The Arizona sentinel., 1904-05-04
CONSULTING ENGINEERS.
Plans for Government Irrigation

Plans for Government Irrigation
 Along the Colorado.
 The Los Angeles Herald. thus tells of the work of irrigating lands on the Colorado river.
 If present plans do not miscarry, it is certain that actual construction of the irrigation works for the lands in the neigh borhood of Yuma will be com menced next fall and that a sum be- tween $2,5GO,000 and s3,5Oo,Oo0 will by that time be availa bfe. for the work.
 J. B. Lippincott, supervising engin- ger of the United States geological surveys reclamatiom service, returned yesterday from an Inspection trip in Lower California, during which the problem of irrigation of the Colorado river lands was under consideration.
 Mir. Lippincott for the past three weeks has been in consultation with the board of consulting engineers sent from Washington by the secretary of the interior to pass upon the plans and estimates which have been prepared by the engineers who have been working under his supervision. F. F. Perkins, also of Los Angeles, has for the past year been in charge of the work of the engineers in the field
 The board of consulting engineers consisted of A. P. Davis, assistant chief engineer of the United States reclama- tion service and formerly one of the engineers of the iSthmian commission; George Y. Wisner, an engineer of na- tiOnal reputation, from Detroit: H. N. Savage of National City, John Quinton and A. H. Sanders of Los Angeles, and G. E. Hall of Georgia.
 Thomas II. Means of the agricultural department, d noted soil expert who has recently returned from tour of in- sncctiUn of the irrigation works in Egypt, acted with she board as adviser.
 While at Yuma the party drove over the entire area under discussion. visited the Laguna dam site and followed the line of the canal surveys. They also held various consultations with farmers and MT. Means made an address at Yuma, in which he emphasized the great fertility of the soil and it's won- derfpl possibilities, declariugs that it compared more than favorably with that of the far famed valley of the Nile. The land inspected, which will eventu- ally be benefited by the Irrigation work, consistssof one hundred thousand acres. A small portion of this is al- ready in an experimental state of culti- vation. The lands extend from twelve miles above Yuma to the Mexican line. About one-lifth of these lands is at present included in the Yuma Indian reservation, a large proportion of which will be thrown open for hemesteads, an ample reservation being still retained for the Indians. S
 The board of engineers expressed themselves as thoroughly pleased with the plans and estimates of the work, and the comprehensive manner of in- yestigation and it's intelligent repre- seutation 50 the board. There is every probability that the board will prompt ly make favorable report to the sec retary of the interior and that the re- port will recofnmend an immediate allotment from the fund of S30, ,000O00 already availa ble im the United States treasury, for the development of irri- gation of arid lands.
 The belief is confidently expressed that actual construction will begin carly next fall.
 The proposed regulation of the river IS calculated to aid the settlement and of the lands around Im- perial by insuring sufficiepcy and reg- ularity Of water supply to all settlers.
 The importance of the work and the prospect that such q large sum of money will be available within few months will be generally understood as. of enormous advantage to the general de- velopment of Southern California.