Arizona republican., 1900-07-28
Other Witnesses in Favor of
 the Bonds
A Suggestion for the Beginning of a Systematic Campaign of Educa- tion in the County for the Re moval of Prejudices.

reservoir construction. Business men as a unit are in favor of it and their i argument is a sound one. that if the in- direct benefits they expect to receive are alluring the direct advantage the farmers will enjoy ought to be the more so.
 | Said one merchant yesterday: II mo- | tice in some quarters that farmers ob- | ject to the bonding for the reason either that they already have all the water they want or else they have prior rights which entitle them to water which they do not get. We merchants would have to bear the same propor- tionate part of the burden as would fall upon the farmers. We do not need water directly in our business and do not expect to get any, but we expect to be benefited by the general growth of the valley. Every man in it will be equally benefited. Every acre of land will take on an increased value. There will be a greater demand for it, for | there will be more people here"
 | MT. w. R. Orr. who is extensively engaged in the fruit shipping business, said: I'm with The Republican in this movement and I believe that the people should now take hold and help. There must be a long campaign of ed ucation, for old prejudices and jeal- | ousies must be removed. I would sug- gest the organization of a club to be called. say, the Salt River Valley Res ervoir club. It should be started in Phoenix and should consist of not fewer than fifty members, as many more as possible. Branch clubs ought l to be started in other towns and dis tricts of the county. There should be frequent meetings for the earnest dis | cussion of the pros and cons of this | question in order that the members might be the better able to talk intel ligently and convincingly on this most important subject, fer though I have not lived in the valley very long I be- lieve this is the most important prop 1 osition that has ever been presented. The water situation, or rather the ab- sencc of water situation must be alarming. More than a half dozen fruit growers have told me lately that they intended to quit the business and leave the country. I know most of the growers in the valley and I know only one man who has made a dollar. 4 He is in the strawberry business. has a small tract of land and happened to be fortunately situated with respect to water. He has cleared $,4O0O this season. This only shows how much his unfortunate brethren have lost'' MT. Harry J. Jones' a comparatively recent arrival in the valley, but already a heavy investor in real estate, ex- pressed himself in favor of the bonds as the most likely means of obtaining d permanent water supply. The pro- ceedings, though, Mir. Jones says, should be so guarded that the county could suffer no loss
 Mir. W. A. Wilson. one of the men who have made a success of orange growing in this valley, said: 'Yes. I favor The Republicans plan for get ting water storage. It seems feasible and we must adopt some plan and carry it out to completion Capital cannot be expected to interest itself in an enterprise for the benefit of this valley if the people refuse to back it up. The need of storage is. of course, apparent to all. I have had satisfac- tory results from my experience in or l anSe growing and would like very much to extend my acreage, but dare not do 1t now. Orange planting is too expensive business to engage in without assurance of water supply. l have done very well even this dry year. but in order to make my oranges a success I was compelled to. sacrifice my other fruits by diverting the water they needed to my orange grove The expense of water storage if it can be secured by the plan proposed is SO slight l do not see how any one who is at all interested can oppose it. As for interest on the bonds I would be will Ing to Fay my part of it every year for one good run of water in the sum- mer time. All this, of course. without any calculation on an increased vaIua tion. That will follow water storage. On the contrary we cannot expect any great influx of capital or population without. Every stranger one meets who is favorably impressed with this l region asks, almost the first question. Have you got plenty of water?' and , what can an honest man do but admit that we haven't. The strangers inter- est stops right there. There is no get ting away from the fact that storage is necessity and though I prefer no newspaper notoriety 1 am losing no op- ) portunity to say a good word for the bonds when I can."
 Peter Gordon, who has furnished the orlck for lots of big houses in this city, said: Water storage is the one thing We have got to have. We can't get away from that fact
 But would you vote to help get it % he was asked.
 of course I would" was his ready answer
 ! ASSIGNED TO NEW SHIPS.