The Coconino sun., 1924-08-15
UPPER BASIN CAN'T KEEP
WHAT THEY CAN'T USE

Declaring that the Colorado river
compact. should be taken out of the
hands of politicians and considered by
the people of Arizona as an economic
document simple in its provisions and
easy to understand, the Arizona asso-
citation for the ratification of the Colo
RADIO river compact, has issued here
definite enumeration of the reasons
why the compact should be ratified by
Arizona without reservation.
In this preliminary statement the
association emphasizes the fact that
the Colorado river compact apportions
the waters of the Colorado between
the upper and lower basin states, and
nothing more. By this apportfonment
the four states of the upper basin
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New
given 100000 acre-feet
and the three states of the lower basin
Arizona, California and Nevada
are also given 100000 acre-feet.
This, in a nutshell, is the Colorado
river compact.
The reason for this apportionment,
as the association shows, is the simple
one that the upper basin states had
four votes out Of seven in apportion-
ing the water, an entirely different
question. Engineers, it is pointed out,
are practically unanimous in their be-
lief that the upper basin states will
never be able to use more than 4,000.-
900 acre-feet-and what they can't
use they can't keep. The water must
come to Arizona, so that it was i'm
material whether the upper basin
states were given 100000 acre-feet
or 100000 acre-feet.
The association also stresses the
thought that the great majority of the
people of Arizona desire the immedi-
ate ratification Of the compact. With
all the strength brought against the
ratification at the last session of the
state legislature its ratification was
prevented by. a narrow margin. Many
members Of that legislature have since
reversed themselves, some of them
openly, while the candidates now in
the field are almost wholly for the
compact.
While the association is squarely be-
hind the ratification of the pact with
out reservation, amendation or addi-
tion, its chief work, according to the
announcement will be the building up
of non-political, non-partisan organ
ization to strive for the DEVELOPMENT
of the Colorado river now-not in the
dim and distant future. That the COM
pact has been made political foot
ball is described by the association as
an economic crime. That the compact
is difficult to understand is set down
as deliberate be-fogging of the IS
sue. That mist of vague charges
and counter-charges has been thrown
about what is in reality document
which any child can interpret, is de-
clared by the association to be a
brazen attempt to raise political
smoke.
In the light that the compact de-
termines only the apportionment of
water between the upper and lower
basin states, member of the asso-
citation said:
although the upper basin has an
apportionment of half the water in
the Colorado, what are they going to
do with that water? They can't store
it, they can't use it, and they can't
keep it out of the river To give
the upper basin states definite ap-
portionment of the Colorado river is
like offering the Mississippi to farm
er-what is he going to do with it
after he gets it 2"
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