Arizona republican., 1903-06-07
WATER. AT YUMA
New Enterprises Are Making New
 Town of the Old Village.

| Yuma Ariz.. June 4.-(Special Cor
 respondence of The Republican).-Se | tiers on the lower Colorado have wat
 CT troubles equally with their Salt riv- | CT brethren. About eighteen months | ago MT. John Speese, an enterprising | Yumaite. located a canal heading at a place now known as Cocopah point. and with S10,0O0 began the construction
 of a $200,000 canal. As was forshadOw-
 ed in the beginning he was soon up against It and was forced to look else where for money to- carry out the grand scheme. As the project was a
 worthy one and the standing of Mir ] Speese Of the best he was not long in inducing others to put in money and carry the work along. In the trans
 fer of the property the originator is 1 understood to have come out little more than even" The new proprietors are said to be an English syndicate. organized in New Jersey under the
 name of Colorado Delta Canal com pany. They are said to have an abundance of money behind them. and
 the work. if done, will be on an en-
 larged scale and will involve an ex-
 penditure of nearly one million dollars.
 That it should protect itself in so vast
 an outlay is to be expected and this it has proceeded to do in an eighteen shred barbed wire water contract. These numerous provisions look so for
 midable to the parties of the second
 part" i. Q. the water consumers and land owners under the proposed canal, that they hesitate to sign and are backing away from the proposition. The indications now are that unless the company is willing to make some concessions it's representative will not be able to talk it through. The owners of land east of Yuma will probably sign the contract offered as the build ing of the canal is their only salvation in the way Of water. but those west of town are more fortunate IS they draw the liie-giving fluid through canals already established. No one wishes to see either party Co the con tract get the worst of it. and it is a universal desire to have the canal built for it means practically a new Yuma and the bringing under cultiva- ton of an immense tract of land that Is now valueless. It is sincerely to be hoped that either the hard places in the contract can bs smoothcd down CT satisfactorily explained away.
 Another proposition that is also of immediate interest to the property owners and water consumers in the town of Yuma is the supplying of the town with water for fire and domestic purposes. The Yuma Water and Light company is providing the water at present used. but the service is said to be unsatisfactory in quality and 1uantity. Practically it furnishes nc
 fire protection whatever and the rates f insurance have. in consequence. more than doubled. II is an old saving that to drink once Of Colorado river water is to return and drink again. Probably the drinker does not get enough out of the mud the first time SO returns t0 give il an extra squeeze. At any rats it is this mud the users complain oi, but as there was but one company and one source of supply complaints were made in vain. In re- sponse to an almost universal demand for better fire service and purer water the city authorities have decided to put in a system of their own and for this purpose have called an election to vote an issue or $i0.OOO bonds. If the bonds are voted the money will be used for the purpose of installing a system