Arizona republican., 1910-06-28
'HoENIX, ARIZONA, JUNE 2S, 1910
The sunremacx of Phoenix.

A few months ago the National capital from one hundred thousand dollars to two hundred thousand dol lars. The Phoenix National Bank and the Valley Bank have just com pleted arrangements, respectively, 10 increase their paid-in capital to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars from one hundred thousand each. The Union Bank and Trust Company, which a few months ago increased it's paid-in capital to fifty thousand dol lars, vii very shortly make another increase-this time to one hundred thousand.
 The action taken by these four flourishing banks denotes their rec ognition of the fact that Phoenix has become the commercial center of the territory. and that they are prepared to take care of their fast increasing business.
 The financial and commercial su- premacy of Phoenix is now freely ac- knowledged in all sections of the ter ritory The thriving cities whose inhabitants at one time thought that they would be permanent rivals of this town, are no longer in the same class with PhoeniX-rapidly as they may be growing. At one time the banks of Prescott, Tucson, and Bisbee made a showing of totals which equalled or exceeded the showing made by the largest Phoenix banks. but this is the case no longer-al- though the cities mentioned have some great and growing banks that are a credit to Arizona. Only a few years ago the great business houses of Prescott, Tucson, and Bisbee were of such magnitude, in comparison with the largest houses in Phoenix. that the citizens of those towns never failed to mention their size when they patronizingly spoke of Phoenix The big business houses are still flourishing in our One-time rival cities, but they are now Outclassed by the great establishment in Phoenix. In practically every line of mer- chandizing Phoenix stands pre-emi- nent
 Our banks have depositOrs in all sections of the territory, and the lists of these depositors are constant ly growing. Our merchants ship goods to all parts of Arizona.
 Not many of our own citizens req lize the extent to which Phoenix has become the financial center of the territory. It is becoming quite the custom to consummate here big deals affecting other sections mine operators, sheepmen and cattle men come in Phoenix to close their trades
 There are, of course. many reasons for the rapid growth of Phoenix and for its undisputed leadership in 5usi- ness. The most potential factor in the making of the city has been water storage. The construction of the largest reservoir in the United States is making the Salt River valley the largest and richest irrigated district in the United States. Phoenix there fore has "a country back of it.' What this country means to the city, and what it is bound to mean in the future, not all of us appreciate. We are to have here, and in one compact body, more land under irrigation than is in all of southern California outside of the Imperial valley. And yet southern California has dozen or more cities, among them, Los An geles, Pasadena, Pomona, Riverside, San Bernardino, and santa Ana, besides the beach cities And neither the soil nor the climate of southern California is comparable co the soil and climate of the Salt River valley.
 Somewhat slowly, to be sure, the agricultural wealth of this valley has become recog 1i-ed; | but rapidly enough, after all, during 1 the past four or five years to give to the growth of Phoenix a decided i'm petus. During the next five years the city will grow faster than eyer, and it will show in population gain far greater than the total population of the present.
 Another prime factor is that of the