Arizona republican., 1918-05-12
YUMA PROJECT DELIGHTS MEN
 FROM CAPITOL

From a vast wilderness of swamp and forest to a scene of comfortable homes and prosperous fields of al- falfa, grain and cotton is the trans formation that has taken place in a snort time in the Yuma valley, accord Ing 10 [. M. Zander, chairman of the state tax commission, who with Charles R. Howe and Rudolph Kuchler the other members of the commission. returned on Monday from their an- nual trip of inspection that this time LOOK them to Yuma county and to some of the northern counties of the state.
 The farm lands under the Yuma project present the most remarkable example of development in agriculture that has occurred anywhere in the state in the past year." added MT. Zander. Today, what a short time ago was only waste, is a picture as fair as the human eye ever rested upon.
 In the center of this valley is the new town of Somerton, with more than 1000 people and boasting of two banks, many stores, a cotton gin and all the other industries of thriv-
 
 business blocks are going up on every hand and residential districts are be- ing laid out. This activity undoubted- ly will continue until the town has population of at least 5000 people.
 "A short time ago the town of Cad son was laid out in the middle clear ing of tracklesS forest that reached to the Mexican line. This town is six miles from the line, and the forest has been moved back almost to the line Gadson also is showing remarkable growth. Yuma valley this year will grow about 10000 acres of cotton. As sessor Ming declares that when the state sees the total assessment of Yuma county this year it will realize that the county is some pumpkin
 At hearing of the Swansea mines held at Yuma it developed that the leasing companies were about to build a concentrator on the property with the hope that this would prove the solution to the successful opera tion of the mine.
 "The commission found Mohave county a little backward at this time but, however, with splendid prospects for the near future. While there is no boom at Oatman, yet that camp is on a more substantial basis today than ever in it's history. The United East ern is producing at 100 per cent, and recently the Tom Reed opened up an ore body that gives promise of being the largest body yet found in that property.
 Chloride at this time is not nearly as active as has been, yet the recent acquisition of the Tennessee mine by the Schuylkill people has assured the
  splendid properties.
 "Mohave county probably has the largest deposits of molybdenum of any locality in the North American contl- nent. In the Leviathan ledge there are shutes of ore that are 20 feet wide and averaging per cent of molybden- um, while considerable parts of it are almost the pure metal. This ore carries per cent copper also, and on this account it has heretofore been handicapped on account of the ex- cessive charge for separation. Re- gently the company has perfected a process for the separation of these two metals, and now the company feels so confident in respect to the property that they intend to rebuild and enlarge the present concentration on the property.
 
 learned that the board of supervisors of that county was working out a new highway that will bring all the over land traffic from Utah and Los An geles by way of Kingman and at the same time divert part Of 1t to Phoe- nix. The state of Utah has com pleted highway from Salt Lake to St. George. St. George is about nine miles from Littlefields, Arizona. The route to be followed will probably come down the Grand Wash, past the Grand Gulch copper mine, to the Col orado river, and from the Colorado river through the Hualapal valley, or the Sacramento valley, to Kingman.
 This route, of course, would neces- sitate a bridge across the Colorado llver to cost about $75,000, the ap- proximate cost of each of the two bridges at Yuma and Topoc. Aside from the travel that would be di- verted into Arizona which is anxiously waiting to come this way, this road 1 would open an empire with vast re- sources north of the Grand Canyon which is a part of the state of Ari- zona. From Kingman to Phoenix the road already is constructed be- tween Kingman and Yucca, and be- tween Yucca and the Bill Williams river the road now is being opened up by Mohave county. When this road is thrown open, it will be far superior to the road going up the Colorado river from Parker to Needles on the California side. It also will open up districts rich in mineral possibilities which are now being developed
 In Yavapai county the Hassayampa Farms company are starting into the year with a full reservoir at Lake Watson, short distance out of Pres colt. Farm lands under this project lie on the rolling plains adjacent to Jerome Junction. The alfalfa and grain waving in the spring breezes is another striking illustration of the wonders that are wrought by water 1 in Arizona. This project is only par tially completed. It contemplates the construction of two more reservoirs in addition to the one now built in Granite Creek-one in Willow Creek and one in Lynx Creek-botn of which will have d greater capacity than Lake Watson. There is no doubt that the day is not far distant when Pres colt will be the capital of an agricul- | tural community as well as a mining center Yavapai county will be one of the biggest counties in the state this year as their mining industry is still growing
 The tax commission will leave Phoe- nix again on Monday night to com plete their inspection of the northern counties of the state. Coconino, Nav ajo and Apache will be visited.