The Coconino sun., 1923-10-05
HUNTS ARIZONA ssFOLLY
PLAN is DENOUNCED
BY DEMOCRATIC PAPER

lie I1uIiL COtAltlAllGE VI Illilc OAA ftlit
Colorado river development project
appears to have labored and brought
forth mouse, for its touted Arizona
Plan" is not a plan at all but merely
prospectus of political action. The
committee may have reserved, from
its printed statement before the pow
er commission at Washington, defin-
ite facts and figures as to how it pro-
poses to develop the resources of the
river, which will be asked for by the
commission, according to press dis
patches.
The ARIZONA Plan" is a political
proposal to create the Arizona State
Power corporation, which would take
over the power development of the
canyon of the Colorado within the
state of Arizona. This is primarily
political in that the creation of such
a corporation would involve the ne
cessity of amending the state consti-
tuition. The committee proposes that
this proposed corporation be author
lied and empowered to undertake
joint construction and ownership and
construction with another state or a
municipality of another state.
The "plan," however, does not go
into the matter of how the state would
finance water power construction. It
may be holding this information in
reserve, as we say.
The proposal to amend the state
constitution so that the power corpor-
alton might be created, viii bring the
whole question to the poIls-if the
treaty is not ratified in the meantime,
which is not only possible, but prob
able.
The hearing at Washington has
brought out the fact that other inter-
asted states consider the Colorado
compact as the instrument of their
rights and revealed determination
on the part of these states to stand
on their rights, either as stated in the
present compact or some other COM
pact, and it does not seem likely that
the Hunt committee will prevail
against these other states.
Certain paragraphs of the commit
tees statement are c0uched in unf0r-
tunate language, language which, we
fear, will be attributed to political or
partisan anim,s on the part of the
committee. The committees case
would have appeared in a stronger
guise had it not undertaken to ques-
ton the motives of other states par
ties to the compact.
The committee, moreover, presumed
too much, in view Of the known state
of public opinion in Arizona. in assun1-
ing to speak for the people of Ari-
zona-in saying that the people of
the state are opposed to the Colorado
river treaty in its present form and
In saying that the people of the state
will adopt such an amendment to the
state constitution as is necessary to
effect the indefinite Arizona plan"
which it has in mind.
The facts of the committees exist
ence are that it was appointed by the
governor himself 1t may be said
that he was asked to appoint it, but
that is mere subterfuge, since this
request" carne from group which
he appointed for that single purpose.
The committees statement refers to
this group as a convention" which
It may have been in loose general
sense, but the word has the common
meaning of a representative body,
which the group was not, but was a
meeting dominated by Hunt partisans
md treaty opponents with a sprink
ing of proponents of the treaty and
leutrals in number sufficient only to
give the group the color Of repre-
;entativeness.
The COMMITTEE of nine" has appar-
entity brought the whole question of
Colorado development on an i1mpasse,
which had been predicted would be
he sum Of Arizona's attitude on the
Citizen.