The copper era and Morenci leader., 1914-03-13
CONSTRUCTION OF SAN CARLOS DAM
 IS URGED

1O OlIOeD
 Delegates from Florence, Casa Grande
 and Tucson Pay Visit to Clifton
 Chamber of Commerce Which Body
 Joins Hands With Other Sections
 of State to Secure Early Appropri-
 ation.
 On Saturday last a telegram was received by the Secretary of The Cliff ton Chamber of Commerce announcing the arrival that afternoon of a dele gation representing the Chambers of Commerce of Tucson, Casa Grande and Florence. A hurried call was is- sued for a meeting of The Clifton Chamber of Commerce to be held at The ElkS Club and more than a score of members responded. pr. l.. A. W. Burtch called the meeting to or der and W. B. Kelly was chosen temporary Secretary. The delegation ed of Messrs. Amos O'Keefe and Rinehart from the Tucson Chamber of Commerce, MT. White, represent ing the Florence Chamber of Com merce, and MT. Wilcox, from Casa Grande.
 Upon invitation of the President, MT Amos O'Keefe addressed The Cham Der urging upon our local organization the importance of securing an early appropriation by Congress for carry ing out the recommendation of the Army Board of Engineers who have recently made a favorable report to the Interior Department upon the feasibility of the San Carlos Reclam- ation project which has for it's pur- pose the reclamation of more than one hundred thousand acres of arid land in the rich Casa Grande Valley in Pima and Pinal counties. MT. ' Keefe was followed by Messrs. Will COX, White and Rinehart along the same line and after a general dis cussion a resolution was unanimous ly adopted requesting our representa- tives in Congress to use vigorous eff forts in securing from Congress an early appropriation of the funds necessary.
 Since the revival of the cOnServa- tion idea and it's adoption as a fixed governmental policy, the people of the Casa Grande valley have been intent on getting the reclamation service to undertake the project of furnishing water from which the arid valley is to be transformed into a veritable garden in which can live in peace and happiness and content a communi
 
 One of the principal objects of gov ernment is the protection of natural resources and the providing of homes for it's citizens. The Casa Grande valley is, one of the largest bodies of land in Arizona available for irriga- tion purposes and the best project now open for governm ental exploita- tion. The success of the Salt River and other irrigation works in which the government has taken an active interest, has proven conclusively that the nation as whole can profit as well as the particular district immedi- ately involved. This has made reclamation popular and accounts in a measure for the lively interest taken by our own people in the visit of the special committee sent out by the Tucson, Casa Grande and Florence chambers of commerce to confer with our Clifton chamber with a view to awakening our active in- terest and support in the reclamation of the Casa Grande valley which Is to be accomplished by the building of a dam at San Carlos on the Gila river.
 Many evidences of futile attempts to irrigate the Casa Grande valley are visible all over that magnificent sec tion of our state. Old orchards plant ed many years ago are yet in evi- dence at various points still bravely facing time and aridity and putting forth bloom and fruit in spite of all discouragements. This fact is due to the splendid fertility of the soil which conserves whatever moisture is afforded by the annual rainfall and struggles valiently with this meagre supply to bring forth abundance.
 With the water afforded by the San Carlos dam the valley can be made beautiful with verdure nd highly pro- ductive in all lines of agriculture. Completed in all it's extent made possi- ble by the direct service from the main canal and the pumping facili- ties afforded by power from the spill way, there will be about eighty miles in one stretch along the line of the Southern Pacific railroad over which thousands of tourists pass across the continent and the scene pre- sented to them by the conversion of the desert into a great agricultural district cannot fail to be of immeas- urable service in calling attention to the fact that Arizona is not the barren desert that it has been pictured, but that it affords abundant opportunities for development along agricultural lines when the nation as a whole un- dertakes projects no less necessary because of too great magnitude for individual effort.
 The San Carlos dam proposition has been fought for by the residents of the Casa Grande valley for fifteen years and it is a pleasure to us as well as to them to know that their long struggle is nearing it's end. This pro ject was the one upon whihc he recla- nation act was based when it was passed by congress and would have been constructed now had it not been for the fact that the people of the Salt River valley were in position to take advantage of the act immediately