Arizona republican., 1916-01-17
(By Former Attache of the U. S.
 Land Office

In keeping with it's policy of being the Arizona paper of service, The Re publican announces the establishing of a public land department as a regular semi weekly feature. This department will be conducted on a question and answer basis and under this heading will appear from time to time answers to all uestions pertaining to public or state lands and public land law and procedure. Also special articles deal ing with some particular locality or interesting legal feature.
 Many of our readers have doubtless had occasion to submit problems to 1 the various public land officials or of | fices.
 On account of the press of public | business and for the reason that of l ficials hesitate to pass upon point which may come before them for ad- 1 judication, questions of law and pro- cedure are ordinarily answered by the i mailing of d circular and the recipient i finds the matter expressed in legal ] terms and so restricted by exceptions and limitations as to prove of little i practical value. Nor are there any records on file in the local land office showing the character of any of the vacant lands. Consequently intending i; settlers or hOmeseekerS are forced tc rely upon the representations of pro- fessional locators or others having d pecuniary interest involved
 While it is not to be inferred thai answers will be supplied to involved | legal questions or that each and every individual tract in Arizona can be ac- curately described, still with the avail. able records of the surveyor general: office, state land commission. loca land office, weather bureau and loca commercial clubs, it is believed tha fairly accurate information regardine any particular locality or communit, can be supplied, as well as the answer: to the more puzzling questions regard ing federal and state land law an, procedure.
 This column will be edited by tn
 best legal talent available and it i hoped that our readers will not hesi tate to avail themselves of the oppor
 tunity here presented. We have noth
 ing to sell and our aim will be to pub
 fish only conservative statements q
 descriptions and assist in the settlin, up and upbuilding of the state of Ari
 zona as a whole.
 All requests for information shoul
 be addressed to the Public Land Edi
 tor Arizona Republican, Phoenix, Ari zona, and should reach this office no
 later than Wednesday of each week.
 The Lower Gila Valley
 Arizona, the oldest irrigated recio
 within the limits of the United States
 where ancient and ruined systems 0
 lrrlSatlng canals and reservoirs serv
 as models for modern work, is muc
 interested in the subject of irrigation especially in the Gila valley where ir
 rlgation is practiced as an absolut necessity to successful farming. With
 out irrigation this part of Arizona
 a semi tropical desert; with irrigatio 7 Il IS capable of sustaining d dens
 population, limited only by the wate supply that can be secured by ditche.
 reservoirs, and wells and by the wis . dom shown in the distribution of wate thus obtained. The temperature , such that crops will grow and matur , in any season of the year, provide there is sufficient moisture We hay
 all witnessed the wonderful results fol < lowing the construction of the Sa1 , River project and it is with refereno D to the valley lands west of the proiet I that this article is written.
 f The desirable lands in the Gila val ley are to be found from one to sj
 miles on either side of the Gila rive