Arizona republican., 1900-12-31

GOVERN low a get of ringing res
 MENT AID. olutions adopted by The National Business league last September, in relation to the rec | lamatton and settlement of arid lands:
 'fWherras, Onc-t of the entire area of the United States is public land, nearly all of which is in the western ha6f of the country, and it is | estimated that 74,OO0.0OO acres of this vast territory could be reclaimed by i,riga ton, and,
 Whereas, The secretary of 'the inter- icr in his annual report for 1899, speak ing of this great area of irrigable puh- lie land. said:
 ' That this vast acreage, capable Of sustaining and comfortably supporting under a pro2er system of irrigation population of a.. least 5O,O0O,OOo per- sons. should remain practice ,iy a des- ert is not in harmony with the pro- g1tssive spirit of the age or in keep ing with the possibilities of the fu uure,' and,
 "Whereas. The population of the eastern half of the United States at the census of 1G9n was 51,21S, 600 and that of the western half only 4,40i,00O, and if the arid lands of the west were reclaimed and settled the western half of the United States would sustain as large a population as the eastern ha.f: and,
 "Wherees, The reclamation and rapid st tt.e mer,t of this great territory in rAe west would be enormously ben eficial to every section e the country. creating new opportunities for settlers and hone builders and new home mar kcts fcr mcrchants and manufacturers and enormously stimulating commsrGe and trale in all it's branches; and.
 "Whereas, The public domain be longs to the whole people of the United States, and its reclamation and settlement involves interstate prob lems in the utilization of the waters of many of the streams, and requires the construction of reservoirs, canals, and ! irrigation works on so large d scale as to be entirely beyond ,he scope of pri- | vate capital or the resources of the states or territories wherein ths lands are situated; and,
 "Whereas, As stt forth in the report of Captain Hiram NJ ChiIenden, en- gineer corps, U. s. A, on surveys for reserVctr sites:
 "Reservoir construction in the arid regions of the west Is an indispensable condition to the high, st development of that section. It can he carried out properly only through public agencies. Private enterprise never can accom- pliysh the work successfully. As hs' ! tween state and nl'tlon, it falls more properly under the d,n.aia of the lat ter
 Therefore, Be 1t Re-olved, That we urge the adoption by the federal gov ernnlent of the following complete and comprehensive national policy for fhe preservation, reclamat1on, and settle ment cf the public domain
 T. All the rema: ming public lands to be held and administered as a trust for the beneft 1G the whole people Of the United States. and no gran,s of the title 10 any of the public lands to be hereafter made to any state or terri tory CT to any one but actual settlers and home builders on the land. 70. The preservat ton and dereiop- fnent ot our rational resources by the construction of storage reservoirs by the federal gcvtrnmcnt for flood pro- tection and to save for use Tn aid of navigation and irrigation the flood
 waters which now run to waste and cause overflow and destruction. ''3. The construction by the federal government of storage reservoirs and irrigation works wherever necessary to , furnish water for the reclamation and settlement of tihe arid public lands.
 "4. The preservation of the forests and. refores.ation of denuded forest conservation of existing supplies by approved methods If irrigation and distribution, and the increasr of the water resources Of the arid region by the investigation and development of underground supplies and the united ownership Of land and water Resolved, That WIZ respectfully urge upon the congress of the United States that an annual appropriation of | not less than s250,OO0 should be made , for irrigation surveys and maps of ir- i rigable public lands, with plans and | estimates of cost Cs reservoirs, canals, and irrigation works necessary for | their reclamation and for sinking ex- ! perimental artesiar wells sy the 1 united states geological survey, and i of not less than S1OO.OOO for irrigation i Investigations by the department of agriculture Cf the United States.
 "Resolvcd, That We likewise urge
 upon congress that the national policy
 above Set forth should be fully In.
 stalled without delay and thar lfbeia 1 appropriations should be Immediately
 made for the construction of storage
 reservoirs and irrigation works and
 for forest preservation and rrforesta- ticn in accordance with said policy. and
 that such appropriations should be l commensurate in amount with the
 great national interests involved and ! the magnitude of the results to be ac-
 complished.
 Resolved, That a copy of these res-
 olutions be sent to each senator and
 congressman and t;7at he be respect.
 fully requested Ito use every proper
 means and influence to procure said appropriations and to oppose any
 measure relating to public lands nn'
 in harmony with the policy above set