to the publication of the Reclamation Record, a monthly publication; and edits the annual reports of the Service, and other reports and material preparatory to their publication.

Examiners of Accounts. Three examiners of accounts are employed to inspect and audit the accounts maintained in the several project offices and to advise those offices as to the methods of keeping such accounts. Prior to July 1, 1917, this work was under the direction of the Comptroller, irregularities noted by the inspectors being reported by them to the Comptroller, who brought them to the attention of the Director and Chief Engineer for rectification. Upon the position of Comptroller becoming vacant, on the date mentioned, the three examiners of accounts were placed directly under the jurisdiction of the Director and Chief Engineer.

Office of Chief of Construction (Denver). The Chief of Construction is the field executive of the Director and Chief Engineer. He is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and receives a salary of $6,000 per annum. He has imme

diate supervision over the management and execution of all work in the field; his office is located at Denver.

The duties of the Chief of Construction are thus defined in the order of the Secretary of the Interior, dated November 22, 1915:

The Chief of Construction shall represent the executive officer in the field and shall have charge of the Denver Office and all employees engaged in the construction, operation, and maintenance of the projects and works incident thereto. He shall report to the Director and Chief Engineer, and, subject to the latter's general approval, shall adopt the measures necessary to execute the approved plans and policies.

The Chief of Construction thus has under his control an office force located in the Denver office, and a field force stationed on the twenty-six projects.

The sections of the office force, stationed at Denver, are as follows:

I.

Office Proper of Chief of Construction.

2. Engineering Section.

3. Disbursing Section. 4. Purchasing Section.

5. Consulting Engineers.

In the Office Proper of the Chief of Construction are two Assistant Chiefs of Construction.

The so-called Engineering Section is in fact composed of four coördinate engineering sections, headed by an electrical engineer, a designing engineer, a drainage engineer and an office engineer respectively. The electrical engineer advises. the Chief of Construction on mechanical and electrical engineering matters and supervises the design and examination of plans submitted for approval of permanent mechanical and electrical installations. The designing engineer supervises the designing and drafting done in the Denver office and acts in an advisory capacity in the examination of all plans and designs. submitted for approval with the exception of mechanical and electrical work. The drainage engineer advises the Chief of Construction on drainage matters and acts in an advisory capacity to the project managers on drainage problems. The office engineer assists the Chief of Construction on engineering details, examines contracts and specifications, and supervises the inspection of materials purchased under contract.

The Disbursing Section has to do with the disbursement of moneys for purchases made through the Denver office and the payment of payrolls and other vouchers transmitted to the Denver office for payment.

The purchasing agent supervises all purchases and transfers. of property made through the Denver office.

The work of a Cement Testing Section which supervised the testing and shipping of cement, formerly a part of the Denver organization, was transferred recently to the Bureau of Standards of the Department of Commerce.

In addition to the above organization, a staff of consulting engineers is retained, and where considered necessary the

Chief of Construction calls upon these engineers to act individually in an advisory capacity on special engineering questions submitted to them or with boards of engineers appointed to make recommendations regarding engineering features of reclamation projects.

The field organization of the executive and engineering branch embraces, as above stated, twenty-six projects.

During the initial stages of the Service's work, the engineer in charge of each separate field party or project reported to the Chief Engineer (located at the Washington office); but as the number of enterprises increased it became impossible for the Chief Engineer to give personal attention to all details. There were accordingly created six districts, each with a supervising engineer in charge who reported to the Washington office and acted as the immediate representative in the field of the Chief Engineer. With the completion of the larger structures the number of districts was reduced to three, the engineer in charge of a district being designated senior engineer instead of supervising engineer. In 1916 the area was again divided and four senior engineers' divisions were established, known as the Central, Southern, Northern, and Pacific Divisions. The senior engineer in charge of each division had duties in addition to that of supervision of his district; the senior engineer in charge of the Central Division acting also as assistant to the Chief of Construction, and each of the other three senior engineers acting also as a project manager. These territorial divisions have recently been abolished, and each project manager now reports direct to the Chief of Construction.

The projects, arranged alphabetically by states, are as follows:

'Work on this project has been postponed until after the war.

On each project is a project manager in responsible charge. It is his duty to direct the work in all its phases, including the operation and maintenance of completed portions of the systems. The project manager has an office force and a field force. The office force has for its duties the planning of the construction work, the planning of water deliveries for the project as a whole, the compilation of records of deliveries, the collection and disbursement of money, and the office correspondence. The field force has for its duties the actual construction involved in building physical features of the projects, and after construction the proper distribution of the water and the maintenance of the irrigation works. Members of the office force frequently assist in the inspection of field work. The size and the detailed duties of these forces will necessarily vary with the extent and conditions on each project.

The field force employed for the operation of the works is usually drawn from the working force which built the canals. and is thus composed of men who had become thoroughly acquainted with all the details. In any system of earth works

there are so many things out of sight that it is not safe to trust such works in the hands of men who do not know their past history or the methods used in their construction.

If the system consists of several large canals, each is in charge of a superintendent who, in turn, has under him two or more water masters, each in charge of large subdivisions. At the head of the system, near the gates which control the outflow of water from the reservoir or at the inflow to the canals, is located a gate tender who, with his family, resides at the spot so that some competent person is always available to be reached by telephone and to manipulate the gates. At convenient points along the principal canals are located various canal riders known in the southwest as "zanjeros," the duty of each being to ride daily 20 miles or more of the canal, see that it is in good condition, and open or close the water gates leading from the main canal into the laterals and, from these, to the farmers' distributing systems. These men usually need two horses for use on alternate days, or are provided with motorcycles or light automobiles to facilitate the work. The men are paid from $75 to $90 per month, depending upon their experience, the difficulty of the work, facilities in the way of lodging and transportation furnished to them, and the number of months employed. In the northern states, where the irrigation season is short, many of them are kept busy only during the summer and seek other occupations during the remainder of the year. It is, however, difficult to get back on the work the good men for the summer season and, hence, it is frequently necessary to furnish employment to these men in some other line on the project throughout the year.

Legal Division. The work of the legal branch embraces the acquisition of water rights and rights of way, and the purchase of land, the examination of titles, the preparation of public notices, the interpretation of laws and rules, and all other legal matters arising out of the work of the Service.