Arizona republican., 1919-05-20
FUR.
 NEW YEAR FIXED BY WATER USERS
Will Be $1.60 An ACRE Confer With Committee On Matter of Drainage Will Seek U. s. Farm Loans For Valley

The first regular business of the present year was taken up at a meet ing Of the board of governors of the Salt River Valley Water Users asso- ciation yesterday, when the 1919 as sessment budget, prepared and adver- tised as required by the rules set forth in the bylaws of the association, was adopted. The board fixed the assess ment at $1.60 per acre, one half pay able on September 1, and the remain ing half on March l. The usual period of 30 days of grace will be allowed after the date of each payment date before the assessments will become delinquent
 4 committee of men from the Phoe- nix chamber of commerce, the Mer- chant and Manufacturers association, the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, with Dwight B. Heard acting as spokesman conferred with the board and presented a plan of cooperation between the city and the association for the purpose of getting rid of the underground water supply in the valley.
 Plan to Drain Undersurface Water Not long ago the city commission voted S100,0 in bonds to pay for the buying and installation of pumps for ! the purpose of drainage. The Water 1 Users association at about the same time also voted on bonds for the devel- 1 opment of the valley water supply by | installing pumping plants. It was the ] belief of officials of the Water Users | association that the city would take | care of the pumping of water from the water logged territory adjacent to 1 Phoenix, thus relieving it of part of the task
 The city afterward decided that it would be better to drain the land by means of tiled drainage ditches, and the state legislature passed bill per hitting the city to spend the sl00,0 ,0o0 for drainage purposes.
 The committee of men from the various merchants and business mems | organizations plans for the city to build the pumps and then turn them over to the Water Users association to ! operate them and turn the water taken from underground into the canals of the project, thus augmenting the water supply as well as draining the water soaked lands.
 The question was referred to the construction committee of the board of governors of the Water Users associa- ! AACAA1 " lAlNli VIII AIdlN ts d conference Wll1 the merchants and business mems committee sometime in the near fu- ture.
 Will! Help Get Federal Land Loans
 Another important action taken up at the meeting of the board of gov ernors was that of securing loans for Salt River Valley ranchers under the federal farm loan banks. It was de- c1ded that the association get behind l the matter of enabling the farmers of this valley to secure loans on easv terms, and to this end a committee consisting of Thomas C. McReynolds William Irwin and A. c. Smoot, was appointed to work out a plan of pro- cedure
 At present the government will not loan money to farmers whose land is under reclamation, as the government only lends money under the farm loan plan for a first mortgage, and it con- siders the lien upon land by water users associations as 8 first mortgage in effect. However, according to the secretary of the local Water Users association. Charles F. Van der Veer other money lenders will not loan money to valley farmers unless their land is under the project
 The committee appointed to handle this money will report it's action at g future meeting of the board of gov ernors