The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1919-02-04

Nv HAVE been reading and re-rcadfnQ the re-
w port Of State Engineer French and his as
sistnnts upon the drainage requirements and
possibilities q the Central Rio usan,ir valley We
aave been deeply impressed by one 81 the introdnc-
Tory general Statements in that rcpart
The Central Rio Grande valley. between Pcna
Blanca aud san Marciaf. boosts . total population
" 1000 souls. according to he engineers. OF that
total moro fhnn R5.O00 reside Within ave miles Of
The corner Of Second street and Central avenue.
Think IL ever Here arr sixty miles Of river val.
ley WITH q sod Of limiiicss depth, with q water sup
oily that h incxhaustahle and adequate FOR is con-
plcte' exclamation. aud with a system Of natural
rr-fcrfiIixaticn that Il automatic and scot free Of
cost. y condition which lends itself 10 the highest
form Of intensive cultivation Of land. Nature has
laid ouf here a valley designed 70 give profitable
employment 10 Ten times the present population.
without taking into consideration the urban popu.
iation that would be developed.
We have been worrying ourselves about rail-
road construction; about factory construction and
payroll additions and oil the time We have been
permitting The Que resource sure 20 hiring al those
things 20 w, TO 20 70 ruin, for lack Of the nerve 20
Tickle q comprehensive drainage system.
There = nothing connected with the drainage
Of this valley that u impossible, or beyond our
power Of achievement, u w viii simply undertake.
The business ON a comprehensive plan. II will be
possible IN the very near future 10 secure federal
cooperation for this drainage. II will be necessary
Tor ms 10 give our cooperation and 10 give il in a
broad gauge, liberal way. We should be ready 10
move forward and 10 move fast.
Little or no progress can be made here by
the single district plan Of drainage. The effort TO
provide drainage for a limited area. while better
than no effort AZ oil. win prove wasteful and cxirav-
aRanfly expensive and Il will prove inefficient. be.
cause IN the cnd the whole valley must be tackled
~ = single project The whole wasteful system OF
duplicating ditch systems must be wiped out. The
undertaking y not one for individuals or groups.
but for the whole community. the little population
Of 1900 thar we can increase TO 100000 within a
decade or less, II we have the nerve TO 20 up against
a big undertaking in = bag way.
The state has the power and the resources 10
undertake this development and 10 see il through.
II means the building up of strong communities
throughout the whole Of the river valley. In San.
doval, Bernalllo. Valencia and Socorro counties. II
means the adding o. a minimum Of sf,O00,OO0 10
taxable valuations in New Mexico the day the
drainage system is completed and before a dollars
worth Of added production has been achieved. II
means the addition Of other millions 20 the tax rolls
from year 10 year thereafter.
II every business man in Albuquerque every
property owner here; would take the preliminary
drAinage-report of the state engineers Office aud
read Il carefully and fhoughtfully, so that each one
could absorb the full significance Of that scant
population Of 10000, In an area designed 10 support
a population running ON toward q million, we do
not believe that any Of them would be willing 10 rest
until this drainage development has been achieved.
II Il because We see IN this comprehensive
drainage undertaking the sure way TO build a city