Arizona republican., 1912-02-27
PUBLICITY F0R
 THIS VALLEY
Newspapers Both East and West Are Reciting the Facts of Its Prosperity and Its Promising Flu ture.

The following is reproduced as an illustration of the publicity this val
 ley is constantly getting through thc big Salt River reclamation project. It | appeared in the ogden. Utah. Exam
 iner. February and a few days thereafter an article containing many of the same facts and of similar ! length was published in the Baltimore | Sun, while publications of the same
 hature are seen almost daily in one l newspaper or another:
 Does it pay to store water? Does
 prosperity flow from well developed i irrigation enterprises? The answer can be found in the government fig ures on the Salt River irrigation sys-
 tenn in Arizona. The Salt River val ley Was desert up to few years ago. There Were patches of cuti-
 vated land but the great body of the land was covered with sagebrush and produced nothing, not even good grazing for cattle. The river poured down mighty stream in the spring of the year and almost ran dry in summer. Each year the farmers Whistled the same old tune. The Mill Will Never Grind With the Waters That Have Passed" and the drouths destroyed hope and ambition Final
 ly the settlers in the valley raised funds to make preliminary invcsti- eation of the storage possibilities on the headwaters. Then the reclamation service was appealed to and finally the government commenced the con Struction of the Roosevelt dam. and. with the completion of this great res erNolr. the flood waters Were stored and 1l5,000 acres of land brought un- der irrigation. The crops of 1911 had an estimated value of more than SJ,0Oo,OOo or an average of $40 per ! acre. The increase in land values during the past six years has been amazing. In 1905 the assessed valu- alton of the taxable property in Mar icopa county which is practically the Salt River valley. was $1O.S66435 and |
 in 1910 it rose to $21.47S,734 or nearly | double
 The Salt River Valley Water Users association composed of inc landowners on the project now has a membership of 2.G57, an increase | Of S29 members in two years. Since 1908 there have been 3.343 transfers ot farm property on the books of | the association which illustrates the rapidity with which the large hold | ings are being ub-divided as well | as the increased demand for homes | since an abundance of water has | been assured. This association in q | lew years will assume full charge | and management of the project, will | operate and maintain the elaborate | canal and pumping system and a | large power plant, costing more than 1 a million dollars. which is now de- | hvering power to all the municipal- | ties Of the valley. These great pub | lie utilities. the irrigation system and | the power plant are to become the | property of the farmers. to be man | aged by them for their benefit and 1 profit. The large surplus of power | which is being developed is already | in demand for trolley systems which | are now being extended to all parts | of the project, and by numerous | manufacturing enterprises Several | of the municipalities are now being | lighted from this plan. This exper- ment in community ownership and | CoHtTOI or lneSe important utilities l will be watched with interest by peo- pie all over the country and especial | ly by those who are residing in the | arid country. Salt River valley | teaches us lesson. There are thousands of acres of land near ogden that have an insufficient Wal ter supply and as many thousand l acres without water Every year there flows through ogden canyon a mighty flood of water and this wa ter sweeps on to Great Salt Lake. During the lowest precipitation, enough water goes to waste to more than irrigate all the irrigable lands of this district. and yet we halt and hesitate as to what to do with the South Fork project.
 We should profit by the experience of the farmers of Salt River valley and build without delay the dam which is to impOund the waters of the ogden river. Then instead of our farm districts losing in popula- tion. as they did between 1900 and 1910 according to the census, there will be a surprising growth.
 That is one way in which to build