Arizona republican., 1903-10-04


 land in this valley will find a valuabl pointer in these paragraph of MT. Newell's article:
 Whenever project for reclamation of government land is declared to be feasible, public lands under it are inn mediately taken up. under the terms of the homestead law, and by the time the works are completed the land is all in private ownership. Thus, what ever the initial condition may be. whether the arid land was owned at first by the government, or by individ- uals, the results are the same, namely. the establishment of homes upon small farms.
 Where the land holdings in the hands of an individual corporation are large, water for these cannot be obtained un- til they are subdivided and disposed of in small tracts to actual settlers. These men must reside continuously for five or ten years upon the land, and culti- vate it before a clear title to the water can be had from the government. Thus, collusion or evasion of the purpose of the purpose of the law is to a large ex- tent prevented. In a rapidly growing country it is hardly credible that any collusion to obtain water can hold throughout long period, especially with danger of forfeiture at the end of that time.'
 The localities and people who have sought to further their own interests by attacking the Tonto Basin enter prise will find no comfort in MT. NewelFs explanation of the laws in- tent. The enemies of the Salt River valley have thought they had a great argument against the construction of the Tonto Basin reservoir by the gov ernment in the fact that most of the lands in the valley are held in private ownership. With unanswerable logic he points out that in creating Gas in this valley) a multitude of homes on land nominally in cultivation already but actually vacant to a great extent, the very purpose of the law is carried out. He says:
 "The main feature of the law Is to secure the development of the arid region and the utilization of the great resources which experience has shown cannot be put to beneficial employment by private enterprise, and which, If properly utilized, becomes the great est source of strength to the common wealth. through the creation of homes. It matters little whether the lands thus utilized happen to be at the time of construction in private or public ownership. The main thing is to se- cure ultimately the building of homes and the placing of these in the hands of the people who become self supporting and who can and will refund to the government the cost of reclamation. This is an object in which not only the government, but ali classes Of citizens. and most industries, are interested. The transcontinental railroads recog- nize that they will be first beneficiar- ies and the continuous gathers by this home building movement, and they have contributed largely to the success of the movement. Some of them have land to sell, it is true, but the profit from the sale of the land is as nothing compared to the annual traffic result ing from the establishment of innum- erable small homes. The railroads might sell the land to cattle men, but as a matter of business it would be far better to give them to settlers liv- ing on irrigated farms. The manu- featuring and jobbing interests of the east have also contributed to this work, as they believe that in the west is the greatest home market for manufac- tured products.
 When it is remembered that the re- clamation act was passed but little over a year ago, and that in reality fr1 accomplished by the geological survey since that time. nobody with any un- derstanding of the many difficult feat ures involved is disposed to criticise the federal officials for moving less rapidly. But all objections on this head are met by MT. Newell in his explanation of what the survey has had to do and what has had to be done by the communities interested. It Is true. as he says, that criticism has and will be made because of the slow progress in these great works, but when 1t is remembered that nearly all of these undertakings involve the ap- plication, or trial, of new methods and devices. and the dealing with consid- erable numbers of persons. it will be seen that the work requires not mere