Arizona republican., 1900-07-29
Opposition to the Bond Move
 ment DWindling
Taxpayers Only Want Assurance That the County and Water Users Will Have Full Protection. That Is All.

can be ascertained by inquiry are few in number, unreasonable and unfair. They describe the bonds as a bonus or subsidy, passing over the assumption that the county is to be reimbursed by stock for the contribution it may make to the enterprise.
 Every taxpayer so far interviewed favors the bond issue if thereby a per- manent water supply can be secured and all of them admit that if it can not be secured in the manner suggested by The Republican it can not be se- cured at all in time to do the present population of the valley any good. No man, of course, favors an absolute gift of $500, 900 to the promoters of a storage reservoir, and no man would be willing that the bonds should pass out of thef hands of the county without an as surance that it's rights and the rights of the water users would be fully pro tected.
 MT B. A Fickas, speaking on this
 subject yesterday evening said: No body can deny that we have to have water storage and I do not think there will be any serious opposition to the bonds anywhere if it is once assured beyond any doubt that the county will not get the worst of it. The people, that is, the water users, must be pro tected by a contract. When all these details are understood there will be no opposition to the bOnds.
 No man in the valley has a mo:e in- ! innate knowledge of the difficulties with which the ranch owners contend | than Aaron Goldberg. MT. Goldberg has devoted years of intelligent study to the water problem. and his record as member of the territorial council marks him as a man of broad views. and as man who always labors for the welfare of this community. He is a heavy taxpayer. He has special Ia cilities for keeping in touch with the | ideas that prevail among the farmers. ! For these reasons he was asked to give l his views as to the advisability of the county joining with private capital in the construction of a reservoir. l MT. Goldberg said: Why, this is ID new idea with me. I have cOntended 1 for years that it is the most practica- l ble method of obtaining storage. re- gard the present agitation of the quss- | ton and the favor which it meets, as 1 somewhat of a personal vindication and compliment. You will remember
 that during the last legislature ! in | troduced a bill providing for bonds for the construction of a reservoir. I did | this because I had become convinced l that to accomplish results the people of this valley must put their shoulders
 to the wheel. But at that time the question had been discussed but little.
 Many taxpayers, especially fI,mers. | came to me and said: Oh, Mr. Sold | berg, you must not do this: you will | ruin the county. Well, I didn't want | to ruin my constituents and as near | ly all the comments I heard were against it, I withdrew the bill toward
 the end of the session.
 Tt is matter of some satisfaction l to me now to have these same mer, come to me, as they are doing daily.
 and say, We favor this proposition;
 we must resort to bonds and put stcr-
 age through. Now I have lived 'lere
 twenty-five years. I know this valley, and I know what the water situation
 is. We Simply must have water stor- | age. l have been in favor of the gov
 ernment taking up the work, ana ]
 think it should do it; but all of us win
 have been dead 100 years before the government acts.
 'Of course, this discussion going on
 now simply shows what the public
 sentiment is on the general proposi-
 tion. There will have to be a Geiir!tc
 proposition before the county befory. | the bonds are voted. The county
 should be on an equality with tho l ia inv
 mainder of the money for the con-
 struction of the reservoir, and if this is
 done there will be little opposition"
 J. E. Walker of the Model grocery said: T realize fully that water stor
 age has become a necessity for this
 valley and I see no alternative except through the issuing of bonds. am
 therefore in favor of it at the earliest
 possible date. We need the storage
 and should get the enterprise under
 way at once"
 | William G. Burns, section director of
 the weather bureau, said: This mat l ter of who is interested and wh.,
 should be heard from and so forth is all clear enough to a man who steps to think. Water, of course. is one ab-
 solutely necessary article in the farm
 CTS business, but on the other hand
 without the prosperity of the farmers
 where would the city be? It resolves
 itself into this, that the man who does
 business in Phoenix will derive just as much benefit from storage as the man | who tills a farm. As for the taXpGy- ing there are very few men who could
 not figure the interest on the bonds for
 themselves in half minute, and there
 will be just as much tax levied on dollars worth of city property as on dollars worth of county property. The fact is, every one in the valley wants 1 water storage and there seems to be
 no feasible way of getting it without
 bonds. If the people here do not want
 storage bad enough to put at least a little money in it, I don't see how they c,,-si.l-.