The Florence tribune., 1897-10-30
HOUSE MEMORIAL No. 4.
To the. Senate and house of Representa- lives Of the United States in Con
 aress 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, oD the 18th of December, A. D. 1896, unanimo usly adopted the following: Whereas, The Pima and Maricopa Indians tribes numbering in the aggregate ten thousand souls, have been deprived of the waters use d by them in irrigation before the advent of he white race in America through the appropriation of such waters by settlers on the heatlwaters of theGila river; and Whereas. Through the loss of such waters the lands once cultivated by these tribes have become barren and worth less. 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
 Hest 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 irI their property and property ights; and
 Whereas. The Government of thu United States has and now is engaged in theexpendi turs of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the construction of works of irrigation for the reclamation of lands belonging to other Indian tri bes; therefore, be 1t
 Resolved. That th is Congress do approve the propos cd construction, under the plans of the U. s. Geological Survey. of the Buttes reservoir, in Pinal county. Arizona, recently reported. to again reclaim the lands of these tribes, believing that by so doing can the Government alone honorably redeem the broken pledges made by 1t to these people, and thus preserve from further want and degradation two of the surviving Indian tribes of the American continent that have always be en the constant friends of the white race.
 Resolved, That we approve the proposed construction of such reservoir not only as just and philanthropic. but as economical and good policy. as in comparatively 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 a self-supporting and self-rs- 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 Natiol nal Irrigation Congress for the following reasons:
 l. The reservoir. site referred to having been withdrawn from entry by Cove rnment authorities, cannot now be utilized by any private corporation, and the Government therefore occupies the ndefensible position of doing noth- ing itself or allowing any one else to | imp rove this great natural reservoir l site.
 2. We firmly believe that the inter ests of humanity dictate that the h. dians should be gathered on the reser- vsltions, have lands allotted to them in | ssveralty, and that they be furnished | with farming implements and an mex haustible supply of water for irriga- tion of their lands, to the end that they may become self supporting. By this means will