Arizona republican., 1899-10-23
TONIC RESERVOIR
Continued From Fourth Page.)

capital into irrigation works in the
west began about 1885. The construc-
ton of dams for water storage was
confined largely to California. The
misfortunes which befelI those pro-
jects We're natural. and surely incident
to all new industries, to a large extent
The whole business had to be learned
from the foundation. Investors saw
that in the irrigated west hundreds of
millions of dollars in wealth we're being
created by the system, and without due
investigation they poured their money
into reservoir construction IOver-caP-
italization and extravagance in con-
struction were the least Jof <ne evils.
The lands We're usually owned by indi-
viduals or corporations. and were held
at an exorbitant figure. Settlement
was slower than expected. But most
important of an these reservoirs were
designed to develop and supply fruit
lands, principally, and due note had
not been Taken of the fact that th@
reservoir companies must wait for/a
long period of years before these lands
becaHne productive. after settlement. As
a consequence. many of the storage en-
Ierprises were hopelessly Weighted
down with a load of unpaid Interest on
their obligations. and bankruptcy was
the result. Working out from this state
of affairs has been sloyF process. but
the most pessimistic VIII not deny that
the reservoirs constructed under these
observation-disclosures coNditions have pro-
duced for others an almost incalculable
wealth. and are themselves coming out
into a fairly prosperous channel. Mind
full however, Of the habit of the public
TO accept its/opiniOns ready made, and
of the lack 6f analysis of the conditions
on which these statements have been
made, I/felt it but just to the enter
prise in which I am interested, to call
the attention of Mr.. F. H. Newell, chief
photographer of the government, to the
erroneous conclusions which might be
reached, detrimental to our enterprise, !
should the general statement go I'M
challenged that reservoirs constructed !
by private capital will not pay. Mr.. /
Newell as the chief expert of the gov
ernmentAon irrigation, is the most fire. /
quently quoted on this topic, and he
saw the justice of the request that an
explanation be made of his position, |
and he replied as follows:
Department of the Interior, L. S.
Geological Survey Washington, D. /
G, July I, 1899.
Mr.. Sims Ely, Secretary Hudson |
Reservoir and Canal Company, Phoe- /
nix, Arizona.
Dear Sir: Your letter of July 3rd |
has been received, calling attention to |
the general statements that [ have |
made from time to time concerning
the Improbable character of storage
reservoirs for the development of arid /
land. 1t is only fair to you and to your
enterprise to state clearly that these
congratulations of mine are intended to
apply to broad conditions OF utilization
of the public domain, where, as is
usually the case, land and water must
be sold to persons brought from a dis
tance. In such cases the length of time
which elapses before the country is set
tied up is so great that the cost of /
maintenance and interest charges eat {
up the possible profit. Your enterprise
appears to be one of those exceptional i
cases where a market has already been
provided for the water to be impound-
ed and where the great expense of re
clamation and settlement has already
been incurred. 1t is thus more in the