Arizona republican., 1912-03-04
Arguments Made by Messrs. Orme and Jones Seem
 to Have Failed of
 Their Object. :
WATER QUESTION
 IS NOT SETTLED
Government Thinks Exten- sion of Time Would
 Inure to Benefit of
 Spectators. :
tSPeciGl COrreSbOHdeHce1

lDItItNt NOiftSV VOIUtV Vtt
 WASHINGTON. March 3.-John Orme and D. P. Jones. who recently appeared before the house committee on irrigation. urged that the water users in the Salt River valley be given twenty years to make payment for water rights. They brought out the fact that of the 900 acres or more in the project. more than half of it
 was in crop or being prepared for cul- tivatiOn and that the remaining acre. age could be titled without much diff culty. Native plants were easily re- moved and the ground needed very lit tle leveling. They stated that a good
 deal of the land had been cultivated
 for many years but owing to the un- certainty of the water supply and the
 poor system of old ditches, the farmers
 had not been very successful Owing
 Ito these conditions. they feared that
 when the government announced that
 the project was completed and the
 time arrived for making the payments.
 they could not do so. They stated
 that the lands were among the richest
 in the world and with an assured wa
 ter supply such as was afforded by
 the government works it was possible
 to raise two or three crops a year
 and to obtain six nr more cuttings of
 alfalfa selling at from $6 to S16 per
 ton. and that tho cost Of cutting and
 baling the aIfdifI was about $4 per
 ton.
 The argument was made that many
 -l-E. paid from S10O to S20O per acre for
 their land with per cent interest on deferred payments, and that where a man. for example. had agreed to pay $lOG per acre for the raw land in ten annual instalments with interest at per cent on say so or $50 and on top of this had to pay the cost of culti- vation and supporting his family. he could not afford to pay to the wealthy and prosperous government the charge for the water which made the land valuable. The net average earning of the 40-acre farms was stated to be from 5000 to S12OO and this did not suffice to discharge the heavy debts on the land and leave surplus suffi- cient to pay for the water right with out inconvenience. Hence it was ar gued that the government should not attempt to collect for the water imme- diateIy but should give the farmers at least twenty years to make payment.
 They showed that one of the great drawbacks of the valley was the spec ulative holdings and that consider able part of the land was being held by men who were not trying to culti- vate it. The prices have advanced from Sl0 to $15 per acre since the pro- feet was started to $110 at the present time all due to the investment made by the government and the assurance of an adequate water supply. The specuIators are not selling much land but the tendency has been for people to purchase in order to realize on the increase If the speculator could be eliminated and the lands purchased at the old prices the farmers would be able to pay the cost of water at S1e Der acre or less in ten annual install ments. But with the large amount all ready paid or promised to the land sellers this cannot he done without great hardships. Special attention was called to the large holdings Of pr. Chandler. Dwight B. Heard and others and it was stated that about one fourth of the area was in the hands or these men and smaller holders such as E. A Fowler and others having few hundred acres who have increased their original holdings during the con struction of the works instead of sell ng their surplus holdings The only man who has made sales of any con- siderable amount is Dr. Chandler. who 1as sold from $500.00O tO S6O0.00O worth during the past year There had been a boom but now the prices were not as high and no one was buy ng land because they began to appre- ,iate that the government would soon lsk them to return the cost of water rights in ten annual payments. IT .hev could get this increased to twenty -ears there would he greater prosper tv and more probability of sales.
 The objection was made on the part ,f the committee that this concession would inure directly to the beneflt or he spectators and not to the farmers lesiring to obtain a home. and that my concession would result in doub- ing the prices of the land tO the farm IT and putting him in worse posi- ion because he would still have to ,av for the water and must give to he speculator still larger amount of money. adding to his burdens If the government held strictly to it's con- ract this would be to the advantage f the settler because it would enable
 Jim to buy land at more nearly US
 ICon,;,,,ad or paea aN