Newspaper Page Text
g LATEST MARKET REPORT
5 FURNISHED BY g
E. F. SANGUINETTI j?
LATEST MARKET REPORT 8
X FURNISHED BY
J. M. BALSZ
ARIZONA SENTINEL
FEARLESS CHAMPION OF CITY OF YUMA, YUMA PROJECT
AND YUMA COUNTY
Cotton 16 Yc
Milo Maze, ton $40
Fetereta, ton $40
Alfalfa hay, ton $17
Barley, ton $50
Wheat, ton $5S
5 Cattle 5c to 6c X
X Hogs 7y2c to 80
5 Lambs 7c
Turkeys 21c $
X Chicks 14c X
g Eggs , 40c y
VOLUME 47
YUMA, ARIZONA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1916.
YUMA PROJECT AFFAIRS
TAKEN FROM RECORDS
NUMBER 3.
HUGE SUMS OF CASH
FOR IMPERIAL VALLEY
Since printing the Imperial Valley item that appeared
in last Week's ARIZONA SENTINEL (written the pre
vious Saturday), the Imperial Valley Press has reached
my desk, bearing date of January 6, and from its valued
columns I am given a world of information relative to what
Imperial Valley proposes to do to better its present deplor
able condition.
It will be remembered that during the latter part or
last November the board of directors passed a resolution
directing "C. E. Grunsky and G. G. Anderson, the consult
ing engineers," to submit an estimate as to the costs of the
present needs of the Imperial Valley irrigation system.
This report is published in full in the Imperial Valley
Press of January 6. It calls for an appropriation of the
huge sum of $2,464,000, covering 41 distinct items, ranging
all the way from $600 for a telephone line, up to $240,000
for the new headgates at Hanlon Heading, to say nothing
of an item of an even half a million dollars for "minor
structures, incidentals, contingencies, and engineering ex
penses." The new intake, about a mile above Hanlon
Heading is the first estimated item of $240,000.
Not a word is said in xthe report about connecting up
with Laguna dam, but that need startle no one, for the ap
propriation asked for is calculated only to run Imperial
Valley for the next two years. In all human probably by
the time this money is exausted Imperial Valley will be
just about where it is today. This is purely an emergency
fund. It has been ratified by the various governing bodies
of the irrigation district, and now as soon as 51 per cent of
the farmers can be induced to vote that huge sum in bonds,
the work, as recommended by Messrs. Grunsky and Ander
son will begin, but not until then.
It is rather a precarious undertaking at this time to
attempt to get the good farmers of Imperial Valley to do
nate another $2,464,000 after "all the millions they have al
ready donated, only to find that year after year they are
woefully short in their water supply. Should the farmers
fail to ratify this huge appropriation, what then? When
that question stares the farmers in the face they will at
once know that they MUST vote the bonds, or else turn
their fine farms back into the desert. That means, of
course, that the farmers have but the one alternative, and
that is to swallow the bait, hook, sinker, line and all.
There is one item in the report worthy of more than
passing note, it reads: "Controlling gate in main canal
about four miles below Hanlon Htading headgare and
levee to the river $80,000.
That is just about the point where the famous "Rock
wood gate" was once erected, which successfully turned the!
entire Colorado river into the Salton sea. That is the only
(Continued on Page Two)
YUMA'S PROSPERITY
. IN DOLLARS AND CENTS
The phenomenal growth of the city of Yuma since the
great flood of last January is beginning to be the talk of
the country. Traveling salesmen who are in the habit of
visiting Yuma at certain periods are unanimous in declar
ing that no city of like size in the entire west can make
anything like the claims held by this city, and there are no
better posted men in the world than the traveling sales
man. He has his eyes open all the time. More of them
have visited Yuma during the past year than during any
previous three years combined in the history of the city, all
of which goes to show that they know a real live city when
they see it. They know that our merchants are reliable,
and from the way the city is growing they know our peo
ple are prosperous.
But let's take a look at the books and see what they
show in the line of building. Through the courtesy of City
Clerk J. Frank Stanley, I am able to give the amount of im
provements by months during the past year. These fig
ures speak louder than words. Here they are:
January $ 5,721.00
February ' 32,242.00
March 11,625.00
April 4,915.00
May 7,440.00
June ' 3,075.00
July 4,000.00
August 15,320.00
September 2,500.00
October 18,125.00
November 6,275.00
December 6,062.00
Total for year 1916 $92,300.00 . .
This is more actual improvements than Yuma had
known for almost a decade previous to last year. It conclu
sively proves that Yumaites have at last awakened to the
fact that this is the best little city in all the western coun
try, and from now on is destined to keep growing by leaps
and bounds until, well, in five years from now it will be a
New Yuma.
Some of my friends are inclined to criticise me for de
voting so much of my valuable space every week to Recla
mation affairs. For their especial benefit permit me to say
that if we had no Reclamation Project Yuma would be what
she was prior to the advent of the Reclamation Project
a mere whistling station on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Without the Reclamation Project Yuma Valley and the In
dian Reservation unit of the project would be a wilderness
of arrow, weeds and Cottonwood trees. Yuma Project is
our whole stock in trade. When the entire world shall have
been apprised of the wonderful possibilities of this Yuma
section, Yuma city, Yuma Project and Yuma county will
blossom like a rose in the spring time. Therefore I say to
my friends that if they don't want to hear anything about
the glories of Yuma Project they should not read the ARI
ZONA SENTINEL, for just as surely as this paper is
printed it is equally as certain that I shall keep my readers
posted on what is taking place on Yuma Project. If you
want this information sent abroad to your friends "away
back eact," or elsewhere, send in your subscription, read
the paper yourself; and then send it to some distant friend.
In that manner you may induce some of them to come out
here and enjoy some of our many blessings. But if you
want to "hog it all yourself," why don't read this paper, but
burn up every copy you can lay hands on. Otherwise you
are apt to be classed among those citizens who believe in
BUILDING UP rather than TEARING DOWN. So much
for that. Now read on.
Let's see what the Reclamation Project has done for j
Yuma county. The assessed valuation of all property in!
the county in 1905 was $1,662,207.81. In 1908, four years
before water was turned into the great syphon canal, the
assessed alvue was $2,649,494.06. In 1916, the assessment!
rolls had jumped to the huge sum of $14,536,420.14, and in
crease of about SEVEN HUNDRED PER CENT in less
than four years. Where can you beat it in all this great
and glorious western country?
Another illustration of Yuma Project's wonderful pros
perity is shown by the phenomenal growth of the Yuma
National Bank. It began business in January, 1909, on a
very modest basis. In after years its resources were as
follows; 1911, $203,935.63; 1913, $430,389.06, and in 1915,
the last year that the official report was available, the re
sources of this splendid banking institution 'had increased
to $642,985.55, of a THREE HUNDRED PER CENT
INCREASE in four years.
Project Manager Lawson was assigned to the Yuma
Project in August 1915, just at the time I was having a lot
of fun "turning the Reclamation service inside out," as
staff writer for the Yuma Daily Examiner. A marvelous
change has been wrought since he took, charge of project
affairs. He holds regular meetings with the Water Users'
Association, takes the board of governors into his confi
dence, and apprises them of every important step he intends
to take, the result being that they are not always working
at cross purposes, each always carrying 2 chip on his
shoulder for the other. Now the very vest of feeling pre
vails throughout the entire project. Project Manager Law
son realizes that, he is paid by the waters users of the pro
pect, and they in turn realize that he is giving them the
very best service of his life. ,
When Manager Lawson took charge of the project its
mains and laterals were in anything but good condition. In
1915 there were 50 miles of canals cleaned, requiring the ex
cavation of 159,130 cubic yards of earth. In 1916 there were
cleaned 145 miles of canals, requiring the removal of 402,
572 cubic yards of earth. In 1915 there were 362 miles of
canals cleared of weeds and grass, and 271 miles in 1916.
In 1915 the project boasted of 42 horses, mules and
Jack-asses, while this number was cut exactly in two during
the year 1916.
In 1915 there were 321 regular employes on the pro
ject, which was cut to 237 in 1916.
During 1915 there were 360,000 cubic yards of rock
revetment placed along the river banks and on the levees,
and 192,000 cubic yards placed in 1916, all of which was
done under the supervision of Superintendent of Construc
tion Ray M. Priest.
The estimated expenses for machines, rock cars, dred
gers, etc., is placed at approximately $100,000 during 1915
and 1916.
And now what is the showing on the other side the
farmers' side? In 1914, with 25,207 acres irrigable, the
average value of all crops per acre was $31. In 1915 this
was increased to $34 per acre, while last year, 1916, these
figures jumped to $50.75, which far outstrips any project
in the United States, if, indeed, it is not a greater showing
than can be made by the same acreage anywhere on the
American continent.
Cotton ranks as "king" for the last year, the average
per acre for both the cotton and seed being $100.15, truck
gardening $74.08, alfalfa and alfalfa seed $65.11, fruit
$49.88,. and beans $43.65. Barley, wheat, Indian corn, sor
ghum corn, cane and cane fodder, hay, except alfalfa, and
pasture produced from $1 1.35 for pasture up to $22 per acre
for wheat. Leave all these out and it will be seen that Yu-
(Continued on Page Two)
SOME BIG DOINGS
ON YUMA PROJECT
Yuma Project is now claiming the personal attention
of two of the real "big guns" of the Reclamation service,
Consulting Engineer Jacobs and Chief Drainage Engineer
Murphy, the latter having reached Yuma a week ago, while
the former has been here and in Imperial Valley for the
past few weeks.
Chief Murphy is here on matters pertaining to drain
age, especially with reference to the big drainage canal now
being constructed in Yuma Valley, while Engineer Jacobs
is here in connection with the figuring out the costs and
feasability of enlarging the main siphon canal to six times
its present size. Both gentlemen are being accorded every
courtesy by the local Reclamation officials, Project Mana
ger Lawson being particularly interested in seeing both
schemes perfected at the earliest possible moment, the com
pletion of the drainage canal because it will forever make
Yuma Valley immune from seepage, and the enlargement of
the main siphon canal, from Laguna dam to the ten-mile
drop, because that will give him more horsepower that he
will ever need to pump water on the mesa, where lie 40,000
acres of the finest citrus fruit land in all the world, the
only "frostless belt" in the United States.
The fact that the government is this early ascertaining
all the facts in connection with the enlargement of the si
phon canal very clearly shows that the Reclamation offi
cials at Washington know that the Yuma Mesa Land Bill
will soon become a law, and this preliminary work is being
done now to save time, so that when the bill does pass con
gress, work can be commenced almost immediately, though
the money to construct the work on the mesa must come
from the sale of mesa lands. However, after the bill shall
have passed there is no law against "borrowing" funds from
the Reclamation treasury to go right ahead with the work,
and pay it back from the proceeds of the sale of the land.
This, mind you, is by no manner of means "official," but
merely my "guess," and my friends on the project will ad
mit that I usually guess pretty accurately.
As I said in the previous issue of the ARIZONA SEN
TINEL, there is no doubt in my mind but that the Mesa
Land Bill will become a law. It has plenty of time to be
considered before the fourth day of March. If objection
is raised against its passage by "unanimous consent" the
next time it is reached in regular order it will prabobly be
pressed to passage anyway. It will go through as "an ad
ministration measure," for it has the unqualified support of
the Reclamation Commission and the hearty indorsement
of Secretary Lane. That they will permit it to be strangled
by any men or set of men is unthinkable. That it will re
ceived the approval of the president, when passed, is abso-
(Continued on Page Two)
SHALL WE ORGANIZE A
RURAL CREDITS BANK?
Now that the United States has been divided .into the
necessary twelve districts for the establishment of district
banks under the Rural Credit law, the question is: Shall we
organize a Rural Credit Bank for the benefit of the farmers
of the Yuma Project?
Some of the Reclamation officials are inclined to think
that we cannot avail ourselves of this wholesome law as
long as we continue to operate under the Water Users' As
sociation system, instead of the "irrigation district" plan,
but I am free to confess I do not view the matter in that
light, for the law very plainly says it is wholly within the
power of the Central Bank to say which property can bor
iow money and which can not. There is no doubt, how
ever, but what all obstacles would be removed if we were
operating under the "district" plan instead of the "associa
tion" plan. But that is neither here nor there so far as dis
cussing the advisability of organizing a Rural Credit Bank
in this community in concerned. I am of the firm opinion
that this should be done at once. We will never know what
benefits are to be derived from such a bank until it shall
have been tried.
In a nut-shell all that is required is for not less than 10
land-owners to associate themselves together and ask the
government for permission to organize such a bank, it be
ing understood that each man is to ask for a loan of not
less than $2000 and not more than $10,000. If the Central
Bank, which in our case will be located in Berkeley, Cal.,
looks upon it favorably, the necessary instructions will e
given for the purpose of perfecting the local organization,
after which a charter will be issued. There are no paid of
ficials in the local organization except the secretary-treasurer.
There is no "graft" connected with it. The idei Is to
save every dollar possible to the borrower, making the in
terest rate as low as possible, but in no event not more than
6 per cent.
I suggest that some of our wide-awake farmers ke
hold of the matter at the earliest date possible. PUT YU
MA ON THE MAP.
