Arizona republican., 1912-08-15
Arrangements for a Mass Meeting in This City on Saturday Afternoon to Protest Against Action of Reclamation Service
WASHINGTON WIRED
 BY WATER USERS
Views of Members of Asso- citation Who Say That the Proposed Contract Would Work Additional Hard ships Upon Farmers

Two days after the publication by The Republican of the form of the contract which the reclamation service proposes to present to the water users under the Roosevelt project, such a storm has been raised as has followed no other operation of the service and it is yet only the beginning. Probably q majority of the farmers have not yet seen the terms of the contract.
 An effort is being made to hold a mass meeting, here next Saturday af- ternoon to voice a protest against the contract. A telegram has been sent to President Orme of the water users association. now in Los Angeles ap- prising him of the situation and urg- ing his return and at the request of unofficial members of the association the following telegram was sent to Senator M. A. Smith:
 Farmers of this valley for first time this morning became aware that con- tract has been prepared by reclamation officers here. and approved ry recre- tary of interior, which they must sign before they obtain water for irrigation. Contact goes into effect october first and requires farmers to surrender ights to water decreed them by court in case Hurley against Abbott, in which case government appeared as party Also requires farmers to grant government rights of way, easements and private property without compen- sation. Contract is arbitrary, unfeaS- onable and confiscatory in its nature. and greatly raises cost of water to farmers already overburdened with reclamation charges Farmers bitterly opposed contract. Please see secretary interior immediately and have further proceedings held up until farmers are given fuU opportunity to be heard in opposition to contract. Please sho" this to Ashurst and Hayden and lnVI1e their cooperation in protecting farm CTS rights"
 The water users are objecting to the proposed contract in all its parts anu it is especially objected to as dlscrim iratorv in favor of the larger ana wealthier land owners who are the pet ter able to bear the proposed hard ships.
 This situation as pointed out by Heading water users is this: Following the trial which lasted several years, or thao famous priority suit, Judge Kent reniSs.red a decision based largely upon dat, compiled by Frank Trott, for six teen vesars water commissioner. me data dealt with the needs of the land as well aS with the normal flow or the river ahsd. among other things oe- creed that t4,ere should be applied to the land, 48 And fraction inches or about five and "a half acre feet Thls under the presept system costs the farmer s160 per Acre, in seml-annuai payments.
 The new contract; based on data gathered bv the officials of the recia- nation service from experiments in sineia season on som& twenty five farms on both sides of thse river, pro- vides for the delivery of three acre feet if having been determined tAat that IS sufficient The carefully ;coliecteu data of MT. Trott is disregarSed; the Kent decision is overruled.
 The farmer, of course, is not held down to three acre feet He may nave more. if there is any more, but oa terms that in the case of many farmers would be almost prohibitive. The three acre feet would cost him $l50 as against S1 so the cost of five and halI aero feet under the present system finder the new contract for one fourth more of an acre foot he would pay IT, teen cents: for the next quarter, tWeh- fl, cents. for the next, twenty-five cants and for the next. B cents the rate increasing for each addltonai quarter. Thus, for four acre leel Aie would have to pay $2.43 as agalhs' s1e0 for five and one half acre feet now What that latter volume would cost him under the contract IS mat tor of coniecture, but considering the rising scale for additional quarters or feet above three and considering that there would be maintained, the sum would be appalling
 Another serious matter IS thls- hs minimum amount of water must oe ,aid for in advance, that is at the time of making application anu signing LII. contract on october l. ms "o"io cor,a ahout the time that the proJec' assessments would fall due and snort lv before taxes would fall due. All au- ditionaI water must be paid for mohth- Iv in advance. These are terms Whlci would be found difficult to meet by th' smaller farmers or by those "ios' ability to pay depends upon the move ment of their crops.
 As an offset to these patent dlsad vantages. the reclamation service pro
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