Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-31
ARIZONA.
III-THE SALT RIVER VALLEY.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

being utterly impossible for vehicles Q.
any kind. This highway, known as the
Roosevelt road, is one of the most mag
niticent scenic roads In the world, and
was constructed at a cost OF moro than
500 600. more than $4,000 OF which was
contributed by the towns of Phoenix ana
Mesa. For twenty-five miles tire road
runs over a dry mesa. and for the other
thirty-eight miles It winds like q ser
pent through rugged and beautiful noun
Ia
The road was completed in the spring OK
1905. n government sawmili was estab-
lished in the mountain forests thirty
miles away, huge cement mill was
erected at the dam site, and the construc-
ton began. After many vexatious delays.
the last stone was lad February 5, 1911.
and the dam was dedicated by Theodore
Roosevelt on the 18th OF March following.
The dam began to be of use In extend
ing the area OF irrigation in the summer
OF 1910 The water stored during the
preceding winter saved the crops that
summer which otherwise would have per-
ished, as the weather was unusually dry.
This, the first effective work OF the dam.
was worth more than a million dollars to
the farmers Of the valley. In that year
13O.OOo acres were cultivated. OF which all
but Il 600 received the benefit OF the
stored water. On account OF the dry
weather the storage reservoir did not fill
ranidly, and at the first of last year IL
held In storage only about sixty-six feet
OF water. in depth amounting to less
than thirty thousand acre feet. BY the
first OF January of this year the water
was more than 80 feet deep I'm the reser-
vofr. and there were $4,000 acre feet OF
water in the lake. When the water
reaches the depth of 80 feet. the maxi
mum capacity of the dam. II will impound
more than n million and a quarter acre
feet or enough water to cover that manv
acres one foot In depth. This will be suf-
- In lrrFfv IN ~,
X X
Included In the reservoir district are
100000 acres. and the government intends
ultimately TO fri
District Embraces gate the remaining
900 Acres. nnmU,ue 'y p,an,s s -
raise the water of the underground now
in the valley. Cheap power for the opera
ton of these pumps will be furnished by
the hydro-electric plant at the dam.
More than $4,000 00O was expended by
the government In the construction OF the
Roosevelt dam. the requirement of the
privately owned canals In the valley be-
low and other necessary expense I'm con-
meet, on Herewith. 1t will all be repaid
to the government under the terms OF the
reclamation act, In ten annual Install
ments, the first payment to be made next
year. The farmers who use tho water
pay a pro rata assessment through their
own water users association, SO that by
the year 1924 the government VIII have
been reimbursed for its outlay and the
valley will be permanently enriched and
its arabic boundaries extended to their
farthermost limit.
Under this great dam, over the broad
expanse of this beautiful valley, is grown
in profusion every agricultural and hor-
ticultural product Of the temperate and
subtropc zones. Oranges that sell In
New York for higher price than any
other oranges dates. olives and the like.
grow side by side with oats. rye. sugar
beets and alfalfa. 1t is wonderfully rich
and wonderfully beautiful.
In another thing the Salt River valley
resembles the valley of the Nile. for here
the farmers have
Towns Made Up returned to the
ancient custom of
VI EaieAs' living in towns and
communal villages, and not on their
separate farms The towns OF the valley
are made up. in large pair. OF the farm
ing population. Thus the farmers wife
and children are spared the terrors or
isolation that have proved to be such a
potent factor in driving the young men
and young women away from the coun-
try and into the cities. But the valley
is unlike that Of Egypt in that these
farming villages are made up Of houses
that have every comfort and luxury
known to the modern American home,
which is. on an average. more luxurious
than the palaces of Europe and Asa.
whereas the communal villages along
the Nile are even below the low standard
of the Mexican adODeS.
Not only is Phoenix rich In wealth, but
1t is rich in beauty. The long, straignt
roads that branch out from the city
through the fertile fields OF the valley are
lined with rows Of palms an. olives, cot
tonwood and ash trees and are, with a
possible exception OF some or the roads
in southern California, the most beautiful
suburban drives in the country. Tho
Salt River valley is a bit Of paradise set
down in the desert, and Phoenix Is ITS
pearl.