The Florence tribune., 1897-07-03
HOUSE MEMORIAL No. 4.
To the Senate and Hoese of Representa- tives of the United States in Con
 gross Assembled:

We, your Memorialists, the Nine teenth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Arizona, respectfully rep resent that the National Irrigation | Congress, held in Phoenix, Arizona, on | the 18th of December, A. D. 1896, l unanimously adopted the following:
 Whereas, The Pima and Afaricopa Indians tribes numbering in the aggregate ten thousand souls, have been deprived of the 1 waters used by them in irrigation before the l advent of the white race in America, through l the appropriation of such waters by settlers on the headwaters of the Gila river; and
 Whereas, Through the loss of such waters the lands once cultivated by these tribes have become barren and worthless. and the mem- bers of such tribes have become charge on the Government, and forced by the loss of their fields into lives of degradation and penury and
 Whereas, Such tribes have from the ear liest days been the friends and allies of the white race; and
 Whereas, The people of the United States have pledged themselves by solemn treaty to protect such tribes in their property and property rights; and
 Whereas, The Government of the United States Ina and now Is engaged in the expendi ture of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the eonstrl lction of works of irrigation for the reclamation of lands belonging to other T-si .-Aa---s. Al --,asora be f.
 Resolved, That this Congress do approve the proposed construction. under the plans of the U. s. Geo logical Survey. of the Buttes reservoir, in Pin al county, Arizona, recently reported. to agai reclaim the lands of these tribes, believing Chat by so doing can the Government alone honorably redeem the broken pledges ma de by it to these people and thus preserve from further want and degradation two of the surviving Indian tribes of the America n continent that have always been the consta mt friends of the white race.
 Resolved, That we approve the proposed construction of such reservoir not only as just and philanthropie, i5ut as economical and good policy, as in co mparatively short time the expense of maintaining such In dians as Government charges will far exceed the cost of the irrigation works required to make them self-supporfsing and seIf-re- specting community.
 Now, therefore, your Memorialists, the Nineteenth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Arizona, desire to go on record as earnestly endorsing the above recommendations of the Sixth National Irrigation Congress for the following reasons:
 1. The reservoir site referred to having been withdrawn from entry by Government authorities, cannot now be utilized by any private corporation, and the Government therefore occupies the indetensible position of doing noth- ing itself or allowing any one else to improve this great natural reservoir site.
 2. We firmly believe that the inter- ests of humanity dictate that the h. dians should be gathered on the reser- vations, have lands allotted to them in severalty, and that they be furnished with farming implements and an inex- haustible supply of water for irriga- tion of their lands, to the end that they may become self supporting. By this means will a home life be furnished for the Indian and he will more rapidly advance in civilization as consequence. He will abandon his nomadic life; his children will be kept at home and educated in neighborhood schools, instead of being sent to large Indian schools at dis tance where they are kept Gas it would seem) for mere pursoses of show. After being instructed in the arts of civilization for time they arereturned l to savagery, to become more unhappy and discontented than if they had never received the questionable advan- tages. We feel that the present policy of the Indian department is all wrong in His regard.
 3. The Pima and Msricopa Indian reservation contains S50,OOO acres of as fertile land as lies within the bound aries of Arizona, and is admirably l adapted for homes for these people, as