Arizona republican., 1894-06-23
ARIZONA AS SHE IS.
Judge Baker Speaks of the
 Outlook.
The Territory's Great Wealth of Water and Growth of Rail-
 road Facilities.

The following interview with Judge Baker appeared in the Los Angeles Times of the Fist inst:
 Hon. A. c. Baker, chief justice of Arizona, arrived here from the territory two days ago on his way to Prescott, where tern of the supreme court is to be held on July ?.
 "Yes," said the chief justice, in an- swer to a question propounded by the Times correspondent, this IS rather roundabout way for anyone to take who wishes to go comfortably from Phoenix to Prescott, but 1 believe thnt Arizo- nians from the southern and central parts of the territory who wish to go to the ex capital in the northern section will hereafter be enabled to reach 1t without unnecessary trouble or without leaving the territory at all.
 ''The Phoenix and Prescott railroad, or, as we call it out there, the north and south railway. IS now constructed to within eighty miles ot Phoenix. There are 700 men hard at work grad. ing and laying track upon these eighty miles, and the road will be surely com pleted by the beginning of the year. Then the anomalous condition of per son having to ride several hundred miles and into another state to reach a place, which i5 less than two hundred miles away, will cease completely. The inauguration of that road will place us in communication with California and the east, via the Santa Fe, and open up Arizona directly with the east.
 "The Salt River valley is very pros- porous just now. Indeed, it is more prosperous, to tell the truth, than it has ever been. 1 assure you that the Coxev army gathereds no recruits in Arizona. Every body is just as busy as can be, and the territory was always a poor place for loafers
 Take mining, for instance. The Mammoth mine at Goldfelds, in the Superstition mountains, is turning out very large quantities of bullion. Sena- tor Tabor has just concluded a visit to the Vulture mine, a splendid piece of property which had lain idle for a mat ter of eight or ten years. and the result of his inspection is that the eighty stamp mill will soon be put in operation again, and that many miners will again delve into this onCe-sO well-known pro- ducer of gold.
 ''Never before in the history of the Salt River valley have such crops been heard of as this year. Why the yield of grain and fruits is something extraordinary. This year we have shipped hay and grain to California and the eastern states for the first time since Phoenix has been in existence. The wheat crop is immense. We are now shipping apricots, peaches and plums in abund- ance to eastern points and Chicago. 1 The grape crop is just coming in. That is certainly boast that California can-.I not yet make. The railroads have fl nally concluded to give us low rates also the first time on record. We have to thank the Southern Pacific in great measure for this boon.
 Among the new and positive enter prises which we depend upon for the thorough opening up of Arizona, there is the Rio Verde Canal company. This canal is to tap the Verde river some twenty-five or thirty miles northeast of Phoenix. It is to be 100 miles long, and will irrigate 250,000 acres of land. The company has just awarded the contract for the construction of this canal, which will cost $l ,600,000. The work is to commence almost immediately. I have been assured that digging will be in full operation in September.
 1.-The Msricopa & Phoenix Railroad company is about to commence the con- struction of line which will connect the capital with Mesa City and the up- per part of the Salt River valley. That will give us a railroad throughout the entire length of the valley and will, as 8 matter of course, help the shipping of freight to considerable extent. and in crease agricultural pursuits immensely.
 'The Peoria canal, one of the largest in Arizona, which taps the waters of ths Gila river and distributes them in the neighborhood of Gila Bend, is so nearly completed that water will be run through it in about ten days. This will open up an immense ar ca of some of the finest agricultural Ian ds in ArI- ZOna.
 "Our people are in receipt of as- surances from Washington, which we consider very trustworthy that as soon as the senate has disposed of the tariff