The Winslow mail., 1925-09-25
Maddox Explain The
Colorado River Project
At Rotary M e citing

with the development of the Colo
rado river. He pointed out the
dangerous position occupied by
Arizona, asserting that it is the
only state which is left without pro-
lection by the terms of the Santa
Fe compact.
He spoke in part as follows:
1.-The public does not know how
little knowledge is possessed by the
average man regarding the Colora-
do River compact. There are COM
paratively few who have gone into
the matter and studied it thorough
1y.
'Land under the Colorado project
could be easily irrigated and the
amount of land coming in would be
eight or ten times that on the Salt
River valley. The power from this
project would be seventy-fve to one
hundred times that developed by
the three dams that furnish power
for the Salt River valley at the pre-
ssent time. The Colorado in Ari-
szona will develop ten times as
much power as Muscle Shoals, so
you can see that it is a pretty
good sized question. The question,
however, is purely and simply an
economic one. There are only two
things to be decided First, wheth-
er Arizona or Mexico is to get the
Irrigation water from the Colorado,
and second, whether the power is
going to be for irrigation projects
in California or whether it will pay
to the State of Arizona money that
will reduce tax rates. This ques-
tion might be left in the hands of
the members of the legislature;
these people are in office because
of what you think of that particu-
lar problem and as they represent
to you the way they stand on it;
but it is absolutely necessary that
the people themselves know some
thing about the problem. We
should know something about what
we are doing but the majority of
ns do not.
"The normal flow of the Colorado
lis being used and sometimes there
is not enough water to supply the
need. The lower basin has already
tried to gather up more land than
they can irrigate, probably one year
out of three. The upper basin OF
the Colorado is the last part OF this
country to develop, and this slow
progress is identical with that of
Arizona. AS the people crossed
from the Atlantic to the middle
west they used the waters of the
rivers for the development of the
lower basin, the district that were
the first to settle and to make the
most rapid advancement. When
the upper states began to develop,
they found that the lower states
were using all of the water which
originated in these upper states
and nothing could be done about
it. The upper basin of the Colo
rado River knew of these incidents
and therefore was opposed to any
big development in the Colorado
for fear it would give beneficial
use and rights to the lower basin,
and that would mean they could
never develop their own land.
Colorado is ready to fight in con-
gress and in the courts and the
executive department of the gov
Cernment for these water rights, If
necessary.
+.SOme time ago, meeting was
called at Santa Fe and at this meet
ing the water was divided between
the two basins, the upper and lower.
The upper states were not afraid
Df each other as far as develop
ment was concerned but they were
safraid of the quick development in
california and Mexico. Arizona is
really the only one that is hurt
california and the upper states are
Fprotected, which leaves Arizona ex-
posed to the quick development IN
California, with only half the water
left, since the other half was given
to the upper basin, and Arizona is
being ground under the compact by
sfhese other states.
California is naturally interested
lin the Swing BILL which will per-
init the United States government
ito invade something that is partly
gowned by Arizona and take the
benefits away from this state. Last
syear California repealed her ap-
! yuroyal of the compact and made
new approval on a government
built twenty million storage dam
at Boulder canyon, not asking Tor
protection of Imperial valley, but
asking for water for the city OF
Los Angeles. They want to take
the Colorado out of the control OF
this state and their interests are
spurely economic California refuses
tn meet with us and will not even
discuss the division of water. This
program has been going on for
two years and l don't believe Cali
.fornia wants a conference with
Arizona and Colorado. A legiSla-
tive committee could be appointed
and we could have the conference
if they wanted it.
s'The financial end of the matter
can be taken care of easily, as a
large contractor in New York has
.agl eed to go into the Colo ado and
sIend from thirty to forty million
dollars a year until the project is
finished.
Arizona could stand one Of two
divisions of the Colorado. 1t could
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