Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1901-03-27
DEFENDS WIS BILL.
A Measure Which 1t Is Claimed Has Been rlisuHderstood by People Interested m Irri-
 gatiOn Matters,
Instead of Being Corporation Bgi t It Claimed to Have Seen salsiy in the Interest Of Wstsr
 Consumers.

Consumers.
 The following communeafi5n has been received at this office and al- though the legislature has only one more day of life t is given for She general information of readers who are interested in irrigation matterss
 Editor Journal 1Iiner-Some slata ments made in recent issues of your paper by yourself and by a couespou dent, concerning the Ivy Irrigation bill, have been a cause of much sur prise to those interested in this meas ure. Your statement that it was ap- parently "a scheme of the canals and not of the consumers of water, would not have been made had you known the facts. The bill was drawa W users, was introduced by larmsr, and had the support of aine-5enshs ot the farmers of the section of country from which Mr Ivy was elected It was strongly opposed by sepreseHta- tives of most of the large canals lno.a- ply the Arizona, mentioned by 3Lr. Hance) some of them having had lobyists in the legislature for some time previous to the date action was taken on the bill. The Puposeof ths bill was to establish once for ali the water rights of the users ot water in the territory. to attach water 10 land and prevent it being treated as an article of merchandise, tO provide for a fair and equitable distribution of the irrigating water of the territory. and to protect legitimate users or water against illegitImate ones. 1he bill was based on a law that has been in successful operation In Wyoming and Nebraska for eight years, and Ws-s very similar to bills now before the legislatures of Utah and Idaho. am confident that it would not have iu- jured any agricultural region ot the territory, but on the contrary 1FoulI have been a great benefit to all. The principal effect that in my opinion lt would have had upon the Verde val ley would have been to protect pres ent water users against persons who might go above them Ol the Verde river and its tributaries and take out water for mechanical or other pur- poses. There was certainly no thought on the framers of the 5ili of depriving the farmers of the Verde ot their water. The writer is as much interested in the agriculture oI the Verde valley as in that Of any part of the territory. The farmers of the Salt River valley need protection against illegitimate users or Water n their own valley rather tlan a5liast users of water in other valleys
 ''Alr. .Hancegreatly overestima5esthe number of officials provided Tor m the bill. In Wyoming where tae amount of irrigated land is over i've times what it is in Arizona. the total number of superintendents and c9m- missiOners is thirty. There wouiJ certainly not be over fifteen such oll- cials under this law in our territory instead Of the one hundred ulantlsilal by AIr. Hance. In s.a5ing that he thought the Verde valley would ra7 ceive attention first, Mr. Hauce er- dentIy overlooked the provision iH the bill that differentiation shall oa9l Ql the streams most used for irrls- liol. There is certainly no foundation Tor Mir. Hance's statement that the qlsi- ion superintendent, who would hTe l Phenix, would carry the Keys to ils head gates. The officer who Wca.o supervise the distribution ol tl7 waters of the Verde, fl any such ola- cer were needed, would be the res dent water commissioner. The h-i provided that water districts shall nos be created until a necessity therefor shall arise, and if the people or t-e Verde valley did ROt need or wish water commissioner to distribute i--ef irrieation water. they would hsFs 12 official to pay. The unit of meaanfe that Nr. Hauce speaks Of as new ial- gled is the one used m all s'ofernlie surveys and reports, and is sfiltl-iy being adopted all over the ard west. It is the only accurate uuit, and meas urement by it is easier than by el5 other unit. 4 second foot ls Saaiy4 flow of a cubic fQot per second any given point
 It is very unfortunate that meas- ure which was drawn Viia such s'7t motives should have been so m,sl1- derstood by the people'ol any e-ol It is because ] believe that iae 1.s was based on right and justice Aat its enactment would have been bless ing to all farmers. and that ! hope similar bill may be passed oTa lGsule legislature. have written the above
 X. J. Nice -atcnle.