Arizona republican., 1910-03-11
4 Great Opportunity.

MT. LolllS C- hlll, tne supervising engineer of the United States recla- nation service. brought from Wash ington yesterday the most welcome and valuable news in relation to the local storage project that has been received here since the construction of the reservoir was assured
 This news, in brief. is that the sec retary of the interior is disposed to consider favorably the plan which has been projected by the officers of the Water Users association for les sening the burden of early payments on the reservoir project. The plan, in outline. is to spread the payments to the government over a period of twelve or thirteen years. instead of ten years, by postponing the actual completion of the project until it shall embrace construction which hitherto has not been a part of the governments program. This new construction would include a cross cut canal at the eastern end of the north side system. a power plant at Tempe. and sundry other power plants. which, when installed. would greatly increase the revenue-pro- ducing scope of the whole system. In order to provide the money with which to take care of this new con- struction. it is proposed that the members of the association shall as- sess themselves at the rate of. say. g. per acre per year during the two or three years which the new work would cover
 In other words, following the com- pletion of the Roosevelt dam, the yearly assessments for the first two or three years would be only E. an acre. instead of some s4.5O per acre, the latter sum being the estimated assessment which will be necessary from the completion of the dam if the original project is carried out ,ritbout modification
 The immense advantage of this plan is obvious at >a glance. An as sessment of but g. per acre annually would be no burden at all, whereas for the first year, at least. an assess ment of s4.50 per acre would be bur densome for many ranchers. By the end of the new construction period the valley would be enjoying the "ac- cumulated prosperity" which is cer- tain to be the result of abundant irri- gation-so that thereafter the full as- scssment would be of so little inn portance as against the profits from ranching under a full supply of water that no capable farmer would find his yearly payments q handicap In addition to this, the installation of a comprehensive power system would permanently reduce the annual as- sessments throughout the whole pe- riod of payment It is estimated that the total revenue from power would amount to at least s20O.OO0 annually, pr d deduction of S1 per acre from the gross assessment Of s45O-so that, even when the final period of ten years was entered upon the net charges against each acre would not . exceed s35o a year
 Hence the net result of the con- summation of this plan would be: CD to spread the payments over twelve or thirteen years instead of ten years; @ to reduce the yearly assessments to less than one-half the regular assessment during the first two or three years. when money will be most needed by the ranchers- thereby leaving at home and in cir culation here approximately one mill lion dollars during this period: and C3) to permanently lessen the yearly assessments so that the cost to the ranchers will not exceed s3.5O annu- ally-thereby keeping at home and. in circulation some s20O,000 annually throughout the final ten-year period.
 It must be borne in mind, of course. that this plan has not yet been for Inally laid before the secretary of the interior. It must be remembered