The copper era and Morenci leader., 1913-02-14
.CAP|TALIz|NG THE WORTHLESS
 MESAS
Government Investigating Methods of
 Land Agents.

PHOENIX-Governme experts
 are Investigating the practice of curb
 stone agents who gre alleged to ba
 bringing people from the Pacific coast
 and locating them on the desert land
 in Arizona that is absolutely worth
 interpretations regarding the near
 ness of water to the surface, and oth-
 CT important points, have been made,
 also that locators have been shown
 one piece of land and their papers
 made out for ground situated miles
 away.
 These, however, are not the most serious phases of the situation. Many
 of the locators have sworn that they
 are citizens of Arizona in order to
 file on the land, though they are
 really residents of California. Some
 of them are engaged in business
 there. A great number are doubtless told by the agents that a mere inten- l tion to become citizens of Arizona at
 some time in the future is sufficient to comply with the strict letter of he law. All are liable to prosecu- ton for fraud
 Dick Wick Hall of the Chandler Land Company, who is now in the city from Los Angeles, is quite famil- far with the methods of the curbstone agents. He declares that there are twenty or thirty of them in Los Ang- eles, locating land-hungry persons on Arizona's mesas. Most of the land worthless for farming purposes be- cause of the 'impossibility of irrigat- ing it.
 At present the agents are particular ly active in two sections of the state Hundreds of acres have been taken up fifteen or twenty miles south of Maricopa and other filings have been made west of White Tank mountains in Yuma and Maricopa counties.
 "A dollar an acre is the usual price for locating a person on this desert land" MT. Hall said yesterday. "The fifteen or twenty feet of the surface and can be lifted for irrigation pur- poses at slight expense. I know for fact that some of the land that has been taken up can never be irrigated. Water lies two, three and four hun dred feet below the surface On land that has been located west of the White Tanks, wells have been drilled to great depths without even striking water. I have driven cattle all over that country, and I know.
 Land seekers are taken out to Marinette, southwest of Phoenix, and shown where the company is pump ing water that is fifteen or eighteen feet below the surface. Then the 1 agents tell them that water can be se- cured at the same depth anywhere on the vast mesa lying to the west. Wa | ter is found at shallow depth at l Marinette because that is right on the l Agua Fria river, which has a strong underground flow. A few miles on 1 either side of the river the water lies 1 so deep that is is impossible to pump 1 it for irrigation.
 "A few days ago one locator took | some parties out near Glendale and ! telling them that it was section 24, They liked the land, as anyone would, and agreed to file on it. The papers were made out for section A, which lies about twenty miles away from the land they were shown. The agent ho | parties swore that they were resi- dents of the state. Then they went back to Los Angeles When they find out that they have been swindled they will be sore, not only on the agent, but on Arizona.
 All the people who are being de ceived into taking up this worthless land are going to be knocking Arizona when they learn the truth. An incal- culable amount of damage is being done the state, for they will keep out people who would come here and in- vest in our good land.We have plenty of good land yet, but it costs little These agents even use the literature of legitimate companies to show their victims what a fine cOun- try this is. Then they tell the victims that the mesas around here will be just the same as the valley when they are placed under irrigation, and that there is no reason for buying land when it is still to be had from Uncle Sam for the asking.
 T am told that the government has some experts in Arizona Investigating 5hese land grafters, and I would not be afraid to wager that some of them