Arizona republican., 1900-12-17
The secretary of the interior in N'4
ptest report just received, writes Ill

IN lands. His remarks are
 lively concern taken in these important matters for the people generally. This interest is new. It was not prevalent five years ago. Now is the time to kindle into the blaze Of enthusiasm ,he slow fire of interest. Enthusiasm begets action, and action brings results. Tue r. 5sidenlts of ths Salt River valley never had such good reasons for confidence in an early and satisfactory solution of its water ques- tion:
 'Irrigation-The subject of the rec lamation and utilization of the arid tcntion during the last year than al any previous time. A large cores pondence in relation thereto has arisen in those bureaus Of the department which have to do with facts bearing upon the water supply, the location Of reservoir sites, and the methods and cost Cf bringing water to the arid land. The interest of the public has been formation in different parts of the country Of associations de- signed to promote the examina tion of the resources of Ghe country in it's water and forests. Large sums of money have been sub scribed for the dissemination of infor- mation concerning thesc. matters and for cooperating with various bureaus, notably the geological survey. The appropriation for the division of ny droSaphy, in th.s bureau, Was in- creased by the last congress from $50, 900 to $100,OO0. A sill further increase to an amount commensurate with the importance of the subject, is being urged by the citizens who have con- tributed their funds to the furtherance of this work.
 proceeded almost wholly along the line of building small individual or coop erative ditcnes. The opportunities for extending and multiplying these are, however limited, as the lands most easily accessible for water supply have already passed into the possession of individuals. Therc remain large bod ies of public land for which water can be obtained only at great eXpense, al though the cost per acre may not eX ceed that of the small systems. Fur ther extension of thc lrrigable area depends upon the building of great storage reservoirs and canals to take water from the large rivers. Progress In the construction of these large works of reclamation has come prac- tically to a standstill, as 1t has been found by experience and shown by sta tistics that these reclamation works are not a source of individual prOfi.. Capital has been induced to undertake the construction of such works in diff ferent parts of the west, but almost without exception these have been f. nancial failures while the small coop erative diashes built by the land own CTS have on l.he other hand, been of great advantage to the communiti s and to the states, as well as to the nation; but it is improbable that in vestors will continue these as philan- thropic enterprises. The caus- of fi- nancial failure with these large works has been the fact that the owners can not secure to themselves the increasc In value which has accrued directly or indirectly through the building of the works. In. some respects the case is comparable to that of a city whose harbor has been improved. The land values are increased, but the work, if carried on by private enterprises, may not be remunerative to the builders.
 The importance Of providing, through wise administration, the op- portunlies for homes for many mil lions of citizens is so great that some steps should be taken toward com pleting our knowledge of the extent to which the arid lands may Ee re- deemed, and putting this knowledge to practical application. As a step in this direction, the recommendation has been made that the amount allotted for work of this character under the geological survey be increased con siderably. As further s,ep a com mission, composed Of experts now en- gagged in various lines of exhmination of water and forest resources, should be formed to assemble and degest the data acquired by the various bureaus and present thes- recommendations to congress. The question of irrigation has passed beyond the experimental