Arizona republican., 1901-11-22

nia, with a canal to bring the water to public lands in Nevada
 The Times finds fault with Elwood ! Mead. the irrigation expert of the de- partment of agriculture. because MT. Mead recommends that the states and territories rather than the national government be given control of the problem. It finds fault with The Re publican, because. it says, this paper ''covertIy sneers at the national irri- gation movement and at those who have been diligently l2boring for so many years in it's behalf" and because we paid our compliments to "a few shrewd men who are working the thing for all it is worth and trying to misiead the people of this valley into believing that the national movement can be of any direct local benefit, and it surmises that our remarks of which is complains were inspired by Gov ernor Murphy" It may relieve the Times incidentally to learn that the governor knew nothing of the article in question; that we do not know whether he has read it yet, and that he
 
 much as Mir. George Maxwell who is working the thing for all it is worth" seems to inspire the editorial pages of General Otis able organ. For the ben eft of the Times, whose good opinion we value, let us state in few words the position of The Republican:
 1. There are in the Salt River val ley some three hundred thousand acres of land for which ditches have been been titled from the government, and for which there is not an adequate water supply.
 2. To provide the needed supply a storage reservoir is necessary.
 3. The national irrigation" move ment can give no relief, because it is pTedicated wholly upon the argument that the government should construct reservoirs for the benefit of the public lands and prospective settlers thereon
 4. Should the government do any thing for Arizona it would be first to construct the San Carlos reservoir, q work of years.
 ,. Should 1t thereafter construct q reservoir supplying the Salt River val ley. the stored waters would be car ried to vast tracts of the public do- main, and the people of the valley who have borne the burden of redeeming the desert and blazing the way would be permanently deprived of all oppor- tunity to increase the water supply for the lands heretofore acquired from the government.
 6. The Newlands bill offers no re- lief, even for the Indians. for the an nual receipts from sales of public lands in Arizona are little more than s3O,OCO, and it would take half a cent uGy to build up a fund sufficient for the San Carlos reservoir.
 :. That the most optimistic advo- cates of the national movement in congress have never suggested or con- templated and do not now suggest or contemplate the appropriation of pub- lie money for the benefit of lands pri- vately owned and worth s25 to s2OO per acre.
 S- Therefore, the prosperity of the people of the Salt River valley is in no way involved in the success or failure of the national irrigation" movement
 g. Therefore, no sane man, if at all informed on the subject, can honestly represent to the people of this valley that they should fold their hands su- pinely and wait for the government to construct a reservoir for them.
 10. Therefore, when Mir. George Maxwell. who has been making princely income out of the national movement, tells our people that they should cast their fortunes with the national irrigationists" and discourage all attempts by private corporations or the county to provide a reservoir, he is working for something different from the interests of this valley.