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 cost of twelve or ftf-
 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 mll- 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 ad,
 vanced to irrigation projects and all or
 the money which will be adVanceu tGi | such purposes will ultimately be repaid , Therefore laws which enable such oe- yelopment cannot justly be classed as | nork- barrel legislation. On the irrigat- | ed lands which have been developed py the government there now live about 1 five hundred thousand American cit1- | zens, about one hundred thousand 1am- | flies in comfortable homes and with | profitable employment because or the lh | terest of our Government in this line or | deyelopment and no chance for the I Government ever to lose single dollar because of these expenditures, althougn | as I stated before, there has been spent by the Government in irrigation pro I iects prior to this time, about one nun dred and seventy-two million dollars In the Salt River, Valley the Government spent nearly fifteen million and has al 1 ready received in return about five mll- | lion and has net investment or approx.
 imately ten million dollars unpaid A. l Yuma the Government has spent over | eleven million and has been repaid about 1 two and half million and has credlt l in that project of over nine million. Al | Boise, Idaho, the Government has spent
 over fifteen million. been nn rHpai% of nssr- @ar Fly twelve million. At North Platte, m ! Nebraska and wyoming, the Govern- ment has spent over fourteen million has been repaid nearly three million ana ia due over eleven millions. At Newlands Nevada. the Government has spent over seven and a half million, been paid near | ly one and a half millions and IS que over six million. On the Rio Grande the l Government has spent almost thirteen | million, has collected less than two mii-
 lion. and is due more than eleven mil lions. At Yakima. Washington, the Coy ernment has spent nearly fourteen mil | lion has been paid nearly five millions | and is due about eight and a half mil l lion. At Shoshone the Government mas 1 spent nearly eight million. has been pald | just a little more than one million ana | is due over six million and half. The Government has built many smaller
 projects--.thirty or more stn.sa In ali coverns
 ment has had some slight experience in | irritation projctS.
 Beneath the stars of the Big Bend country, about the center Of the COO rado River Basin, there IS an oio ars sur ouoise mine. Some hundreds Of years ago this old mine was worked oy race | of people known as the Aztecs. iney | naid tribute and they carried royalties and jewels to the Montezumas Tn the city of Mexico. They were called feons Six miles beyond this old turquoise mine
 is the Boulder Canyon. The waiIs oa 1 the canyon rise to an altitude Of twelve | to fourteen hundred feet, and surrouno-
 ed by all the grandeur and the s9,ltuue which surrounds the Pyramids or Egypt.
 Retween those silent walls, if we may
 believe the best engineers, there IS | latent power enough to produce more
 wealth in the Colorado River Basin eacn
 year, which wealth now lies aorI1amtt graat
 project. The United States or Amerlca t has no Peons, the United states oi America demands no tribute ana tSo eko | pectS no royalties save anu eAeep' '
 loyalty of its citizens. .,+ive
 I submit to you as represenhta11,Sde Ges Ihan,ds
 women of this State upon whose shoulo- CTS falls part of the burden of moldlns
 nublic opinion in this State, that TOT this great project to be built by private capital, burdened with few million ooi ] lars for taxes, burdened with few mil lion dollars for higher salaries: bur Cened with a few million dollars TOT ex- cessive freight rates, burdened with a few million dollars for promotion fees' on top of which the promoters want a
 net return of ten per cent per annum the whole amount paid back every ten years-T say I submit to you that sucn l A proposition would be nothing snoF. of fastening upon the citizens or tnls
 free southwest land a form Of I1iaui indHs, > trial peonage which would be entirely out of accord and in direct conflict with inc teachings of the mother wolf or our free institutions. In this proposition we have a heritage to protect. We have a
 birthright which must not be sold TOT
 a mess of pottage or a list of promises l The benefits to be derived from the
 completion of this Colorado River pro-
 feet are great, but none of them Is more