The Coconino sun., 1922-12-01
DIVISION OF WATERS
 MAY BE CHANGED IN
 NEXT FORTY YEARS

In the historic Ben Hur room of the old Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and on the lapboard on which Gen eral Lew Wallace wrote most of his manuscript for Ben Hur, representa- tives of seven states, at 6:I5 Friday signed compact to secure the ex- peditious agricultural and industrial development of the Colorado river ba- sin, the storage of it's waters and the protection of life and property from flood.
 The states signatory to this com pact, the first of its kind in America, are Arizona, California, Colorado, Ne vada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyom- ing. The signers in the order of states given are w. s. Norveil, w. E. Me Cure, Relph F.. Carpenter, J. G. Scrugham, Stephen B. Davis, Jr., R. E. Caldwell and Franck c. Emerson.
 Herbert Hoover, secretary of com- merce, representing the federal gov ernment, who has presided at the con- ference of the Colorado river commis- sion, composed of the foregoing, handed the signers the special gold pen provided by the state of New Mexico for the purpose, which will be preserved in the state archives. Sec retary Hoover also appended his sig nature. Governor Mechem of New Mexico and a small group of Santa Fe men and women were present at the signing. Photographs were taken of Secretary Hoover and of the commits sioners in the act of affixing their signatures.
 The compact, completed after IS days of intense application by the commission at Bishops Lodge is less than 2,000 words in length and is com posed of II articles. Its purposes eX- pressed in the first article include the following:
 "To provide for the equitable di- vision and apportionment of the use of the waters of the Colorado river system; to establish the relative i'm portance of different beneficial uses of water, to promote interstate comity and to remove causes of present and future controversies"
 Briefly the compact divides the riv- CT basin into two divisions, the up per including Wyoming, Utah, Colo rado and New Mexico; the lower Ari- zona, Nevada and California. The agreement apportiOns in perpetuity to each the exclusive beneficial use" of 7,5O0,OOO acre feet of water annually, including water necessary for supply ing existing rights.
 The lower basin is also given the right to increase such use of water by 100000 acre feet per annum. It is provided that if the United States recognizes the right of Mexico to use of the Colorado waters it shall be sup piled by the surplus, by the two div isions equally. Further apportionment of unapportioned waters may be made forty years hence, if the present ap- portionment has been fully utilized. Use of the river for navigation is made subservient to agricultural use. The right of no state to regulate wa ter use within it's bondaries is abridg- ed.
 Through the appointment of com missioners whose acts are subject to legislative approval, provision is made for settling future interstate controv- ersies. Present perfected rights to beneficial use of water are unimpair ed, the compact may be terminated at any time by unanimous consent; nothing in it is to affect obligations by the government to the Indians nor shall anything in it limit legal pro-