Arizona republican., 1906-03-30
AUTHORITATIVE TRIBUTE
 10 MIR. FOWLfR'S WORK
"Fores stry and Irrigation" on His Ef-
 forts in Behalf o. the Valley.

Here is an item from the March is sue of Forestry and Irrigation. mag azine published in Washington, D. C.
 in the interest of tie American For estry association an organization that
 is doing much good for the country in an economic way. along broad lines.
 and that is destined to do grea- deal more. The March number reach
 ed Phoenix yesterday and it's arrival
 could not have been more timely fo:'
 under the head of News and Notes"
 it pays the following tribute to the
 services of B. A. Fowler in Washing
 ton, in behalf of this valley:
 ''The secretary of the interior HRS
 given his approval to a contract icr
 the purchase by the government If
 the entire system of canals on the
 north side of the Salt River valley
 Arizona, in the center of which F
 Phoenix, the capital of the territory.
 These canals now become an integral
 part of the Salt River project and will
 be remodeled into an ideal system of
 distribution by which to irrigate 1c3.-
 900 or more acres of rich, fertile laA1
 This disposition of the matter i.as been brought about as a consequence of the disastrous floods in the Salt River valley last spring. Among oth- CT things the floods carried away the Arizona dam. As result the com
 pany owning the dam has been unable to furnish water and the farming or- erations of many persons in the Salt River valley have becn in serious daH-
 ger The action of the government ih
 deciding to take over this irrigation
 system is in accord with its policy to i acquire all possible water rights in re- ! Gions affected by its own projects. i thereby avoiding useless and costly ! litigation.
 Now that the secretary of the ir- 1 terior has decided that there is no ob- | stacle to the approval of the contract | for the purchase of the Arizona canal | system, it is an appropriate time to | recognize the invaluable services of l NIT. R. A. Fowler. president of the Salt 1 River Valley Water Users association, ! in meeting and overcoming the numer- | ous difficulties that have beset ice 1 consummetion of these negotiations J Mir Fowlers work in this connection ] cannot be fully appreciated except by i one who has been on the ground aud
 who has been cognizant of the many l different phases which the matter has | at various times assumed The sffi- ! cers Of the government are, of courS ,, bound by the rules and regular and or derly procedure. and while they have consistently endeavored to do every thing that was officially possible to appellate the negotiations, the numtr- ous delays incident to such matters could have been overcome only ty tactful and persistent effort. Mir Fow- Ter kept in touch with the proceedings 1 s4f h patience and persistence. aided in dis
 posing of many difficulties that would otherwise have caused great delay. The fact that these negotiations have Eeen closed within two and one half months, instead of taking twice that
 long, is unquestionably due almost solely to Mir. Fowler's presence in Washington and to his untiring eff
 forts. The people of the Salt River
 Valley should understand and appfc-
 ciate this"