Arizona republican., 1904-04-24


 "came along and gobbled up in the neighborhood of 175,O0O acres or a sin gle acre. MT. Maxwell did buy an SO- acre ranch near Phoenix, for S12.OG0, giving mortgage for part of the pur chase price, we understand. But 1t is fact that MT. Maxwell's excellent standing with the survey and the de- partment proved of inestimable value to the Salt River valley in enabling the government and the valley to get to- gether in a binding contract. More than that, it is doubtless true that if it had not been for the intelligently directed efforts of MT. Maxwell. Mir. Fowler, Judge Kibbey, the local news papers and public spirited citizens scr- erally, the construction of the 1onto Basin dam as a government enterprise future. If Mir. Maxwell committed any crime in that behalf, we suppose he Is willing to take his punishm 9nt. But let us see how MT. MaxweIl~anj his
 
 of 175,OOO acres:
 'This means that the government will construct in the Tonto Basin irri- gation works to cost $2, ,000 coo, lending to the project the government engi- neers and giving to MT. Maxwell and his friends ten years in which to pay the loan, which in the meantime draws no interest. Apparently $1,OO0000 in in- terest alone is saved in this transaction by MT. Maxwell and his friends.
 Nor is this all. The cost of the Tonto Basin dam project will amount to SIS to S15 psr acre for the land ir- rigated. A conservative estimate places the value of these lands. as socn as the water touches them, at $50 an acre, and some estimates run as high as s100 an acre. As the land held by MT. Maxwell and his associates will cost them SIS per acre. for which they have ten years to pay it will thus be seen that on the 175,000 acres which they are reputed to hold, if the land sells at $50 per acre. the lowest estimate, their profits will aggregate the enormous sum cf S7, 550,O00; a fret gift from the United States government through the depart ment of the interior and the geological survey"
 This is rarely humorous, in view e. the fact that not an acre of the iahd embraced under the Tonto Basin res ervoir project was owned by he gov ernment at the time the reclaln6 lion act was passed. It had long since pass ed into the ownership of actual set al had gone away and large areas were lying idle for lack of water It was impossible for anybody to "gobbIe up' these lands, for by the very terms of the Water Users contract with the government, each holding is res:ricced to 16O acres. This compels the segre- gation of the few large holding5, all of which were acquired years and years ago.
 The correspondence from which we have quoted attacks MT. Maxwell be- cause he favors q repeal of the iesert land act; and, indeed, if MT. Maxwell had been able to gobble up 175,GOO acres, or 100 acres, that fact Fould be a weighty argument for the repeal of the existing land laws.
 Thus, both in falsehood and lack If logic these attacks upon the Tonto Basin reservoir and the reclamation service prove that their authors are wanting in ordinary sense.
 The persistence with which the as- saults are being made fr3m aulbnsh Indicates q determined opposition, al belt somewhat idiotic, and t might ac- oomplish something if a different situa- tion existed-if. for example, all qucs- tions relating to the reservoir were rot now settled-for congress might be led ignorantly to interpose some obstacle
 The enemies of the reclamation ser vice are hoping great things from change of administration-thav are hoping that democratic president VII be elected this fall and tha+ Q demo cratic secretary of the interior will ob- struct the policy of water storage by the government. But we guess they are building castles in Spain.