The Parker post., 1915-03-06
MEMORIAL
TO CONGRESS
AN APPEAL TO THAT BODY TO
DO SOMETHING FOR PARKER
PURSUANT TO IMPLIED PROM
ISES LONG DEFERRED.


gress, introduced by Representative
j. b. Flanagan of Parker, passed the
house Wednesday last.
To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the Congress of the
United States of America in Con
gress assembled.
Your memorialist, the second leg
islature of the state of Arizona, in
regular session convened, respectfully
represent
That during the years 1908 and
1909 the then Indian Agent OF the
Colorado River Indian Reservation,
under the authority of the Depart
ment of the Interior, granted numer-
Gus permits to persons to settle upon
certain lots in the Parker townsite
Yuma county, Arizona.
That an appraisement was made of
the lots of said townsite under tn
direction of the Department of the
Interior during the year 1909, and
the persons occupying lots under per
mits granted by the Department
were given a preference right to pur-
chase said lots.
That about ninety days thereafter
second appraisement of all lots in
the Parker townsite, including those
occupied by permittees was ordered
by the deparement of the interior
and the valuation was raised from
three hundred to six hundred per
cent above the figures set forth in
the first appraisement. That this
raise in the appraised values was
made because of the fact that the
townsite of Parker is within a short
distance of the allotted Indian land
on the Colorado River Indian Reser-
walton, the surplus area of which
was planned by the Department of
the Interior to be opened to purchase
and settlement at an early date.
That the permittees occupying lots
upon the Parker toWnsite have paid
to the United States under the val
uations of town lots under the second
appraisement the sum of $24, ,562
That on May 10, 1910, the author
titles of the United States held an
auction sale of lots within the Par
ker townsite and $56,698 worth of
said lots were sold to residents of
Parker and other investors That
$37,623 have been paid to the United
States for lots purchased at said auc-
tion sale and there is still owing to
the United States upon said sales
the sum of $19,O75.
That Immediately prior to the auc-
tion sale of townsite lots at Parker,
Congress passed an act as follows:
For the construction of a pumping
plant to be used for irrigation pur-
poses on the Colorado River Reser-
walton, together with the necessary
canals and laterals, for the utihza-
ton Of water in connection there
with, for the purpose of securing an
appropriation of water for the irr-
cation of approximately 10000
acres of land, $4,000 to be reim-
bursed from the sale of the surplus
lands of the reservation
representation by the United States
that the surplus land of the Colora-
do River Indian Reservation was
soon to be opened to settlement and
entry by bona fide settlers. That the
lots put up for sale at said auction
had prospective value only upon
he assumption that said surplr
lands would be opened to Settlement
at an early date. That the enormous
Increase in the valuation of lots in
The Parker townsite by the seco
appra1sement above referred to was
only Justified by the carrying out of
the implied promise contained in the
above act that the surplus lands of
the Colorado River Indian Reserva-
tlon would be open to settlement.
The toWnsite of Parker is on a
barren desert, on land having an in
trinsic value of less than one dollar
an acre. That whatever added value
it may have arises from the fact
that it is adjacent to the bottom
lands OF the Colorado River Indian
reservation in which the surplus
lands above referred to lie, and un-
less said lands are opened to settle
ment ann entry, the tcN1 site OF Par
ker is worth little or no more than
any other desert land