Arizona republican., 1911-03-19

! While the demand for water for irri- gation during the earlier periods ot ! the settlement of the valley. was cOni- parativelv small and an inconsid- | erablr part of the usual volume of the water in the river comparatively Nin- expensive and wholly temporary works for it's diversion sufficed. The difficulties however rapidly increased
 with the increased demands for q greater proportion Of the flow.
 A number of canals were in exist ence. and in more or less effective operation. at the time of the passage
 of the Reclamation Act. The oldest of these dates from 1869. and the
 latest from the early 90's. In times
 of high waters the diversion works of
 many of these canals were washed
 out and otherwise rendered ineffec-
 tive until there should be reces-
 sion of the flow of water in the river
 to a point where il was wholly insuf-
 ficient for the needs for irrigation. At times. and most often when il was
 most needed. the volume of wafer in
 the river would be so diminish. q that
 il was practically useless for irrigas
 
 contentious among the various claim- ants to the right to use Wat-r f,Cm
 the river. resulting in veXatinus and expensive litigation. All these con-
 ditions conspired to make thc situ- alton almost hopeless. Orchards
 vineyards had been planted involving
 the cost of hundreds of thousands If dollars, only tO be utterly destroyed
 hv drouth The extent Of success
 ful cultivation of the lands was .c-
 ing rapidly diminished. The land own CTS were discouraged and an exodus out of the valley was contemplated. and even had begun. when the Ma
 tional Irrigation Act was passed
 Thousands of acres of land that had been more or less reclaimed. reverted to desert. and the impro, errents upon them allowed to fall into ruins [. ,In neglect and the ravages of the ele- ments In the beginning of 1902 the outlook for this valley was disheart- enins and it's prospects dismal. Ranches that had been improved at great cost became practically woI th less. The owners who had borrow ed money with which to effect the improvement of their lands. permitted them to go to the lender for the amount of the loan-ton often with a balance of debt against them.
 In 1901. at the instance of the en- terprising people Of the valley the terTitorial legislature enacted law providing for the creation If Board of Water Storage Commissioners in counties having property of the value of ss.000 OO000. or more. for taxable purposes The only county avail ing itself of the provisions of this Act was MaricopI. Under the provi- sions of that act five members. to constitute the board. was appointed by the judge of the district court. The law directed the levy by the Board Of Supervisors of a tax of one and one half mills on the dollar in each Of the years. 1901. and 1902. to carry out the provisions of the law. The function of this board of water storage commissioners, as defined by the territorial enactment. were. brle-- ly: TO examine reservoir sites. cause to he made surveys and soundings. determine the capacity and estimate T voirs or dams. determine the extent of watershed tributary to the valley and the rainfall thereon. to collect other information as to the amount that could be made available for the use Of the valley, to employ engineers, to prepare plans for reservoirs and to select sites therefor and to acquire the same: to contribute towards the expense of any investigation by geo. logical survey into the matter and to convey tO the United States govern ment any reservoir sites pr other rights that might be acquired in the event that the national government should undertake the construction of the reservoir" This last expression was that of a slender hope then en- tertained by some of the most opti- mistic of those who were most inti- mately engaged in an attempt to find some solution of our difficulties-the slender hope that the government might at some time engage in the construction of a reservoir for us.
 The board of water storage com missioners was made up of enthu- siastic. energetic and capable men. who gave to the work of the board their time and their energy. More than S30,000 of money was raised hy the tax levy provided for by the leg islative act About this time the geological survey was engaged in reservoir sites in the ter ritory. among them the one at the junction of Tonto creek with the Salt river The government appropriation for that purpose was not adequate for as complete a survey as was de- sired and under the provisions of the local act. the board of water storage made large contribu- tions to the expense of more de- tailed survey of the reservoir site at the Tonton dam site. so chen con- mnnly designated.
 This seemed for a while to he the only hope Of the people of the valley for immediate means for the relief Of an intoieTable situation.
 We may now all fervently say, whatever We thought then. that the failure of that bill was an unmixed blessing.
 At about this time the matter of irrigation became the sub