The Arizona copper camp., 1920-05-08


feasible, thus binding the government
to construct the Florence-Casa Grande-
Pima Indian project for the irrigation
of $4,000 acres of land from the natu-
raj flow of the Gila river
The secretary had until midnight of
April 80 to declare officially that the
project was feasible, and unless he
had done so before that time, all the
work Of the committee of six, of the
government representatives., and of all
those who labored so willingly and so
untiringly to bring about harmony of
the various conflicting interests,
would have expired at that hour by
their own limitation. 1t is small won
der, then, that during the last few
days of the month of April the inter-
est and anxiety of the people of both
Florence and Casa Grande was all
centered upon news from Washing
ton. Mr.. Heard's telegram to the Re-
publican somewhat relieved the ten.
sion, but it was still acute until the
late afternoon of the 30th, when the
wires mentioned above set all doubts
at rest.
What does this news mean for the
Florence Casa Grande valley? 1t
means that Uncle Sam himself has
definitely decided that this valley is
promising enough to warrant his be-
coming interested in it's development
The official declaration of the secre-
tary of the interior that this diversion
project is feasible commits the gov
ernment to the building of the Flor
ence diversion dam and canal system
The contracts which the government
will accept Ly the designation of the
lands signed up Hereunder as entitled
to water, will now become finally and
legally binding on the government and
may be enforced if necessary in a
court of law. By this is not meant
only such as cover the $4,000 acres
of lands belonging to white landown-
ers which will be designated as en-
titled to water under the project.
1t must be Eorne in mind that the
limits of the diversion project as out
lined by the government engineers on
maps of the valley, covered a total of
more than ninety thousand acres 1t
will readily be seen, therefore, that
as only 27,009 acres will be allotted
water, that more than two-thirds of
the lands lying within such limits will
receive no water at all from the di-
version project. Thirty-fve thousand
acres are allotted to the Pima Indians,
so that out of the total of $4,000 acres
in the project, there will remain but
$4,000 acres for white settlers.
Roughly speaking, of this $4,000
acres about two-thirds will lie in the
Florence district and the other one
third in the Casa Grande district. The
| larger acreage around Florence is due
to the fact, of course, that the Oldest
rights are nearest to the river An
analysis of the water rights and acre
age to be taken in shows three broad
divisions:
(a) Approximately 1900 acres OF
old rights in the original Lockwood
decree, of which some 1900 or 1900
acres lie in the Casa Grande district
and the remainder is near Florence.
CD Approximately 1000 acres
equally divided, 1000 acres in the
Casa Grande district, and 1000 acres
in the Florence district
(c) Fourteen thousand acres, equal
ly divided, 1000 acres in the Casa
Grande district and 1000 acres in the
Florence district
The above lands will have a water
| right priority in the order in which
might he designated as A, B, c water
rights, though they are not so desig
mated in the contracts.
All of the members of the commit
tee of six and all of the others wht
participated in the conferences in Lo
Angeles in April of 1919 which led III
to the framing of the contract will
the government which was signed III
last summer, felt and expressed them
selves as feeling that the governmen
took the lions share for the Indian
in the division of the water and de
manded an equal division as betweel
the whites and the Indians. Reali2
, ing, however, that they were unable t
shake the governments position i
; the matter, they yielded in the inter