Nogales International

COLUMBIA BASIN IRRIGATION PROJECT ON HOUSE CALENDAR

On January 4th the Columbia Basin Irrigation project in Washington, providing for further investigations and surveys of the project was reported to the House with amendments and the bill is now on the House calendar according to Addison T. Smith, Chairman of the House Committee of Irrigation and Reclamation.

This project when carried through to completion will eventually make productive, something like one and three quarter millions of acres of land now yielding virtually nothing to the national wealth. It is said that it will, when completed, add more to the national wealth than either the Panama Canal or the Alaskan Railways.

It is generally felt that President Elect Hoover's administration will be marked for the working out of irrigation and flood control projects and the development of America's great engineering and reclamation projects will receive skilled economic consideration.

The Columbia River Basin country is expecting favorable consideration by the incoming administration for the carrying out of this project.

Recently the Newport Water Company on the banks of the Pend Oreille River was purchased by the W. B. Foshay Co., who control and manage large utility interests in this country and abroad. Newport is one mile west of Albany Falls the diversion site of the proposed Columbia irrigation project.