Arizona republican., 1909-06-02

the city and suburbs over the territory
which, on the occasion of his first visit
here nineteen vars ago, was little more
than sage brush desert Even nine
years ago the area of cultivation was
far less than that now given over to
prosperous and comfortable homes.
Familiar with large part of the coun-
! try the doctor intimated that in no
! other section has he been so much i'm
pressed with the extent of the conquest
over nature. as here in the Salt River
valley. With respect to the use of
water and the development of princi-
pies involved Arizona is destined to
4 set an example for other states and
sections hitherto regarded as more
| favorab bly, situated. The Salt River val
ley is working out problems that the
| rest Of the world will have the advan-
tage of. To one he enthusiastically
remarked, that the time is coming
when the people of the country will be
looking toward Arizona for the solution
of many problems of an agricultural
! nature.
The doctor was particularly Impress
ed with the large number of homes
he saw. adapted to the needs of typical
American citizens, seeing in the pro-
gress of the past the brightest prom
Use for the future. He inquired into
the extent of the arabic and irrigible
lands of the valley. Learning that in
the not distant future there would be
no less than 400, 700 acres. he immedi-
ately pointed out that under ideal de-
velopment each five acre lot would
support a family of five persons
which with a reasonable allowance for
commercial population would render
the valley capable Of sutaining a pop
ulatiOn of 100000. That estimate from
one of lesser authority might seem
most extravagant but the doctor spoke
with an appreciation of not only the
present but the future. That acreage
is much in excess of what can now
be watered but the day is coming
when 1t will be watered. Nor can a
man support a family on every five
acres here with present methods and
conditions but the day is coming when |
he can. and it is the future the doc
tor was talking about.
At the same time the doctor pointed |
out that the limit of population will |
not be determined by the area of land |
so much as by the quantity of water |
available and the beneficial use of it, |
showing his auditors at once that he |
recognizes those problems vet to be |
solved before that possible ideal state !
OF cultivation will be achieved His
dissertation on the subject of water |
showed that he did not speak without |
a thoughtful appreciation of its i'm |
portance. 1t is the primary resource.
There is no vitality without water. The |
fundamental vital processes are abso- |
lutely conditioned on its substance. /
Without water there is no assimilation. !
none of that vitalism on which growth /
depends, no termination, absolutely I
none of those chemical changes involv- |
ed in organic growth. Water is the 1
menstrum of life. so in considering the |
habitation of this valley like other re-
gions. he has lived to emphasize not |
merely the fundamental necessity Of |
water. but the enormous quantity con- |
sumed.
Taking the prospective population of |
this valley at something over one per
son per acre, he pointed out that i'm |
order to sustain such a population il |
is necessary to have the annual water
supply of not less than four acre feet. |
or approximately 100000 tons of water |
for each man, woman and child in the |
valley, OF course but small part of |
this enormous quantity of water is |
directly consumed by each individual: |
vet it is hardly less striking to learn |
that the average adult throughout the |
United States actually consumes over a I
ton Of water each year. the rate in the /
arid region being considerably larger
than that In the humid lands. The |
greater part of the consumption of |
water by mankind is indirect Meat |
represents consumption of water by |
animals at the rate of twenty tons per |
year for the steer. Grains represent |
at the rate of 100 tons per /
buShel of wheat and other foods in /
proportion. |
Such facts and figures almost start |
ling in their magnitude and made |
familiar to the doctor through his in |
vestigations Of life time, demonstrate !
that his opinion of the future of this |
valley is not mere careless enthusiasm |
but Is the result of mature reflection.
There are few in the mere booster
class who would be so liberal as to |
grant each resident of the valley $780, |
900 tons of water annually as a basis |
of need and still regard the future as |
sublimely as they do. The deduction |
is not that the doctor is less conserva-
tive than the booster, but that he |
knows better what he is talking about |
and has greater appreciation of the |
valleys resources than the ordinary
person. And compared with the doc
tors peep beyond the veil, the boost
ers' $4,000 mark for Phoenix in 1914, |
seems so reasonable as 70 he almost |