Arizona republican., 1904-02-20
CONCERNING sOnE LIES ,
The Plain Facts About the Settlement With the Government for the
 Reservoir Franchise.

company have been industriously cir culated by a few ignorant citizen" and guttersnipe "gernalists' As a few people may believe the yarns, it seems worth while to take this notice of them
 First-Any statement that the con- struction of the Tonto reservoir has been delayed for 2 minute by the Hud- son company, or that the company has threatened to interpose Instructions 10 the governments project. is a He. Gb- sclutely.
 Seccnd-Any statement that there has been any semblance of graft in the transaction is a lie, absolutely.
 Third-Any statement that there has been secrecy, locally or at Washington as to the attitude of the company, cr concerning negotiations with the gov ernment is a lie, absolutely.
 Fourth-Any statement that there has been any semblance of lobbying | in the matter, or that there was any resort to political influence is allie, ab- ] solutely.
 l Fifth-Any statement that Mr. N. O. ] Murphy has had, has, or will have. any l interest, direct indirect or contingent ! in the company or its funds, or that q 3e [ approached any official concerning the
 matter was consulted or mad the re- motest interest in the transaction at i any time, from the bcginning to the end, is a lie, absolutely.
 1 As far back as two years ago this
 winter it was established publicly and ! officially here in Phoenix that the Hud- i son company had an inccntestible ' franchise covering the reservoir site. ! The board Of water storage commis- sioners, doubting the validity cf the company's rights, caused surveys and
 maps to be made at considerable eX- pense, and made application m Tegu-
 lar form for the franchise. The com ! pany, secure in it's rights, did not even ! bother to make a protest to the gov | ernment, and the application Of the Y commissioners was promptly rejected. | The information was then widely dis | serninated in the valley that for at II least five years from October 1900, the fl ccmpany's rights could not be im- If peached or invaded And as most l people know, the franchise would not become self-forfeiting at the end Of | the stated period. Quite Gs lcrg ago, I stated several times in public. be-
 fore water committees Of citizens that the company, if compelled to part with its franchise. would demand at least $1OG,oc0 therefor. and more probably | s2Cc,oCO. On. the same occasions it was stated that the company would never make an unjust demand or stand in
 the way of the vallsy's development. At different times leaders in the stor- age movement have heard similar | statements from the company off, i oers in New York. Every citizen who has taken any pains to inform himself has known that 1t would be necessary for the government to purchase the company's rights. The government and the Water Users association have never taken any other position than | that a purchase would be necessary. Throughout, the negotiations have been above board and on the square, and with the utmost fraukness and cordislity upon both sides. It was shown that the owners Of the franchise had expended in good faith quite $1o0, coo in efforts to furnish the Salt River
 Valley with water storage; and that
 if cognizance had been taken of other
 expenditures. Of interest, and of val
 uable services the outlay would be
 found approximating s2OO.OCO.
 The owners of the franchise felt that
 they had a right to ask at least for the
 return Of their money in exchange for a reHnqUishment Of their rights. The
 moderation of this sum is better exhib-
 ited by the fact that the owners of franchises in other parts Of the west,
 covering reservoir sites m dch less i'm portant, are asking as much as Sf00,-
 GOO from the government and that
 without any exhibit of moneys eXpend
 ed. The government officials, afte-
 mature consideration. reached the COZ clusion that they could not agree to
 more more than s40.0GO without an ar
 bitration or some other form of set
 tlemcnt. necessarily tedious and pro
 lonSed. It was admitted that the own-
 CTS Of the franchise could delay con-
 struction Indefinitely. and might even
 tually recover the full sum claimed or
 more. The owners of the franchise had
 worked Loyalty for years for the up
 building of this valley. They did not , wish to be obstructionists on tho eve of sucCess-1lthoUgh it was a success
 in which everybody but themselves would share. Rather than stand or 2 their manifest rights and delay inc construction of the reservoiN they 1e-
 cided to accept S40,000, although tEes had not for a moment Ietreated from their position that Sfco.0OO was a req sonabIe and just suTl.
 If there be graft il an investors re- . covering less than forty per cent n ? his own money, it $ graft in which few men would care 10 embark.
 ? Il may be regrettable that the secrr- 3 tary of the interior has not consulted
 at each stage of the business, durins ! the past two years, the enlinently sue t cessful honest and fair gentlemen whl ! preside over some of the local news 9 papers and who meet such brillian r success in attending to every form ( | business except their own. but it il D hardly necessary for me 10 enter - plea in abatement on behalf of mysel I and associates.
 yield to tn. temptation to add thu . in some localities there are some pco = pie who are wholly TniginfoIned as t' n the manner in which business is con
 ducted before the departments Of tn
 government Politics and political iE . fluence are never welcomed. Busine 2 e is done honestly. openly, aud on .h r square. Citizens make much bette ] prosres who depend Upon the merit