Arizona republican., 1922-02-07
TALKS ON COLORADO
RIVER PROJECT To
TRINITY MEMS CLUB

The address of George II. Maxwell
at the evening meeting and dinner
OF the Mems club of Trinity cathe-
dral last evening was more complete
than any of his brief talks previously
made with reference to the Colorado
river.
The speaker said that he could not
undertake to go into the whole sub
ject in detail until the meeting at the
high school auditorium, Thursday
evening, partly because the maps
which he expects TO use then are not
yet finished. They will be done in
time for that meeting. One large
map of the Colorado river basin. four
times as large as any map heretofore
available. will be hung on the stage
Thursday evening so that everyone
in the audience will be able to see
the whole great project right before
their eyes as the speaker explains Ii.
Another small map will be printed
for distribution to the audience. which
will show the power possibilities OF
the Colorado river from both the
Glen Canyon power plant and the
Boulder canyon or Arizona cut off
plant. These maps are being made by
Howard Reed and Sheldon X. Baker
for the chamber of commerce and the
committee in charge OF the meeting.
In his talk last evening at Trim
ity cathedral, Mr.. Maxwell endeaV-
ored to make very clear his point that
the demand that the old riparian doc
trine that the flow of the river shall
continue. undiminished in quantity, TO
the north line of Arizona, where it
can be accumulated in the Glen can
yon reservoir, is not based on the idea
that no corresponding denefit shall
be extended to the upper states. The
ground he takes is that the value of
the power developed at the Glen cam
yon power plant and distributed TO
the country included in or adjacent
to the basin of the Colorado river
above Arizona, is of much greater
value to those states than the use
of the same water in those upper
states could be for irrigation.
He earnestly contended that be-
fore any effort should be made 70
commit either Arizona or any OF the
upper states to the idea that water
should be diverted from the river
above the Arizona line. that COM
plete plan for a super power zone,
or three OF them. in the upper inter-
mountain region, should be made un-
der government direction.
AS illustrating his idea in this re-
spect he showed a copy of the great
report of the United States geolog-
ical survey recently completed, COW
ering the proposed super power zone,
between Washington and Boston, for
which the government appropriated
SL25, 900 and which was made and
completed within one year. This re-
port contempiates the development
before 1880 of 81, 100000, 900 kilowatt
hours of electrical energy which. the
report says, could be supplied by
CO o-ordinated power system such as
is described in this report at an an
nual cost of $239, 100000 less than by
an unco-ordinated system such as is
now in use.
Maxwell called attention to the fact
that power is now being delivered at
Yuma that is generated more than
500 miles away and that it is only
about $50 miles from Glen canyon TO
Salt Lake, from whence extensions
could be readily run TO Ogden, Ev-
anston and Green river: less than
I400 miles to Denver, which crosses
the vast mining region of Colorado
in the Rocky mountains. and would
make practicable extensions TO Pus
eblo and Cheyenne. Three hundred
miles would bring the power 10 Albu-
ouerque and thence a line down the
Rio Grande valley to I'll Paso would
provide that great valley and FL Paso
with an abundance of power.
The point that Maxwell laid most
stress on is that Arizona is apparent
ly being asked to surrender her birth
right in the Colorado river. when the
surveys and Investigations have never
yet been made to determine the most
elemental and fundamental facts upon
which those rights rest, such as the
elevations of the river and the lands
in Arizona.