The Arizona sentinel., 1899-09-16
Official Paper of Yuma County
ARIZONA AND NATIONAL IRRIGA-
 ZION.

We take pleasure in reprinting the following paragraphs clipped from the editorial columns of the Los ~Angeles Times, one of the staunchest friends Arizona is bless ed with. The article follows:
 Tne coming National Irrigation Congress, which is to meet at Mis, soula, Mont, on the 25th of this month, to last :hree days, attract ing more attention than any previ- ous gathering of the kind This l. largely due te the fact that the cnterprising press of the West has, during the past year, been edncat- ing the people of the country in regard to the vast importance ot tbis arid land question.
 Among the sections ofthe United States that are interested in nation al irrigation, none is more deeply so than Arizona, the future develop ment of which great Territory depends largely on the development of water to irrigate its vast stretches of plains and valleys, now arid, but capable of producing every crop ot the semi-tropic and temperate zones. Itis, therefore, not surprising to find that the people of Arizona are taking a keen interest in the coming congress.
 As is generally known, the Gov ernor of Arizona is-unfortunateIy an advocate of the cession of the ard lands to the States and Terri tories in which they are located. Consequently, as might beexpected, MT. Murphy has selected men as delegates to the congress who favor that plan, which The Times, and a great majority of those who have devoted consideration to the ques- ton, believe wonld be grave mis- take. Tn addition, each canal or ditch company has the privilege ot making selection of one delegate, and the also have generally select ed men who are in favor of private ownership.
 The enterprising farmers of Ari- zona have, however, not been idle, while several of the cities and towns have selected men as delegates who have the interests of the people at heart. The Mayor of Phoenix has chosen w. T. Smith, also eX-Gov. McCord, who has contributed sev- eral articles on national irrigation to The Times. It may be depended upon that he will make a strong fight for national irrigation in the congress.
 An important addition to the ranks of those who champion the cause of national irrigation Las come, in the person of E. P Rip.ey president of the Santa Fe system, who. has written a letter to Mir. McCord, which IS published in the Phoenix Enterprise. In this letter Mr. Ripley cnngratulates Mir. Nc Cord on a communication published by that gentleman in The Times of June fast, adds:
 Permit me to congratulate you on the soundness of your position and the clearness with which it is expressed. There is no question in my mind that it is the duty of the national government to take charge of and conserve tbe water supply: in no other way can it be . done efficiently and on a compre- hensIve scale, and in no other way can the vast areas of arid land owned by the government itself be made of value, so that aside from any benefit which may result to the Territory, and aside from the provision Of an immense farming area for our surplus population, the enterprise should be a paying one from a purely business standpoint, and the enhancement Of values of the government land should more than pay the cost.
 "I hope you will go on with the propaganda. You are certainly oD the right track, and government money spent jn this way will do more good and benefit more people . than all that has been appropriated ll tnc river autla.Jy. Hlla to. aho. h-. ten years.
 b2e sentiment in favor of n9-