Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-11-26
WAY JOINT STATEHOOD FAILED

- much rank nonsens*- b. wrtiten
about New Mexico that the snllo~ing
by Arthur Chapman In Ridgway's In
refreshing:
Undoubtedly the real ~ for
rhe overwhelming defeat Of III" single
statehood measure tn Arizona. ana
New Mexico's luke warm support 81
the proposition at the elssction of No
veEaber 9Th. n be- found In The abld'
iug faith Of both territories In their
ability 20 come tnfo the union as sep
arate states within III" n"&t five
years.
No person Who has studied the ad
vance OF the great southwest In the
last decade can say that the hopes Of
the double statehood advocates arr
based GA anything but reasnn, To
day no part Of the country In develop.
ing so fast as the southwest. Home.
seekers are pourlng into the most ia
sorod portions Of New Mexico and
Arizona In a steady stream. The
Santa Re railway. which forms the
chief connecting link TO this land of
promise. Is breaking all records In the
number Of Dew settlers 1t Is carrying
Home seekers excursions are run
twice a week from points In the mid.
dla west. and are patronized by thou.
sands. Public lands are being taken
up In hotnes,eads by men who have
posted themselves al To the various
ways of making not only "a living. but
an independent fortune. In the coun.
try that was once looked upon as n
desert that never could BE- reclaimed.
Some settle In the fertile valley Of the
peeos, In the remarkable artesian belt
near Roswell. n. NJ, Others east their
lot, unafraid, on the semi-arid
benches. knowing that scientific dry
farming will assure them more than
"A O. living.
Hven the once shunnah country
near the Texas line. where the piD.
neeTs left their bones strewed along
the staked plains, IL thickly settled.
An instance In Roosevelt county. New
Mexico. on the arid plains In III" east.
Prn part Of the territory. where az
late as 1900 the whole region en-
bTaccd within the limits of this great
CT unity was totally u'Inpuiopriatrd
Today o than 9.mN quarter seq
lions are occupied by settlers, whH
arc In the most part engaged In farm
ing without irrigation. In the last
wear or two It has been found pnSsihl,
TO irrigate. AN water has been discoy
cred at no great depth, Indeed. the
sinking of small wells Is going on s'c
ctssfuliy all over tho southwest. and
water Is almost invariably found
where. a few years ago. no one would
have had the hardihOod To look for II
The result. when denatured aIcOlo
makes cheap pumping a possibility. Is
something beyond conjecture.
In five years New Mexico has In
creased In population from 2"m 600 e
over 5000 . or more than 50 pc!
rent. by the census OF 1900 Arizona
Was credited with a population u
f22.93i. In six years It has jumped
to 200, non. and It's resources have JUS
begun to he exploited. There is ont
project alone In Arizona, which. whcr
Of land. capable of growing any o
the agricultural or horticultural prod
ucts of the temperate or semi tropi'
zones. This il The great Tonic o
Salt River dam, On which the govern
meilt has now expended over $3.000,
100 and will spend 1000. 400 NOR,
before +ke project Is completed. Thi'
is the greatest water storage enter
urfse In the world. eclipsing the IA
nous Assouan dam In Egypt. The
great iake that will stretch behind thu
Tonto dam will have a capacity fo,
100000 acre feet OF water ol
enough to spread that many acres j.;
foot deep. The dam. whic!, Is beins
built of hard sandstone. laid in con
crete. will be 2S5 feet above bedrock
and 2o0 feet long at the bottom of the
canon. Unlimited horse power will
be developed by this great dam, for
manufacturing purposes. This pro
ject alone will bring Arizona many
leagues toward the single statehood
she desires. New Mexico, also. has
several government schemes under
way which will add thousands OF
acres to its irrigable area.
I'm no place are there such opportu
mites for the development of crops
and industries that a few years ago
would no thave been deemed possible