Arizona republican., 1902-03-12
PHoENIx. ARIz., MARCH 12, 1902.

AS we nave lfeuuentlE pointed out, the Salt River valley has no direct in
 terest in either the FIGHTING success or failure of IRRIGATION national irrigation, LEGISLATION. but it is interesting
 to note the develop ments in the movement at Washington. It looks strange, for instance. to see that the HansbrOugNewla bill - the measure prepared by q voluntary committees of representatives and sen ators from all the western states-in- stead of meeting most opposition in the east. encounters its chief opponents in the ranks of the national irrigationists. That is, it looks peculiar to those who have not kept posted on the situation and who have not been familiar with the personal motives and selfish inter ests which have prompted some of the leaders in the propaganda. Should the pending bill pass, there would be no oc- casion for longer calling on the citi- zens of Phoenix and hundreds of other western towns for contributions to the cause" and the graft" would be at an end. special dispatch from Wash ington which appeared in the Denver Republican of Sunday reads as follows: All the members of congress today re- ceived copies of resolutions adopted by the Commercial club of Omaha ask ing them to oppose the general irriga- tion bill which has passed the senate r16 ia iy,f ba to support only such irrigation legisla- ton os will result in building the three projects recommended by the secretary of the interior, namely, the Gila river project in Arizona, the Nevada reser- voir system in Nevada and the St. Mary's river project in Montana.
 The language of the resolutions in- dicates that they are the product of George H. Maxwell, as chairman of the executive committee of the So-called National Irrigation associat tion, who is making speeches in the west against the irrigation measure now pending in congress.
 4 number of members of congress have written the Commercial club, de- clining to present it's petition to con- gress, and criticizing the action of the club, which. while ostensibly favoring irrigation, in reality oppose what is considered the only irrigation measure likely to be adopted at this session of congress.
 The enactment into a law of the bill which has passed the senate would practically remove the matter of na- tional aid to irrigation forever from the hands of congress. The amount of money which would be available each year from the sale of public lands would be between s2000, 900 and S3,OOO,- OOO- The bill proposes that the land irrigated should be sold at such prices as to return to the reclamation fund created by the sale of these lands all of the money expended, hence after few years the fund would not de- crease with the building of irrigation works. but would steadily increase with the increasing sale of land Con- gress would never be called upon again to make any appropriations for irri- gation, and members of that body who now possess a limited understanding of the far-reaching consequences of the proposed law would begin to realize that no river and harbor bill, however. large. was so important in results ob- tained as this measure which is now called the entering wedge"
 It has been emphatically claimed by many congressman that there was no power within the constitution for congress to appropriate money to inn prove the public domain to make it saleable. that is to say. no power to tax the people for that purpose. It IS with the idea of getting around this objection that the bill provides for the creation of a fund derived from the sale of the public domain for it is held by the constitutional lawyers that the same objections do not hold good in money received by the United States treasury not from taxation, but from the sale of property. There is no meas ure now before congress involving g larger amount of money in the end thar the one proposed which creates this reclamation fund. It is in effect 2 continuing appropriation, larger thar that made for any of the great harbol works of the country, and one which i: to run on year by year without limit as to time, until congress shall see if to change the law.
 The Republican yesterday received this telegram from the League of Do
 mestic Pr O q II c Q r s DaTT-U- nUr ..DIaoeo ocI- a1,r b.,-i