Arizona republican., 1912-09-26
RELIEF FOR
 PIMA INDIANS
Appropriation of $15,OOO By National Government for Purpose of Constructing Flood Laterals from Gila River.

The first fruit of the work of the congressional committee Investigating the Indian and reclamation affairs in Arizona is borne in an act recently passed by congress allowing a fund for digging flood laterals on the Gila River Indian reservation Deprived of the regular flow of the Gila by the settlers in it's upper reaches and re- fusng to use the well water from the pumps at Sacaton, the Pmas were
 in a bad way, their crops spoiled by alkali. and their land was burned by drought The proposed relief offered bv the government wells was not ac ceptable to the Indians because of the alkali in the water. The supply of flood water from the Gila. however will mitigate the aIkali in the well water and enable the farmers to use the mixture. w M. Reed. who con- structed the Hondo project in New Mexico and was lately construction engineer on the Elephant Butte dam, has been appointed chief irrigation engineer to the Indian bureau. He will probably supervise the digging of the Gila canals.
 Under the house resolution No. 2O72S. Indians of the Gila river res ervation may patent land and get lr- rigation water for it without having to bear any of the cost of construc- tion of the dam and ditches, and may mass his allotment on to his heirs with inc same provision But if any land is disposed of the debt to the gov ernment. which is in the form of a lien. shall become due at once.
 The act is entitled: (H. R. 2027S) An act making expectations for the current and contingent expenses of the bureau of Indian affairs, for full filling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes. and for other purposes, for the fiscal year ending June thIr- tieth nineteen hundred and thirteen
 It provides for an appropriation Of s15.OOO to build the laterals for the lands of Pima Indians in the vicinity of Sacaton This apportionment also includes the cost of electricity for pumping operations. The amount IS made payable from the public fund as money becomes available.
 Here Is the interesting provision In the event any allottee shall re-
 
 of land under the project before the United States shall have been wholly reimbursed as herein provided, then the proportiOnate cost of the proJect to be apportioned equitably by the secretary of the interior shall become first lien on such allotment which said lien shall not be enforced so long as the original allottee or ms heirs shall own the land.
 The purpose of thls provision IS to satisfy the Indians with their land and make up to them somewhat Tor the water losses and other botherments 1 they have been subjected to since me | irrigation era set in. A great deal ol complaint has been made on t!'T ground that Indians living below the | site of the proposed San Carlos dam | have not gotten enough water rom the Gila. the entire flow having been used by settlers in the upper reaches | of the river. near SolomOnNllle TO l provide the Indians with irrigation | water the government equipped pumping stations on the reservation and bought power from the Roosevelt
 project to run them. But even before the water was applied to the land'
 the Indians commenced making ob- iections on the ground that pumped water is injurious to the soil ThIs
 phase was well threshed out at seV- eral inquiries and investigations. and still no very satisfactory conclusion has been reached. Meantime the ab- origines decline to be satisfied with the well water and continue to demand 1 a flow from the river