Arizona republican., 1912-05-13
BRENNAN BILL
 |S DISCUSSED
Parker People Are Enthu- siastically in Favor of Measure Carrying Pro visions of the Carey Irri- gation Act

According to Representative Dfcn- nan. author of the irrigation bin which bears his name and which is now under consideration hy the senate. the opera ton of this bin. should il become d law. will serve to bring 20,0O0 people into the Parker district and add from $2o,o0O. .o00 to 25.000 900 to the taxable value of property in the state The views of the supporters of this meas ure are set forth in an article recently published in the Parker Post. !, nicn i> here reproduced:
 The passage by the state of Arizona of H. B. No. 6. which provides for the acceptance by the state of Arizona of the benefits of the acts of congress re- garding the desert lands. etc. is of Vi tai importance to the opening and set tlement of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, comprising approximately l50.OO0 acres Of land lying along the Colorado river, at Parker
 The urgent necessity for the enact ment by Arizona of d suitable law pro- VidinS for the acceptance of what are generally known as the National Carey land laws arises in this instance. from the peculiar circumstances involved in the reclamation and opening of this particular body of land which for fer tllity and richness rivals that of tie famous River Nile
 brief history of the struggles of the people of Parker for the opening of these lands is necessary to under stand the relief which woufi be ac- complshed hy the passage of H. E. No 6 under which act these lands would become available to entry and settlement at an early date.
 By the act of congress of April 2i 1904, (33 Stats. 22), certain Indian allOtments in the Colorado River Res ervatiOn were authorized to be made, the remaining portion of the irrigabla lands to be disposed of by the rec lamatiOn service under the reciama- tiOn act. According to this act. the | secretary ol the interior rendered a decision in October. 1910 upon the petition of the Parker board of trade and numerous citizens of Parker, to l the effect THAT NC, PORTION OF i THESE LANDS CAN BE OPENED i UNTIL AN IRRIGATION ENTER INloI- .Il[ASo bI-Es-N | 1)ILIN -A fNt-\ WHICH MAY MAKE POSSIBLE IN | CONNECTION WITH THE RECLAIM l ALTON OF OTHER LANDS. THE l RECLAMATION OF ALL OR ANY l PORTION OF THE IRRIGABLE LANDS CONTAINED WITHIN THE RESERVATION.
 1 Tn this decision the secretary of the l interior further stated that the recla- nation service did not have tho money 1 to undertake this work. and until some | other means were provided for the rec lamatiOn of the lands they could not be opened to entry.
 About the time this decision was rendered there was pending in congress 1 a bill providing for the reclamation of | the reservation lands under the Carey land laws, and the secretary stated that l the passage of this bill would permit
 their opening to settlement Owing to the pressure of business at the close
 of the 61st congress only that portion
 of the bill granting the privilege to
 the Gree}ey-ArizOna Irrigation com1 pany to construct a diversion dam. sue
 ceeded in passing congress.
 | According to the decision of the sec
 retary the Parker ianjs cannot be
 opened under the homestead laws. that
 is permitting individual settlers to en-
 ter upon the lands and homestead q
 them. It is the policy of the govern ment not to open large and compact
 bodies of irIigable lands only where the reclamation of the whole tract is
 possible under one irrigation system.
 This is deemed a wise policy for the
 reason that the average settler is un-
 able to finance his own irrigation
 works without hypothecating his land
 in some manner, and under the home
 stead laws he is unable to do this un-
 til patent has been issued by the gov
 ernment Until patent has been re
 ceived by the settlers he is unable to
 borrow money, because a lender would
 not loan him money hnless the bor-
 rower is in a position to mortgage hls
 land for security.
 The western deserts are strewn with
 abandoned ranches, showing the fruit
 less efforts on the part of settlers who 1 attempted to reclaim their hOmesteads
 on little or no capital. If the Parker
 lands were to be opened under the homestead laws, assuming that this
 were possible. the average settler who
 flied on them would be unable to in dividually reclaim them for some years
 to come. While water may be secured at shallow depth a pumping proposi- tiOn would be an expensive luxury on the desert where fuel is so high. SI A gravity system of irrigation, es- pecially along the Colorado river, is far cheaper than pumping water onto the lands. The only economical way in which to reclaim the Parker val / ley is through a gravity system, and the only possible way to secure ar adequate gravity system is either for
 the government to install the works
 or for the legislature of Arizona to pass the Carey act and permit the buill- ing of such a, system by private capi-
 tai.
 It is well known fact that the
 reclamation service is unable to do tho . l work within the next ten or fifteer years. The only other alternative is t. ? allow private capital to construct tho ] works.
 Under the Carey act the state is | authorized to contract for the con l let If