Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-07-09
POWELL IRRIGATION BILL,


At a meeting Of the citizens OF the ter
ritory of New Mexico, held at Santa Fe
on the 28th OF June, 1890, Judge S. B
Axtell was called to the chair, and Hon. E
A. Fiske was appointed secretary. The
committee which was appointed to draft
resolutions reported the following, which
were unanimously adopted
Whereas, By act of congress approved
the I'd day of October, 1888, (chapter
l,069, Laws LIST session 50th congress,
page 507,) provision was made for the
survey and designation for sites for res
ervoirs, bitches and canals for irrigation
purposes, and which said act provides
that "all the lands made susceptible Of
irrigation by such reservoirs, bitches or
canals are from this time henceforth here
by reserved from sale as the property OF
the United States, and shall not be sub
ject after the passage of this act, to entry,
settlement or occupation until further
provided by law"
And whereas, said law, while liable to
mlslead as to its provisions, when prop
ery construed, in effect provides that all
lands in the arid regions, such as COM
pose the greater portion of the lands OF
New Mexico, are reserved from sale,
entry or occupation until such time as it
shall suit the convenience or sense OF
duty of the proper officials designated in
said act to select the sites for reservoirs,
bitches or canals mentioned, subject to
the action of the president who may by
proclamation open said lands for home
stead entry only;
Ard whereas, the reservation provided
for in said act will, and now practically
has, stopped all settlement and reclama-
ton OF lands OF the United States by pri-
vate enterprise in this territory, and
thereby has struck q fatal blow at our
prosperity, destroying all confidence in
that class OF industry and seriously re-
tarding the immigration Of the indus
trious, progressive people who are now
DESTROYS OF settling in this territory and
engaging in agricultural pursuits;
And whereas, many entries Of public
lands under the land laws of the United
States have been made in good faith
since that act, and large sums of money
spent by individuals in the construction
OF appliances for the irrigation and recla-
nation of public lands,
And whereas, from the record of the
debates in congress on this act it appears
to US that it could not have been the in
tention OF congress thus to legislate the
agricultural interests of New Mexico out
OF existence.
And whereas, the people OF New Mexico
have not, in our judgment, such conf
dence in the speedy location and survey
by the geological survey OF sites for reser-
voirs, or that such reservoirs.w desig-
mated by said geological survey, will with
in any reasonable time, become of any
practicable use in the advancing of agrl
cultural interests OF this territory, that
they are willing TO trust the agricultural
future OF New Mexico for the next genera
ton in the hands OF that survey.
And whereas, there is neither limit OF
time for the action of said geological sur
vey in locating said reservoirs, nor any
provision in the act for the actual estab-
lishment of any such reservoir upon the
sites so selected, nor is there ia our opin-
ion IN said act any immediate promise of
any good to the people of this territory.
Therefore, be it resolved, that we de-
mand the immediate repeal of that pro-
vision OF the law which reserves the lands
as therein set forth, or that the law be so
amended that there can be no absolute
reservation of the lands in this territory
for the purposes of irrigation reservoirs
and building Of bitches and canals for
irrigation purposes, until some provision
shall have been made by law for the
building for practical use of reservoirs,
bitches and canals, Immediately upon the
selection OF the sites therefor.
s. B. AxTEIL,
E. A. FIsKE,
B. NJ. THOMAS,