Arizona silver belt., 1903-04-09
Government Irrigation Projects

ne NlSit to tnls section or l. lrectOr
 Charles D. Walcott, of the geological survey, is significant as atfOrding addi-
 tional proof of the governments fixed
 intention of inaugurating work at an
 early date in Arizona, under the pro
 visions of the Hausbrough-Newlands
 law lending government aid for the re-
 clamation of the arid lands of the west,
 The fact that the San Carlos and so
 called ToutO reservoir projects have
 been long talked of and discussed in
 print, aud that the government Is pro
 verbally slow in matters of supreme
 importance, have dulled the receptive
 nesso of the public mind to any assurance
 of the early commencement of actual
 work on either enterprise. However,
 of late, the interior department has given evidence of its earnestness in the
 matter, in many ways. The prelimin- ary engineering work on the reservoir and demsite ou Salt river below the mouth of Tonto creek has been prac- tically completed, and drilling for bed rock at the San Carlos sic, on the Gila river, has been in progress for some tune, and it is currently reported that Director Walcott's recommendations will be decisive es to both projects.
 An unfortunate jealousy and conteu- ton has arisen between the respective advocates of the San Carlos and Salt rIyer projects, which can scarcely be productive of good to either, while the result might be to prejudice the San Carlos proposition, The Florence people, in their advocacy of the San Carlos project, have made a serious mistake by opposing with ill- concealed resentment, the construction n of the Salt river dam Harmonious action and a disposition shown to help each other would, in all probability, have insured the early construction of both works
 The Salt river and San Carlos loca- tions are acknowledged by government engineers to be among the very best natural reservoir sites in the arid west and probably not surpassed in favorable engineering features by like locations anywhere. Iu fact, tue advantages they present are so great as to com mend them above all other sites else where, as affordiug the greatest possi- bilities of success, which is so essential in the fi"st projects 10 be undertaken under the Hausbrough- Newlands act The Salt river dam is one of five pro- jects decided upon by the geological survey and approved by Secretary Hitchcock, and its early construction is dependent only upon an agreement DNAH6 ANHNANh bNhDhb NLit and canal companies of Salt river val ley, to satisfy the requirements of the government. This, we are advised, is practically assured, and in all probabil, lty the coming summer will witness the commencement of construction work
 The reclamation of the arid lands is second in importance only to the devel- opment of the mining industry in Ari- lona, and sectional strife should not be permitted to obstruct any project which the government is inclined to favor, as no matter where located, fri yation works such as the government would build, would directly or indl- -ectiy benefit every portion of the ter ritory, and as an advertisement would be the mea of greatly increasing the ayorable notice that Arizona is attract ng throughout the United States.