dis-
tinct and forms what is geologically known
as a dead fault.

This red conglomerate is not uniform
in character. It varies greatly in hard-
ness as is shown by the manner in which
the foundation is eroded. There are spots
which are hard and resist the action of
water, but the great mass when dry ap-
pears to have the character of stone but
when wet disintegrates rapidly to a slip-
pery friable mass or even loses all shape
even in a few minutes. A piece im-
mersed in water gives out bubbles of air
practically until the time of collapse,
showing that it is thoroughly porous, the
absorption amounting to 1.5 per cent of
its weight. When wet in situ the surface
is promptly changed to a slippery sub-
stance as little able to keep anything
standing upon it from sliding as can well
be imagined. Three samples of this were
tested dry; they broke at pressures of
from 600 to 1,960 pounds per square
inch, 2 samples were soaked in water for
10 minutes and broke at 210 and 845
pounds per square inch respectively,
while 2 other samples, picked from points
in the west hill side near the points from
where the other samples were taken, were
soaked in water for 24 hours and disin-
tegrated into fine particles and sand
grains and therefore could not be tested.
A large number of additional samples

were taken from various points in the
west hill side under the dam base and
submerged in water and all disintegrated
within a few hours.

The cementing material in the red con-
glomerate consists of clay, iron oxides,
and amorjftous silica. The clay and
silica soften in the presence of water while
the iron oxides dissolve. The conglom-
erate readily absorbs water to the extent
of about 1.5 per cent of its weight. The
percolation of the water into the con-
glomerate would soften the cementing
material and would dissolve the gypsum
which filled some of the fissures in the
formation. The effect of softening or
removing the binder would be to at once
reduce the crushing strength of the mass
and its ability to sustain the weight of the
dam, and the effect of dissolving the slowly
soluble gypsum which filled some of the
fissures would be to open up these fissures
and loosen the masses of material that
are between them. It would also permit
freer movement of water into and through
the rock. If the water passing through
these fissures carried with it gypsum in
solution, the water would remain clear
and would carry no evidence that it was
washing away part of the foundation of
the dam.

As the leakage increased it might carry
with it particles of the conglomerate on
either side of the fissures, but in many
cases this material contained so little clay
or claylike material th'at the water would
be reasonably clear on emerging from
under the dam on the downstream side.

The dam was inspected by Messrs.
Mulholland and Van Norman on March
12, 1928, and they both have informed
the committee that they observed noth-
ing abnormal at that time nor saw any-
thing that could cause apprehension.
The former, when asked if he knew any-
thing concerning the reports which had
gained some circulation to the effect that
muddy water had been coming through
the dam, stated that work was in progress
upon the road on the south side, i. e.,
downstream side, of the hogback and
that some of the earth moved had been
allowed to slide into the seepage streams
issuing from the wall, thus coloring them,
but he was positive that all such streams
were perfectly clear when they first
appeared below the dam and were not
unusual in amount of flow. They stated,
however, that the amount of flow had
increased from 7.6 miner's inches on
February 29, 1928, to what they judged
to be about 50 miner's inches.

The height of water in the reservoir
was registered by a self-recording Stevens
gauge located upon that portion of the
dam which was not destroyed, and its
record has been preserved.

From this record it is evident that the
dam failed shortly after midnight of
March 12-13, the structure being com-
pletely destroyed, with the exception of
one block from 80 to 100 feet long.

So far as known no person now living
saw the dam fail. A study of the gauge
record indicates an increasing leakage
past the dam for some hours and then a
rapidly increasing fall of the water of
the reservoir. It was some 25 to 30
minutes from the time when the outflow
began to be sufficient in amount to show
upon the gauge until the flow reached
10,000 cubic feet per second. After this
time the outflow increased within a few
minutes; it exceeded 600,000 cubic feet
per second as block after block of the
dam went out. The accompanying table
shews the story of discharges as computed
from the gauge and the capacity curve
of the reservoir.

Rate of flow based on fall of reservoir as
shown by recording gauge in cubic feet
per second

Gauge time

Least
estimated
flow

Greatest
estimated
flow

12:0

300

1 200