Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-04-14

if the copper mines will be able to op- crate unless they can get cheap power | from the Colorado River. With that sit | uation confronting them, they are try ing to secure permission and develop private project at Diamond Canyon in this County, at a cost of twelve or fif- teen million dollars, to supply power for an industry of this State and an es- sential industry for the development of this State. Personally, l say that if they can accomplish this purpose with out interfering with the program of the
 Federal Government, that they should certainly be considered first and fore most and in preference to any private capital that may desire to enter into the Colorado River field for commercial purposes
 We have had Federal irrigation for
 about twenty years. About three mil | lion acres of worthless desert land have
 been made productive by the efforts or
 our Government. The crops alone pro
 duced on this land now amount to nine
 ty million dollars each year. All Of the
 money which the Government mas ao
 vanced to irrigation projects ana all ol
 such purposes will ultimately be repaid Therefore, laws which enable such de- yelopment cannot justly be classed as pork barrel legislation. On the lrrlgat- ed lands which have been deVeloPeu py the Government there now live about five hundred thousand American citl- zens. about one hundred thousand fam lilies in comfortable homes and With profitable employment because or the Tn. terest of our Government in this line or
 development, and no chance for the II Government ever to lose single dollar
 because of these expenditures aitnougn
 as I stated before, there has been spent
 by the Government in irrigation pro
 jects prior to this time, about one nun
 dred and seventy-two million dollars. Tn
 the Salt Riyer.Valley the Government
 spent nearly fifteen million and has al ready received in return about five mll-
 imately ten million dollars unpaid. At
 Yuma the Government has spent over
 eleven million and has been repaid apout |
 two and a half million and has credlt
 Boise, Idaho, the Government has spent
 over fifteen million. been repaid over
 three million, and due return or near lily twelve million. At North Platte. Tn
 Nebraska and Wyoming, the Govern
 ment has spent over fourteen million;
 has been repaid nearly three million, and
 ia due over eleven millions. At NeWlanos Nevada, the Government has spent over
 seven and half million been paid near ly one and a half millions and IS que over six million On the Rio Grande the Government has spent almost thirteen
 million has collected less than two mii- miii lion, and Is due more than eleven mil lions. At Yakima, Washington, the Goy-
 
 lion, has been paid nearly five millions
 and is due about eight and half mll- lion. At Shoshone the Government mas
 spent nearly eight million. has been paia is due over six million and half. The Government has built many smaller projects-thirty or more in all. mus we see that the United States Govern ment has had some slight eXPerleioe III irrigation projctS.
 Beneath the stars of the Big Bend | country about the center or the Colo- | rado River Basin. there Is an oio tur auoise mine. Some hundreds or years
 ago this old mine was worked by race
 of neople known as the Aztecs. They
 naid tribute and they carried royalties
 and Jewels to the Montezumas Tn the city of Mexico. They were callea reoila
 six miles beyond this old turquolse mlne
 is the Roulder Canyon. The walls or the canyon rise to an altitude or twelye to fourteen hundred feet, and surrouna- ed by all the grandeur and the s9ituue
 which surrounds the Pyramids or heyPt. Between those silent walls, If we may helieve the best engineers, there is
 latent power enough to produce more
 wealth in the Colorado River Basin eacn
 year. which wealth now lies dornant.
 than the original cost st.tss or eSa of America has no Peons, the United states oI
 America demands no tribute ana ek. poets no royalties save and except the
 loyalty of its cltlzens. ,+,+,ye
 submit to you as representatiye women of this state upon whose o sn1Sina snHTiu, n,'b,ic oninion in this State, that for |, this great project to be built by prlvaIe capital, burdened with few million @ a'ii uIi r. lars for taxes, burdened with few mil lion lion dollars for higher salaries bur , dened with a few million dollars TOT ex, cessiye freight rates, burdened wltn , few million dollars for promotion fees on top of which the promoters want net return of ten per cent. per annam the whole amount paid back every ter , l years-T say submit to you that sue. proposition would be nothing snor' 2 of fastening upon the citizens or 1nas free southwest land form or lnauS a trial peonage which would be entirely out of accord and in direct conflict wltr the teachings of the mother woii oi oui a free institutions. In this proposition we : have a heritage to protect. We nave , birthright which must not be sold .an toi a mess of pottage or a list of promises The benefits to be derived from the ! completion of this Colorado River pro , feet are great, but none of them is more