Arizona state miner., 1926-02-06
On VERDE
PROJECT
Phoenix, January 20.

! To the Editor
| l feel and know I am out of place
in mixing in any family quarrel The
Verde Irrigation and Power District
| Association has within it such a quar-
rel participated in from within by
the Deer Valley Protective Associa-
! ton, certain land holders, and from
the outside by officials of the Salt
River Valley Water Csers' Associa-
tion and the president and general
manager of the Chamber of Com
merce
Individuals and members of associ-
ations owning land in the project are
entirely within their rights in any
officials or members of their associa-
tion over family matters. Their in
ternal affairs are no concern of mine
and | do not think the Salt River
officials or the officers of the Cham
ber of Commerce have any more right
to interfere in these internal affairs
ciety of Hoboes, or a Hebrew Rabbi
would have.
I am told that this project has
been granted state rights, a permit
to build dams on the Verde river,
and it appears that they are the only
organization that possesses legal au-
thority to construct irrigation and
power works on that stream; fed
eral permit is issued (and it cannot
be as the federal act provides that
a permit cannot be issued without
the consent of the state) such per-
nit then would only give half au-
thority to any other organization.
This project has been approved by
the State Water Commissioner and
the State Certifcation Board COM
posed of the State Engineer, who ap-
proved of it's engineering feasibility,
the State Bank Examiner, who ap-
proved of it's financial feasibility, and
the attorney general. There is only
one way another organization can
gain these rights, and that is by hav-
ing the state revoke all license, per-
mits and grants issued to this organ
ization. That such action will be
taken is not conceivable to me.
I was present and heard the testi-'
mony of both sides of this contrO-
versy at the hearing recently held
by Senator Cameron and I was, to
put it mildly, astonished at the pre-
judice displayed by the lawyer rep
resenting the Chamber of Commerce;
if he had been employed by the as
sociation seeking this permit his par
tisan stand might have been expected
but coming as it did from one of our
great civic bodies whose attitude
should have been one of neutrality,
his conduct was reprehensible.
The assertion was made at this
hearing by the Salt River represen-
tatives that the Verde people could
| not finance this project. If the Verde
Association cannot finance it, how
will any other organization finance
it? 1t must be financed, if at all,
with the entire obligation secured by
existing and values created by the
development of power and irrigation
of the land; if one organization can
finance, it would seem just as easy
for the other one to finance it. The
obligations of the Verde project de-
velopment cannot become liability
of the Salt River project
Let's stop quarreling and get be-
hind the majority of this association
and assist them in financing this
project without respect to who con-
stitutes that majority. Let them
fight out their family affairs within
the family
JAMES B. SAVERS.
~~o~~~~~~~~~~~o~0~ ~0~~o~~0~Uo~~~~-~-~~~~~
three of these offices will be among
the finest in the Southwest
The Los Angeles Steamship COM
pany operates a line of modern ships
to Hawai-. The Arizona business
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Phoenix offices, so the company's
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The Santa Catalina Island company
owns Santa Catalina Island near Los
Angeles and operates it as one of
the worlds chief resorts, unique and
different from all others in many
particulars.