Arizona republican., 1906-06-02
HOME MAKING
 ON BIG SCALE
Water for Hundreds in
 PiRaI Country
Ths Completion ef Plans on Which ]. Earnest Walker and Associated Have Lsng WerHsd.

J. Ernest Walker returned home yes
 terday from stay of week or two in
 Los Angeles. He came back via Flor
 ence. where he stopped a day or two
 and announces that he is now ready to
 make announcement of the project in
 Pinal county that has claimed so much
 of his attention the last few months.
 It is one of the biggest agricultural in-
 dustrial enterprises ever launched in
 any section of Arizona. It is promis- | ing of the greatest success and if all plans work out as seem reasonable to | expect, MT. Walker will eventually make some money out of it and inci-
 dentally it win assure the permanent development of a large portion of the agricultural area of Pinal county,
 whose natural resources are already we'll known and whose dormant wealth only awaits the touch of capital and
 able and conscientious management, inspiring the cooperation of the set | tiers who are to people the lands.
 MT. Walker and associates have bonded from John w. Sharpe, the
 Pinal Water company, the Casa Grande Valley Canal company and have taken options on 1S,O00 acres of as fine land
 as can be found anywhere, in the fa- |
 Walker secures options on 1000 acres
 more of the lands of that section the deal will be perfected and the cOndi- tions are such that he has no doubt but these additional lanls required will be easily secured in a few weeks. In eX planation to those who are not famil far with PinaI county conditions 1t should be said that the two corpora tions whose interests are thus ac- quired, represent the head works and distributing system of what is known generally as the Casa Grande canal a waterway forty-seven miles long running from the Buttes reservoir site. several miles east of Florence, south of 1 that city to the Casa Grande and Ari- zola section on the Southern Pacific
 railroad. Midway in the length of the canal is the artificial desert lake
 known as the Florence reservoir, exca- vated many years ago for storing water in wet seasons for use in irriga- tion later on.
 The plans of the new company em- brace the cleaning and repairing of the present canal. which practically amounts to digging a new one; the esta blishment of three pumping plants one at the head and two at favorable points along the course Of the canal;
 the driving of a sheet piling dam across the river at a point hereafter to be selected, and the repair and recon
 struction of the reservoir. by which | it's capacity will be increased to four
 times its present volume. This will re- | quire the expenditure of a large sum
 in advance of any receipts, and, to cover it. every purchaser of land will l be charged $10 per acre for an acre
 share in the Pinal Water company
 which will carry with it the ultimate
 ownership and control of the entire
 canal system. including the appurte-
 nances. In other words. on or before
 five years, from January 1, 1907, the
 entire stock will be turned over to the
 purchasers of the land, and they will II thereafter have absolute ownership and
 control of the property and affairs of
 the Pinal Water company. Pending