The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1920-04-22
THE CASE or
SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND
VS..
THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS.

A \ ALBUQUERQUE man who is thinking about the real de-
~ selcpment Of this city asked The Herald Yesterday 10 verify
IN 1919 was $7s5oO0.
We showed this man the taai summary Of agricultural produc.
ticn values for New Mexico last year as prepared by the official
representative Of the department Of agriculture crop reporting
There the figures stand, They may not be absolutely accurate. as
value that they cannot be questioned:
s5600OO0O more pr less Of gross agricultural production value
for the state os a whole
sIs5oo more Or les. Of gross agricultural production value. for
Bernalllo county. Practically the whole Of this is from the irrigated
yaiies lands Unirriga,ed farm production in this county is Of no inn
porance. Il viii never be Of any Importance. Dry farming is i'm
possible with an ssineh average annual rainfall
Coqvinccd a. 10 the production Of Bernalalo county. we showed
this nah The same Federal report for Salt River valley, tributary to
record for thar district, smaller ia aereage of irrigable land than our
risultural production, for suit River valley in 1920 Is that Of respon
sihlc men in The valley who know what has been done This season
and the prices that production reasonably TO be expected, will com
maud next fdn
This mand said
"The people Of Albuquerque the business Interests, the property
owners. those who make their lrinps and EARN their profits through
local prosperity and advancement do not understand this situation
and fifty thousand against thirty million dollars is Overwhelmingly
CONVINCING It eonsieif Us Of hopeless thoughteSsness and neglect
Significance ofiAis comparison, they would remain inactive
And it does seem impossible that we car remain much longer
cnrs bcre which we ,,igb, n. ea;o,i,g n We vonid Lnf mike The
effort 70 open the way for is production.
Just one obstacle stands in the way. Plat, Of course, is drainage
Understand. we are considering pro auction value; not land val
uci and annual production value, not the production Of a period Of
years after long delay in returns on the investment.
II win be argued that Salt River valley had a long wait belSre
coming into lis own, and that a single crop. cotton. aud phenomert
ally high prices for that crop are responsible for the sudden boom
in production To an extent that is true.
But let it be remembered that Salt River valley was an arid
dessert The Roosevelt irrigation project developed land the pro
duetve possibilities Of which were only guessed at. Time was re-
ihe right crops
But here in our central Rio Grande valley our irrigation system
Is built Our water supply is available The productive capacity
Of orr lnnds IS a known quantity: demonstrated over three centuries
OF de,ultory use and misuse We. know that ON our drained lands
tt ahH" anu gram pfnducitn y enormous. We know that the
highest priced truck products do their best here We know the
favorable, We have only 10 provide that single element. drainage
aud while our gross annual production will not jump to thirty mil
lions IN a year II will reach it by the time our markets aud market
ing equipment have been expanded TO take care Of it.
Five years from the date a valley wide drainage system has been
the gross agricultural production value Of New Mexico lat year
Yet we iwidde our fingers and fondly hope that some daring
and make as all rich. That would be nice; we all want AN oil well
handy. but why ~ and wait for sudden riches when a little effort
wn cram millions Of real money into local eircuDlion aud force
surpass that Of the greatest oil fields
Men who are indifferent to Drainage, and those who oppose it,
and euriously enough. there are a few such men among us-assert
We see for this city certain, permanent growth. great prosprri,y far
all who viii share it. This newspaper. ia lis gratifying growth dur.
imem Of local circulation. More growth for us can come oni,
through Albuquerquc's growth. Our siuation is that Of every mer
ehah, every banker, every property owner in this city. Further
sn19eih ir Tue individual business requires further growth for
y means q city with ample commercial volume to maintain pros.
porous business and substantial property values; il means a solution
drainage system for this valley can be built at a cost Of $50 am
sTi b :" .adeI XXI, ,r , alheag aS ~ ne f s'5v , = excess OF 300 On acre
pleied. On a bond market that is as bad as any bond market the
age bonds can be marketed quickly and upon a fairly good interest
bnhis The payment can be spread over q series of years SO that no
land owner will feel the burden Of the carrying charges and pay.
Before YOU. Mr. Business Maj. and YOU. Nh. Property Owner
put this aside, just give five minutes Of concentrated thought to
this question;
WHAT WOULD THE ADpTloN Of s%aoOooooo p annual
10 me- my hislueSN, my property Hd my ihmn4 J