Arizona republican., 1913-02-11
Builder of Roosevelt Dam
 and Supervising Engineer of Salt River Project Says Politics Is Back of Some of the Allegations.
CLAIMS FARMERS
 ARE MISINFORMED
Denies Pacific Gas Con- tract Was Signed In Secrecy Or That It Gives Monopoly and Clears At mOsphcrc on Indians:
ASSOCIATED PRESS D1sPATcH1


 LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10.-Louis C. Hin builder of the Roosevelt dam and Chief Engineer of the United States Reclamation Service in the southwestern district, answered the charges offered by the house com mittee on expenditures in the inter for department
 Tt isn't true that the Pacific Gas X, Electric company has monopoly of the power developed by the Salt River project" he said today. "The plant at the dam generates 5000 kilo- watts as a maximum load and the combined plants in the irrigation pro- ject develop 1S,00O kioWatts The Gas company at Phoenix gets 1900 kilowatts at 1lacents which is a good price All the rest of the power is available for pumping and munich pal purposes except 5000 kiloWatts. which is supplied to the Inspiration Copper Mill at Miami This supply is variable, however and the mill on- ly receives power when all other customers are supplied. Sometimes the mill supply falls low. but hte maximum is 5000 kilOWatts.
 Now in a general way l may state the contract with the Pacific Gas X Electric company was given the Wid- est and most prominent publicity be- fore being signed. Furthermore the Salt River Valley Walter Users As sociation. which will eventually own the Roosevelt dam, formally approved all the contracts. Every step of this nature was also approved by all the secretaries of the interior before being adopted I state this in ans wer to the charge that I urged sec recy"
 The report charges that William Code. former engineer of the reclama- ton work in the Indian service, Hill, Newell and former Secretary Gar field put through the contract where by the Indians living on the reserva- l ton below the Salt River project were defrauded out of $100.000. Dis 1 cussing that charge Hill said: The Indian service contracted with l the reclamation service to pay $1OO,- GOO for power for pumping purposes | the United States paying the money l for the Indians This transaction has 1 been so advantageous from the In- 1 dians' standpoint that they will pro- l fit enough by the arrangement to 1 pay back that $l0O,00O within two or 1 three years.
 l T do not hesitate to admit that l own stock in a Mesa. Arizona bank,
 I have ten shares which l bought at s1OO per share. As I had. a moral and legal right to do this, l naturally have no excuses to offer
 tIa+ < ha hr1il on reservation and the pump houses were charged up for several times their cost is untrue. l had nothing to
 do with that matter. but I know the facts.
 'Tt is charged that Code resigned his position when it became known Il that the committee was going to in
 vestigate hs affars. That was not
 the case He resigned in 1911 and the
 committee was not appointed unti 1912"
 Hill was asked what in his opnior
 had inspired the charges.
 "The disgruntled farmers of the
 Salt River project" he said
 Not being able to secure favorit-
 ism and imagining grievances that d.
 not exist they pe+itiOned for an in
 vestigatiOn Only about seven pc
 cent of all the water users signe'
 this The committee had d hearing in Phoenix last fall and the repOr now made public was evidently tn result As two or three members o the committee are democrats, it is no unlikely that politics have entere ? into their motives
 | Hill is also in charge of the irri | gation projects of the Yuma, Ri 2 Grande, Elephant Butte dam on tn 1 Colorado the largest in the world Q The Strawberry Valley in Utah an
 two in New Mexico