The Parker post., 1912-06-22
ASHURST URGES
OPENING LANDS
ADDRESSES STRONG LETTER TO
SECRETARY FISHER.
Wants Action Taken in the Matter
Before Close of This Ses-
sion of Congress.

The Post is in receipt of letter
from Senator Henry F. Ashurst and
a copy of communication the sem
ator recently addressed to the secre-
tary of the interior urging the early
opening of the Colorado River reser-
walton lands.
Senator Ashurst'S letter ito the sec
retary is a frank, truthful statement
of the situation and indicates that
Mr. Ashurst lis doing everything with
in his power to secure the early open
ing of the land.
The following lis the text of Sen
ator Ashurst's communication to the
secretary of the interior:
Washington, d. c., June IA, 1912
Honorable Walter L. Fisher, Secre-
tary of the interior, Washington,
d. G.
'My dear Mr.. Secretary:
81 hand you herewith a petition
signed by the citizens of Parker, Ari-
IONA, and signed by the various com
mercial organizations, civic bodies
and others of that town, praying that
the Colorado River Indian reserva-
tion be opened for public settlement
AS you are aware, this reservation
&c ieS h1.oa W
ervation, but embraces a portion of
public lands set aside for the use of
the Indians. The Indians never claim
ed special rights in the land and Wen.
not conceded any by treaty. No
treaty therefore is necessary to open
the reservation to settlement Con-
greas can dispose of the land as il
Pleases I ann informed that the
entire reservation has recently been
been made to 400 Indians, with
agency site, school buildings, ETC..
being i'm all something i'm excess of
5000 acres. |, of course, believe
that the Indians should properly be
taken care of, and their allotment
made az has been dome, and in my
judgement there is now no longer any
occasion for further delay in opening
the remaining part of the land en-
braced within the Colorado River
Indian reservation to settlement by
the general public. A part of this
land is mesa, and a part lis the rich
est kind OF alMvial soil; none there
of is higher than 100 feet above the
Colorado river. The mesa Lands
in my Judgment are the finest
citrus fruit lands i'm the world.
Irrigation of the land may
be accomplished by an irrigation pro
ject built by either private capital,
by the state of Arizona, or by nation
al reclamation service, and the land
may also be irrigated by individual
wells, as water is easily accessible
by wells over a portion of the reser-
walton. The bottom lands are iden
tioaI with those of the Yuma Indian
reservation which was opened for
49-acre hOmeSteads.
"A knowledge of the richness of
the land, on the Colorado River In
dian reserVation lis far and wide, and
the public demands for the opening
of these lands to settlement are very
insistenf. All over our nations Amer
lean citizens have been i'm great num-
berS anxious to secure a home, anX-
iOuS to obtain a tract of land that
they may get from under the land
lGrGi&m of another person, and sure
ly the government could perform T,
more just or proper act than to en-
brace every legitimate opportunity
to give American citizens a chance
tC acquire a home.
"Under the necessity for the peo-
pile to obtain supplies coupled with
lbe fact that the people believed they
would soon have an opportunity to
- upOH jIlCSt IllHluos NlIC DlliHC LOW T.
Of Parker sprang up. Many people,
a majority OF whom were Very poor,
bat honest people, pinned their faith
10 the future of the little town of
| arker and erected cottages and en-
gagged in business, but the failure G
the department to open the lands tC
settlement has almost blighted the
little town, and the people there ar
becoming heartsick by reason of hope
long deferred. These people hav
gone there in good faith. They a
the class of people that make a state
and nation great. If given an oppor-
tunity they would become reliable
farmers and valuable citizens and
would begin to make that desert