The Arizona sentinel., 1899-07-22
NATIONAL AID. DOES THE WEST WANT IT FOR IR.
 RIGATION. Governor McCOrd, Of Arizona, Ex-
 presses Ills Views.

Tn the Los Angeles Times, expressed himself vigorously on the subject of irrigation for the West, and the question as to whether the arid lands should be ceded to the sev- eral States and Territories.
 Governor McCord said:
 "A national system of irrigation is no new theory with me. Three years ago last January, in some remarks l made before the Agricul- tural Association of Alizona upon the subject of Statehood and Irri- gation,' l took occasion to say: "Every man who believes in the perfect development of our country should support national system of irrigation" That is the only way the vacant spaces in our national domain can be rounded out and our country made symmetrical. Should this great Government take hold and carry out such 8 work, which it could do and not feel the cost, even if it required $100,000,00O or $200;00O,000 the mighty south west | (which means Northern Texas, Southern New Mexico, Southern Colorado, Southern Arizona, South ern Utah, and Southern California;, which contains such vast areas of now useless land, would become a veritable paradise. With a national system of irrigation millions of people from the East could find a home in which peace and plenty would reign.
 "The governor of this Territory (Hughes), in his annual report re- comments that the provisions of the Cary act be extended so as to apply to Arizona. The Cary law glves each State in the arid region million acres of land. provided the State reciaims it. While have great respect for the opinions of Gov. Hughes, oct upon this ques- ton 1 cannot agree with him. Such legislation is hot what we want. The land would be utterly valueless to us, because we could only get it reclaimed by giving it away, and it could only be given away when an aggregation of capital could be in duced to undertake its reclamation as a gift. If a corporation could be found that would undertake its reclamation on those terms, and and should succeed, they would own the land, and of coarse have the right to fix such prices upon it as they desired.
 If the Government parts with it's title to large quantities of the public domain in the arid belt, un- der the operations of the Cary Jaw and kindred measures, it will prove great drawback to the schemes for the accomplishing of which the entire West should bend every energy and use every honorable means, viz., national irrigation.
 "Those were my views three and half years ago, and time has con- frmed me in the belief that they were then, as now, sound. Eighteen months after the address above quoted from was delivered, in my report as Governor to the Secretary of the Interior I advocated a na- tional system of irrigation, saying, among other things.
 "'The Government could carry out such work readily. The mil lions that would be needed could best come from the natIon, and, with sale of the lands irrigated, the money that it cost could be re- turned to the national treasury With ? national system of irriga- tion millions of people from the congegted centers of population would find homes in the West
 Now these are my own indivi- dual opinions, but l am gratifed to know that every irrigation con- gress that has met ir the West or elsewhere has resolved in favor of national irrigation, and against cesslon of the lands to the States and Territories. Even the recent congress at Wichita, while more of a commercial gathering than any thing else, passed resolutions in favor of national irrigation, and refused to pass resolution in favor of cession,