Arizona republican., 1899-12-31
THE NATIONAL" PLAN
MT. George H. MaxEeII of the
 Irrigation Congress.
Addresses a Fair Sized Audience at the Doris Theater in Advocacy of Government Construction of Reservoirs in the Arid West.

A fair-sized audience gathered at the Doris theater yesterday afternoon to listen to MT. George H. Maxwell of California in behalf of what is termed the ''nationaF' plan for retaining the arid lands. This plan calls for the construction of storage reservoirs by the government throughout the arid west, and the persistent and energetic advocacy of the policy by MT. Maxwell has given that gentleman a national prominence. He was disposed to com plain that the moderate size of his aud fence argued a local apathy on the question, but he confessed that he had not really expected an overfowing crowd.
 The young Californian was in good voice, and thoroughly at his ease, and when introduced by Sam Webb, who acted as chairman of the meeting, launched at once into an exhaustive discussion of his subject. He demon strated that he is an orator of no mean ability, and held most of his audience until the close of his remarks. He was frequently applauded. His address, delivered without frequent reference to notes, occupied nearly three hours in delivery, and comprised about 10000 words.
 The greater portion of the address was devoted to an effort. apparently, to convince his hearers that equity is on the side of the plan proposed, and to an elaboration of the proposition that Arizona will be an ideal common wealth and equal to Belgium in den- sity of population when storage IS provided for our valleys. He went over the familiar ground of the financial failure of the storage enterprises Of some years ago in California and ar gued at length that it is business nos sufficiently inviting to capital to jus tify the hope that reclamation on a great scale will be undertaken by prl- Vate capital. He was careful to point out that these generalizations do not apply to the Salt River valley, and that the Tonto Basin project, particu- larly, has such peculiar merit that it should not be difficult to finance tiff not on the lines now under effort, then by some cooperative plan embracing a union of the water consumers with the owners of the site. He attacked the land-cession policy advocated by Governor Murphy, and while granting the best of motives to the governor, asserted that the plan would, if car ried out, result in misfortune to the people. He deprecated the governors advocacy of cession as the greatest stumbling block to the success of the national" plan.
 When the speaker took up the topic of the general prospects for the sue cess of his plan, his hearers pricked up their ears and listened intently. As evidences of the growth of public opin- ion in favor of the policy, he cited the resolutions passed by the labor feder- ation of Chicago and the Manufactur CTS club of St. Louis, and encouraging letters from men of prominence in the business world in the eastern states. He also cited the fact that the bill ap propriating s3O00O0 for surveys and es- inmates of reservoir sites barely failed in the last congress. He admitted that it would take time to educate the people of the east to such an acquies- cence in the policy as to insure success. but he thought success would surely come. He felt confident that the same patriotism which had voted hundreds of millions for the freedom of an alien race, would in time vote tens of mill
 
 vide homes for the over-crowded east; that with the government the question of profit would not enter. as it would with private capital, and that organ ized and vigorous effort combined with the patriotism of the whole people would in the end insure success.
 The speaker was disappointing in failing to lay down a method for the practical working of the proposed sys- tenn, leaving his audience in the dark as to whether the government is to withdraw from control of reservoirs after constructed or whether they are to be turned over to the management of the corrupt state legislatures" which are the bugbear of "cession."
 MT. Maxwell closed by urging that resolutions be adopted favoring the policy of reservoir construction by the national government.
 He was followed by eX-Governor Me Cord, who offered a lengthy set of resolutions, which in the preamble set forth an epitome of the various state ments made in the address, and which recited that the meeting favored the plan proposed. The resolutions were declared adopted, and the meeting ad- journed.
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