Arizona republican., 1908-06-02

| come water users, to facilitate their common action, to provide efficient | associate means for administrative
 purposes, to promote the common ob- | ject of the conservation and best use | of all waters available for irrigation | and to provide an agency for negotia- tions between the government on the
 one hand and the water users on the
 other, in relation to the common pur- ! poses the water users of the valley | formed the Salt River Valley Water 1 Users association under the general | incorporation laws of the territory. Reviewing the history of the matter
 for moment we find that at the time l the government began the construc- | tion of the works included in the Salt | River project that the Phoenix Light and Fuel Co, had constructed, in stalled and was operating in the city : of Phoenix, plants for the manufacture 1 of gas, and for the generation of cleo trlcal energy, and had laid pipes and erected wires and constructed conduits for the distribution of gas and elec-
 trical energy to its customers in said city and vicinity for light, heat and power, and was actually and had been for some time engaged in that busi- ness. It may be assumed that it was then using the streets and alleys of the city for this purpose and exercising whatever other franchises it may have
 had, convenient or necessary to it's
 business under grants from the city,
 of covenant rights and franchises
 therefor. We may assume, and ls11ANt- nf oil
 are those made by the ordinances
 Cthe Ohniclt ordinance No. 53, and the
 Phoenix Light and Power O.. ord-
 nance No. 23S and the ordinance No
 S26). These ordinances do not pur-
 port to grant exclusive franchises
 They were however the only, and are
 therefore up to this time exclusive. In
 practice they have been exclusive
 The electric company also has had
 contract with the Arizona Water
 company under which it had the ex-
 elusive right to develop and use the
 power from all the water that was or
 might be diverted from Salt river to
 be used for the irrigation of lands on
 the north side of the river as well as
 of a considerable portion of that used
 for irrigation of lands on the south
 side, and had erected and installed
 and was using power plants for the development of about 1000 horse DOW CT thcrefrnm. This was all accom- plished before either the enactment of
 the irrigation act or the commence
 ment of any work or even the. con
 temptation of any work upon the Salt
 River project or the organization of the Water TTSars aCgppiatipr,
 Of the wisdom, propriety, expedien- cy, or desirability. of these grants and contracts. it is beyond our province to express any opinion. As to their va lidity, We might have some interest. for to some extent they constitute the
 basis of the consideration for the con- tract entered into between the govern ment and the Pacific Gas and Electric c., (the successor of the Phoenix Light an' Fuel Co) and to which I shall frequently refer as the direct ob- 1ect of this inquiry Without com mltting myself definitely to the opin- ion that they are valid, for that is unnecessary, l can say that I have! now no doubt of their validity and if ! l had any l am disposed to believe l that it would not now be good faith l If it was desirable, for the Whter ITs- | CTS association, to attempt to impeach | them and there was never a time ! when 1t would have been good policy | or to our advantage to do so. as will l appear from my further statements
 IT the contract between the electric ! and the water company was | and is valid one. the rights of the | electric company stand (eXcept as ! they have been later modified) in | precisely the same relation to a pur- l chaser of the Arizona canal and the control of the other canals, as did | and do the rights of any and every | other water user who had a con tractual relation with those canals for the supply of water whether for power or irrigation. The sale of the | of the Arizona Water com pany would divest or impair the rights of neither. The purchaser would take the property subject to the obligation to deliver the water as prescribed by the contracts. Possibly the only persons who could have i'm peached the electric company's con- tract were the holders of the bonds of the water company-of that. how ever, have not inquired, because to that we are wholly indifferent-it in any wise affect our consid- eration of the matter. It is sufficient to say, to dispose of that question. that the bondholders. at the only time they could have done so, did not i'm peach it.
 As the work on the Salt river pro- ject progressed it became more and mere apparent that the Water Users ass ociation or the government should acquire the canal systems on the north side of the river. I need not refer to the negotiations that were undertaken to that end, nor the pro- cess necessary for it's accomplish l.ent. l may for all practical pur- poses say that negotiations were en-