Arizona weekly citizen., 1889-09-07
IRRIGATION.
The Senatorial Committee Ar
 rives in Tucson,
A WELCOME EXTENDED TO THEN THAT REFLECTS
 CREDIT ON TUCSON.
Who COmpOses tue Committee---The Law Under Which They are Working -- Reports Re- ceived from Arizona. -
 Public Speaking
 This Evening.

Public Speaking
 This Evening
 The Senatorial Committee on there
 clamation and Irrigation of arid lands,
 arrived in this city to-day. The com
 mittee is composed of Senators William
 NJ. Stewart, of Nevada, chairman; P E
 Plumb, of Kansas, Wm. B. Allison, of
 Iowa; Frank Hiscock of New York;
 Arthur F. German, of Maryland; John
 H. Reagan. of Texas, and James K.
 Jones, of Arkansas. The committee
 was appointed in February last to con-
 duct the governmental inquiry into the
 matter of irrigation, in accordance with
 the following law, introduced by Senator
 Stewart, and passed by the Forty ninth
 Congress:
 "For the purpose of Investigating ..e
 extent to which the arid region e .,e | United States can be redeemed by irrI-
 gation, and the segregation of the irri- | gable lands in such arid region, and for | the selection of sites of reservoirs and other hydraulic works necessary for the
 storage and utilization of water for irri-
 gation and the prevention of floods and
 overfiows, and to make the necessary
 maps, including the pay of employees in | field and Tn office, the cost of all instru-
 ments, apparatus and materials, and all | other necessary expenses connected | herewith, the work to be performed by
 the Geological survey, under the direc-
 ton of the Secretary of the Interior, the sum of S200,O00, or so much thereof as | may be necessary, IS appropriated, and | the directors of the Geological Survey,
 under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall make a report to
 Congress on the first Monday in Decem- | Der of each year, showing in detail how | the said money had been expended, the amount used for actual survey and en- gineer work in the field in locating sites | for reservoirs and an itemized account
 of the expenditures under this appro- | priation."
 The law also contains section to the effect that 'all the lands which may hereafter De designed or selected by | such United States surveys for sites for | reservoirs. ditcheS or canals for irriga- tion purposes, and all the lands made
 susceptible of irrigation by such reser- | voirs, ditcheS or canals, are from this time henceforth hereby reserved from | sale as the property of the United | States, and shall not be subject after | the passage of this act to entry. settle | ment or occupation until further pro- vided by law, provided that the prssi- | dent may at any time, in his discretion, | by proclamation, open any portion or all of the lands reserved by this pro- | vision to settlement under the home stead laws"
 This last section of the law, as above | has been the cause of no little anxiety | on part of those now occupying land l that would, under a literal construction be withdraw from entry. Not only has | the alarm been general among those di- | rectly interested in making homes for | themselves, but the danger has been appreciated by all classes interested in 1 the progress of Arizona However the | statement sent out from San Francisco accredited to Major Powell chief of the
 geological survey to the effect that the law contemplated the withdrawal of the lands embraced in the actual sites of reservoirs only, has been done much to allay the uneasiness that was fast grow l ing into a universal protest.
 Senators Stewart, and Began are
 the only ones of the committee that
 came to the coast. The committee
 commenced their labors at St. Paul on August 1st, and have been pushing
 their investigation without intermission,
 since, visiting Montana, Idaho, North
 and South Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and arriving in San Francisco August 26th. A delegation from Tucson met them in San Francisco and urged the necessity and justice of thorough investigation
 of the natural irrigation advantages presented by Arizona. To the efforts of Hon. Brewster Cameron and Hon. Chas. R. Drake, who were most per sistant in urging the claims of thIs Ter ritory, is due the several stops made
 within it's borders. Since the arrival of the committee in San Francisco, the
 state of California has received the most searching attention, especially in the Southern part, where all the important towns were visited and delegations of citizens and their collected data, maps, etc., were received. The committee ar rived at Yuma yesterday morning, made a stop of few hours and proceeded to Phenix, where they will remain until o'clock this morning.
 A meeting of the citizens of Pima County was held several weeks ago for the purpose of taking the necessary steps towards gathering facts and data to be presented the Senatorial Com mittee on its arrival here. At that meet ing q committee consisting of Francis J. Heney, J. A. Black, Brewster Cameron, A. E. Miltimore and F. H. Goodwin, was appointed, on data and statistics. Also the following reception committee was appointed at that meeting:-M. P. Free
 man, chairman; Brewster Cameron, c. R. Drake, Frank Proctor, J. $. Noble. George Atkinson, J. $. Mansfield, O. T.
 Rouse, Thomas Hughes, l.. c. Hughes, Leopoldo Carrillo, Fl. E.. Lacy, Carlos Velasco, Sabine Otero, F. w. Smith, $. c. Heaton, I. N. Town, J. J. Chatham, A. B. Sampson, W. c. Davis, w. K. Meade, Wm. Lowell, R. H. Paul, Royal A. Johnson, R. R. Richardson, Albert Steinfeldt, Ben Hereford, F. Maish, w. Zeckendorf, J. c. Handy, Jno Zellweger, Herbert Brown, A, J. Davidson, Judge W. H. Barnes, Hiram Stevens, NJ. G. Samaniego, H. R. Jetfords, w. Edwards, Walter Vail, c. A. Shibell, Dr. Fenner, J. M. Ormsby, Chas. w. Wright, S. M Franklin
 Since that meeting the committee on data have been pushing the work of gathering the desired information, and have succeeded in preparing a compre hensive and interesting report on tn natural advantages to be found in thi county for the storage of water and irr gation of large bodies of lands that are now a desert.