LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, SIR: The act of Congress approved June 17, 1902, entitled "An act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands," provides (section 2) as follows: That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to make examinations and surveys for, and to locate and construct, as herein provided, irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters, including artesian wells, and to report to Congress at the beginning of each regular session as to the results of such examinations and surveys, giving estimates of cost of all contemplated works, the quantity and location of the lands which can be irrigated therefrom, and all facts relative to the practicability of each irrigation project; also the cost of works in process of construction, as well as of those which have been completed. In compliance with the requirements of the statute, I have the honor to inclose herewith copy of a letter from the Director of the Geological Survey, dated the 29th ultimo, transmitting the report contemplated by the abovementioned section of the act of June 17, 1902. Very respectfully, The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. E. A. HITCHCOCK, Secretary. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, Washington, D. C., November 29, 1905. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of the work done and in progress under the reclamation act approved by the President June 17, 1902, together with other information essential to an understanding of the subject. This report supplements and brings up to date the information given in the First Annual Report of the Reclamation Service, issued as House Document No. 79, Fifty-seventh Congress, second session; in the Second Annual Report of the Reclamation Service, issued as House Document No. 44, Fifty-eighth Congress, second session, and the Third Annual Report of the Reclamation Service, issued as House Document No. 28, Fifty-eighth Congress, third session. The latter report was first issued without illustrations, and later, owing to the demand for additional copies, a second edition was authorized to be printed, with illustrations. This fourth Annual Report is submitted with illustrations, consisting mainly of maps, plans, and diagrams, as it is found that there is a large demand for this information from landowners, investors, and public men, as well as from engineers. The necessity of making a report to Congress at the beginning of each regular session results in a somewhat hasty preparation of material at the height of the field season, and at a time of the year when construction should be pushed most rapidly. If it were allowable to submit the report some months later it would be practicable to digest and arrange important data such as can be H. Doc. 86, 59-1--2 17 obtained only to advantage during the winter months when construction work is nearly at a standstill. Every effort, however, has been made to bring together the accompanying material in as good form as possible, and to give the latest figures or totals from the record books, as these are kept up day by day. The work carried on under the reclamation act is widely scattered, and hence it is impossible to follow the same orderly system that would prevail if the work were concentrated at one point, as, for example, in the water supply of a great city. The time taken in communication between the field and the Washington office is frequently so great that by the time estimates arrive and are checked over a new condition has arisen in the field. Thus, the figures given for any one day are necessarily subject to material change as new information arrives. The reclamation act has been in effect for more than three years. During this period reconnaissance examinations and surveys have been carried on over a vast area and construction work has been begun at many widely scattered localities. An engineering corps has been organized and a large clerical and accounting force has been trained in the methods peculiar to Government affairs. A system of bookkeeping and cost keeping has been established and every effort made, first, to expedite the work; second, to insure economy; and third, to improve the system of accounting and cost keeping. It has not been practicable to follow what might be termed the logical order-that is, to lay out an ideal system first and then execute the work in accordance with this system; on the contrary, the demands for results have been so pressing that it has been necessary, first, to show results, and then, on the basis of the experience acquired, to organize and perfect the system. Nearly all of the irrigation works are large and involve not merely engineering difficulties but an adjustment of intricate vested rights in lands and waters. The ground to be covered is rarely open, but is frequently covered with wrecks of various enterprises, these having little, if any, value beyond that derived from the opportunity of selling the wreckage at a good price to the Government. The work therefore requires not merely engineering skill but almost infinite patience and perseverance in overcoming obstacles resulting from the claims of individuals and corporations or from the operation of inadequate water laws. Notwithstanding these obstacles the work has been pushed forward energetically, and the results already obtained justify the belief that continued progress will be made along the lines indicated in this report. Very respectfully, The honorable SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. CHAS. D. WALCOTT, Director. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, RECLAMATION SERVICE, Washington, D. C., November 27, 1905. SIR: In accordance with the provisions of section 2 of the reclamation act, I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript for the Fourth Annual Report of the Reclamation Service. This is similar in form to the first, second, and third annual reports and goes a little more into detail as regards expenditures and costs of the work. Very respectfully. Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, F. H. NEWELL, Chief Engineer. Director of the United States Geological Survey. FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE RECLAMATION SERVICE. F. H. NEWELL, Chief Engineer. GENERAL DISCUSSION. The reclamation act (32 Stat. L., 388) has been in operation less than three years and a half. There have already been issued three annual reports of operations carried on under authority of that act, giving in detail the history of the work and the results accomplished. This report contains a statement of the operations during the greater part of the calendar year 1905. RECLAMATION LAW. For convenience of reference the full text of the reclamation act is here inserted. Much of the discussion concerning the operations under this act, and the effect of it on the future development of the West, has been had with little reference to the law itself, and it seems advisable frequently to call attention to the letter and the spirit of the act in order to prevent misconception of the objects and purposes of the Reclamation Service. AN ACT appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all moneys received from the sale and disposal of public lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, beginning with the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one, including the surplus of fees and commissions in excess of allowances to registers and receivers, and excepting the five per centum of the proceeds of the sales of public lands in the above States set aside by law for educational and other purposes shall be, and the same are hereby, reserved, set aside, and appropriated as a special fund in the Treasury to be known as the "reclamation fund," to be used in the examination and survey for the construction and maintenance of irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters for the reclamation of arid and semiarid lands in the said States and Territories, and for the payment of all other expenditures provided for in this act : Provided, That in case the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands other than those realized from the sale and disposal of lands referred to in this section are insuffi-' cient to meet the requirements for the support of agricultural colleges in the several States and Territories, under the act of August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act to apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment and support of the colleges for the benefit of agricultural and mechanical arts, established under the provisions of an act of Congress approved July second, 19 eighteen hundred and sixty-two," the deficiency, if any, in the sum necessary for the support of the said colleges shall be provided for from any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to make examinations and surveys for, and to locate and construct, as herein provided, irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters, including artesian wells, and to report to Congress at the beginning of each regular session as to the results of such examinations and surveys, giving estimates of cost of all contemplated works, the quantity and location of the lands which can be irrigated therefrom, and all facts relative to the practicability of each irrigation project; also the cost of works in process of construction as well as those which have been completed. SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior shall, before giving the public notice provided for in section four of this act, withdraw from public entry the lands required for any irrigation works contemplated under the provisions of this act, and shall restore to public entry any of the lands so withdrawn when, in his judgment, such lands are not required for the purposes of this act; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, at or immediately prior to the time of beginning the surveys for any contemplated irrigation works, to withdraw from entry, except under the homestead laws, any public lands believed to be susceptible of irrigation from said works: Provided, That all lands entered and entries made under the homestead laws within areas so withdrawn during such withdrawal shall be subject to all the provisions, limitations, charges, terms, and conditions of this act; that said surveys shall be prosecuted diligently to completion, and upon the completion thereof, and of the necessary maps, plans, and estimates of cost, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine whether or not said project is practicable and advisable, and if determined to be impracticable or unadvisable he shall thereupon restore said lands to entry; that public lands which it is proposed to irrigate by means of any contemplated works shall be subject to entry only under the provisions of the homestead laws in tracts not less than forty nor more than one hundred and sixty acres, and shall be subject to the limitations, charges, terms, and conditions herein provided: Provided, That the commutation provisions of the homestead laws shall not apply to entries made under this act. SEC. 4. That upon the determination by the Secretary of the Interior that any irriga. tion project is practicable, he may cause to be let contracts for the construction of the same, in such portions or sections as it may be practicable to construct and complete as parts of the whole project, providing the necessary funds for such portions or sections are available in the reclamation fund, and thereupon he shall give public notice of the lands irrigable under such project, and limit of area per entry, which limit shall represent the acreage which, in the opinion of the Secretary, may be reasonably required for the support of a family upon the lands in question; also of the charges which shall be made per acre upon the said entries, and upon lands in private ownership which may be irrigated by the waters of the said irrigation project, and the number of annual installments, not exceeding ten, in which such charges shall be paid and the time when such payments shall commence. The said charges shall be determined with a view of returning to the reclamation fund the estimated cost of construction of the project, and shall be apportioned equitably: Provided, That in all construction work eight hours shall constitute a day's work, and no Mongolian labor shall be employed thereon. SEC. 5. That the entryman upon lands to be irrigated by such works shall, in addition to compliance with the homestead laws, reclaim at least one-half of the total irrigable area of his entry for agricultural purposes, and before receiving patent for the lands covered by his entry shall pay to the Government the charges apportioned against such tract, as provided in section four. No right to the use of water for land in private ownership shall be sold for a tract exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to any one landowner, and no such sale shall be made to any landowner unless he be an actual bona fide resident on such land, or occupant thereof residing in the neighborhood of said land, and no such right shall permanently attach until all payments therefor are made. The annual installments shall be paid to the receiver of the local land office of the district in which the land is situated, and a failure to make any two payments when due shall render the entry subject to cancellation, with the forfeiture of all rights under this act, as well as of any moneys already paid thereon. All moneys received from the above sources shall be paid into the reclamation fund. Registers and receivers shall be allowed the usual commissions on all moneys paid for lands entered under this act. SEC. 6. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to use the reclamation fund for the operation and maintenance of all reservoirs and irrigation works constructed under the provisions of this act: Provided, That when the payments required by this act are made for the major portion of the lands irrigated from the waters of any of the works herein provided for, then the management and operation of such irrigation works shall pass to the owners of the lands irrigated thereby, to be maintained at sary for the Treasury t ted to make ed, irrigation tesian welk he results of dworks, the acts relatin xcess of co notice pr required for Il restore nds are not eby auther Contemplated any pub It all land wn duri terms a completio stimates d mispos shall there their expense under such form of organization and under such rules and regulations as may be acceptable to the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That the title to and the management and operation of the reservoirs and the works necessary for their protection and operation shall remain in the Government until otherwise provided by Congress. SEC. 7. That where in carrying out the provisions of this act it becomes necessary to acquire any rights or property, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to acquire the same for the United States by purchase or by condemnation under judicial process, and to pay from the reclamation fund the sums which may be needed for that purpose, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General of the United States upon every application of the Secretary of the Interior under this act to cause proceedings to be commenced for condemnation within thirty days from the receipt of the application at the Department of Justice. SEC. 8. That nothing in this act shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any State or Territory relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of water used in irrigation, or any vested right acquired thereunder, and the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the provisions of this act, shall proceed in conformity with such laws, and nothing herein shall in any way affect any right of any State or of the Federal Government or of any landowner, appropriator, or user of water in, to, or from any interstate stream or the waters thereof: Provided, That the right to the use of water acquired under the provisions of this act shall be appurtenant to the land irrigated, and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right. SEC. 9. That it is hereby declared to be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior in carrying out the provisions of this act, so far as the same may be practicable and subject to the existence of feasible irrigation projects, to expend the major portion of the funds arising from the sale of public lands within each State and Territory herein before named for the benefit of arid and semiarid lands within the limits of such State or Territory: Provided, That the Secretary may temporarily use such portion of said funds for the bencfit of arid or semiarid lands in any particular State or Territory hereinbefore named as he may deem advisable, but when so used the excess shall be restored to the fund as soon as practicable, to the end that ultimately, and in any event, within each ten-year period after the passage of this act, the expenditures for the benefit of the said States and Territories shall be equalized according to the proportions and subject to the conditions as to practicability and feasibility aforesaid. SEC. 10. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect. Approved, June 17, 1902. DETAILS OF THE LAW. The law has been in operation less than three and one-half years, but during that time a great many questions have arisen concerning details which could not have been anticipated in the law itself. Most of these have been satisfactorily settled, and good precedents have been established on points where discretion has been left to executive officers. FUNDS FOR RECLAMATION. The fund set aside by the act, as shown by section 1, is derived from the sale and disposal of public lands in thirteen States and three Territories. EXAMINATIONS AND SURVEYS. Section 2 of the act directs the Secretary of the Interior to make examinations and surveys and to construct irrigation works. In order to carry out these operations there has been gradually created what is known as the "Reclamation Service," for which competent men have been selected through civil-service examination. The organization of this corps of engineers has been a matter of evolution, necessitated by the circumstances, attempt being made to secure the largest efficiency irrespective of other considerations. Section 2 also directs that a report be made giving the results of examinations and surveys, estimates of cost, and all other facts relative to the practica |