The Socorro chieftain. [volume] (Socorro, N.M.) 1902-1959, 1907-11-16
NEW MEXICO'S GROWTH
In the Very ImpOrtent Matters Of
Population, Assessment Values,
and Agriculture.
SINCE JANUARY FIRST 1906
The Taxable Property Is Now Valued
at Nearly $50, 900, ,ooo-Popula-
tion over $4,000.

Lawson d. Lowe, secretary of
the Territorial Statehood
League, has compiled some very
interesting figures on irrigation,
on agriculture, on the assessment
value of taxable property and on
the increase in population of
New Mexico since the first of
January, 1906, which he has fur
nished the Santa Fe New Mvxi-
can. These figures show con-
clusively that the growth of the
territory during these twenty
two months has been remarka-
bly, satisfactory and steady.
The information contained there
in will come in especially serv-
iceable in the fight which will
be made shortly in the Sixtieth
Congress for the passage of a
bill for an enabling act for New
Mexico.
Fromfigures recently furnish
ed TO Lawson d. Lowe, secre-
tary of the Territorial Statehood
League bv Territorial Engineer
Vernon L. Sullivan, it appears
that at present there are some
thing over a million acres of
land under cultivation and irri-
cation in this territory and over
two million, five hundred thou
sand acres of land susceptible to
irrigation. OF this latter
amount, there are applications
on file in this Office for permits
to construct water works and ir-
cation systems to irrigate 654,-
500 acres, leaving at the lowest
estimate one and one-half mil
lions of arabic lands susceptible
of irrigation and cultivation as
yet untouched. OF the aboye
mentioned applications covering
the 654, 500 acres, the United
States reclamation service has
filed applications for 100000
acres under the following pro-
jects: The Hondo Project, near
Roswell, New Mexico, 10000
acres; the Carlsbad Project, near
Carlsbad, New Mexico, $4,000
acres; the Elephant Butte Pro-
ject, near Engle, New Mexico,
10000 acres; the Las Vegas
Project, near Las Vegas, New
Mexico, $4,000 acres; and the
Urton Lake Project, near Fort
Sumner, New Mexico, 10000
acres. In referring to these var
ious government undertakings
the territorial engineer says:
FIVE BIG IRRIGATION PRoJEc rs
UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
The government has five diff
ferent projects, all OF which have
been app roved in the territory of
New Mexico, the Carlsbad and
Hondo projects being practically
completed. The Elephant Butte
project is one of the largest pro-
iects the reclamation service is
building, the same having been
commenced nearly year ago
and which is intended to irrigate
one hundred and eighty thousand
acres of land including the fur
nishing of sixty thousand acre
feet of water to Mexico. This
proposition is for storing the
flood waters of the Rio Grande,
the project having one of the
largest reservoirs ever built,
which has storage capacity of
two million acre feet, which ca
pacity can be better appreciated
by the following illustration: If
a standpipe ten feet in diameter
were made high enough to hold
the same capacity as this reser-
voir would hold, it would be tall
enough so that its height would
90 around the world eight diff
eTent times"
The remainder, or 319,580
acres of land will be irrigated bv
private enterprise and private
capital and all of the applica-
tions have now been approved by
the territorial engineer.
From official figures secured in
the Office of the travelling audi
tor OF the territory, there are
about $500 miles of railroad
now constructed and operative in
the territory while at least 1000
miles or more are contemplated
being constructed in the different
sections in the near future.
Much of this mileage has been
constructed within the last seven