The Florence tribune., 1898-08-20
HOUSE MEMORIAL Mo. {,
To the Senate and House of Renresenta- tives of the United Stass4s ssi Con
 gress Assemblies

We, your Memorialists, the Nine teenth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Arizona, respectfully rep resent that the National Irrigation Congress, held in Phmnix, Arizona, on the 18th of December, A. D. 1896, unanimously adopted the following:
 Whereas. The Pima and Maricopa Indians tribes numbering in the aggregate ten thousand souls. have been deprived of the waters used by them in irrigation before tLe advent of the white race in America through the appropriation of such waters by settlers on the headwaters of theGila river; and
 Whereas, Through the loss of such waters the lands once cultivated by these tribes have become barren and worthless. and the nlen~ 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 in their property and property rights; and
 Whereas. The Government of the United States has and now is engaged in the expendi ture of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the construction of works of irrigation for the reclamation of lands belonging to other Indian tribes; therefore. be it Resolved, That this Congress do approve the proposed construction, under tho 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 1 Government alone honorabf redeem the broken pledges made by it to tlaese people, and thus preserve from further want and degradation two of the surviving Indian tribes of the American continent that have always been 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 a 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 Q self-supporting and self-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 l. 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 indefensible position of doing noth- ing itself or allowing any one else to improve this great natural reservoir site.
 ?. 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 a 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 returned to sayagery, 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 this regard.
 3. The Pima and Maricopa Indian reservation contains 1000 acres of as fertile land as lies within the bound aries of Arizona, and is admirably adapted for homes for these people, as well as the wandering Papagoes, who are now compelled to prey upon the herds of our farmers and ranchmen for subsistence.
 4. The construction of a storage res ervoir at the Buttes by the Govern ment offers a plain business proposi- tion for the correction of these evils.
 Resolved, That the Secretary of the Territory be instructed to transmit copy of the foregoing Memorial to our Delegate and Delegate-elect in Con- gress, and also copy each to the Presi- dent of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representative. |