Arizona republican., 1914-04-02

IS for Dammlng the Blg
 Stream to Reclaim m-
 perial Valley and Yuma
 Lands
 The limit of extension of the ir- system in Imperial vale" has been reached for the present. No more land can be safely given water in the valley under the eondl- tons now existing on the Colorado river. But with the carrying out of the proposed plan to conserve ana regulate the waters of that river, 2.000, 900 acres of fertile land can be added to the rich southwestern do- main This land, at conservative estimate. will yield $10O,O00,O00 an nually, a considerably greater amount than the entire project would cost
 This assertion made in the Los Angeles Times by Louis c. Hill, who recently resigned as United States reclamation service engineer, is the conclusion reached as the result Of ten years of thorough and discrim- mating study of the Colorado river from it's source to its mouth and Of the land in the Colorado basin.
 Hill was supervising engineer of the southern district for the United States reclamation service for more than ten years. He recently resigned as chief of the southern district work. but continues to act as con 3ulting engineer for the government. and has the Elephant Butte dam work directly in charge. He is now located in this city, having associated himself with Quintop> and Code, with offices in the Hollingsworth build = ing.
 Hills district in the government service included Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico. Texas, Utah, rart of Colorado and part of Wyom- ing. During the ten years of his service be helped build the Roosc- welt dam and the diversion dam at Yuma, including a general irrigation system to cover 100000 acres of land in Salt River valley.
 Other work was the Laguna dam and levees on the Colorado. con struction work on the Rio GranGe the Elephant Butte dam, and a four mile tunnel in Utah connecting tht reservoir on the Colorado side of ths Wasatch mountains with the irriga- I ton system in Great Basin.
 | Water in Rich Lands Hill has been studying the Colo rado river for ten years and has in vestigated the reservoir sites ir Colorado. Utah and Wyoming. II, Las seen them all and has had bor- 1 ings made. He says there is wate, enough in the Colorado, if properly ] conserved by reservoirs at the head | waters. to irrigate 100000 acres n land below the Rio ,GEande and says that all of this land is immediately | tributary to Los Angeles and South ern California.
 i A large part of the land he says | is along the bottom lands of tho river from Needles to below Yuma The remainder is in the UniteC l States, located in and around I'm perial valley "The climate and soi are both of nature to make tn. | entire basin the most fertile place know of in the United States" h, l said. "A wide variety of crops cal be grown and of a kind to produce big revenue.
 l There is big future in tn southwest for long staple cotton ant early fruit It has already beei demonstrated in Imperial valley tha high priced cotton can be grown a l the rate of more than a bale < 1 the acre. There is much more lan' in Imperial valley suitable for cot ton and about 10000 acres on' tn Yuma mesa. if water can be brough | to the land to supplement tn
 matchless fertility of the soil and tn favorable climatic conditions.
 Limit of Irrigation
 Tt is a big project, but it is wort while. Four hundred thousand acre in Imperial valley have set ney standard in agricultural productio and it's future achievements will b far greater It is a fact that can not be successfully disputed that thi now represents all the land that ca
 be watered. It would be unwise an unsafe to attempt to extend the Fir
 rigation system further under pres ent conditions.
 The project to conserve and resu llate the waters of the Colorado rive is the best the United States rec
 lamation service could undertake.
 will yield enormously in proportio
 to the investment. Further. it is project in which not only the south
 west but the whole nation is Tn
 terested, for it would add tens c
 millions to the annual producin
 power of our lands''
 Hill says it would require at leas
 ten years to build the reservoirs an
 conduct the water to the land an points out the certainty that I'm
 reria valley and Salt River valle
 development will have reached
 stage by that time where land value will be much higher than now an
 the governments investment core
 spondingly better
 He estimates the cost of the entir
 proiect including all projects noN