Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-12-17
7ELEGRAPHlC.
IRRIGATION DEBATE.
rhs Matter Of Legislation Considered
by the Delegates.
VARIOUS OPINIONS EXPRESSED.
MANY Delegates in Favor Of Govern
mept Con rol OF the Water
supply.

PHOENIX, Arlz, Dec. l6.-The irri
..uon Congress today took up tue
s,.,tsr of recommendations for legiela-
ton. - .,..,.o.. -, ,ho
manning was George IL. Maxwell OF
Don Francisco, counsel In the United
state, Supreme Court against the
w,ivbt act of California, and one OF
the main opponents in the California
as,soation to the Enforcement OF the
Mil He suggested, first, the creation
ia national irrigation commission;
Oa,nrd. the cussion of arid lande to the
s,a,aa uuon conditions assuring their
sa,l,ration and settlement by actual
ss,,Isrs and preventing monopoly OF
,ha nubIic domain; third, the preservs-
lion ot forests as the sources OF water
sunply: fourth. the construction oil
Eater storage reservoirs by the nation.
a, government, aud he urged upon the
convention its strong support OF the
hilI Of Senator Allen appropriating ST.
000 600 for surveys for location OF reHer-
voiTs.
Judge Kibbsy, who rendered the
Judgment OF the distribution OF tue
main water supplies Of Arizons, ar.
gneus that legislation was dangerous,
mat its tendency was toward monop-
oIv and private ow nership Of water.
w. S. Creighton, editor OF the Los
Angsles Herald, read an interesting
paper on the Wright irrigation act.
He stated that the recent decision OF
ina Supreme Court sustaining the
validity OF the law vas gratifying.
Go. w. Maxwell OF Cal. urged
strongly upon the Congress to har-
mopize upon broad general propositions
which could command tho support OF
The press and the people Of the coun.
iry. He said those advocating the
development by irrigation OF the arid
lands Of the nation wanted results,
and that by the shortest and surest
route.
The resolutions coming from the
recent convention OF engineers nt
Denver and emDodying the recon-
mendstion OF Eilwood Mead,
state engineer of Wyoming,
turnished other grave grounds fol
action. These were: Fret, the
csssion to states OF arid lands
where 1t can be done upon such oon.
ditiops as to assure its settlement by
actual settlers, and avoid with GER
tninty monopoly in few hands of
the public domain; second. the
preservation oil forests as d source of
water supply; third, the permanent
reservation from sale OF lands suitable
only for grazing, which should be
leased only to actual settlers and resi-.
dent farmers for nominal rental Of
cent per acre, the revenue to go to the
states.
Mir. Maxwell advocated the con-
structlon OF storage reservoirs by the
FEDERAL government as he believed
that cession 10 the states could not In
all cases be n practical solution Of the
problem of irrigating the aria lands OF
The government anu afforded no relief
In the territories, such as ArizcnB, for
example, where there are hundIeus of
thousands OF scres which could be go
reclaimed by Federal aid and In no
other way. He said the bill just intro
duced in Congress by Senator Allen of
Nebraska, providing an appropriation
OF millin dollars for the survey OF the
head waters OF the rivers OF the country
TO locate reservoir sites, was an enter.
Ing wedge In the right direction.
lie could not coDcede the power OF the
national government tn uncondition.
ally give away the land OF tue nation,
even TO the siates. II ceded to states
1t should be only on the assurance Of
the accomplishment OF national pur.
pose, which existed in growing
necessity for chit cking the overgrowth
Of our great cities, by fubdiviiing the
lands of the country into small mold