PART 1 Copyright 1935 by George Hebard Maxwell Advance Print—Criticisms and Suggestions are invited by the Author. Address: 602 North First Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. GOLDEN RIVERS AND TREASURE VALLEYS WEALTH FROM WASTED WATERS By George Hebard Maxwell CREATE WEALTH AND STOP WASTE PREVENT CONFISCATORY TAXATION INTRODUCTORY SUMMARY THE ARIZONA TEN PROJECTS Each With Its Own GOLDEN RIVER AND TREASURE VALLEY TOMBSTONE ASH FORK SAN SIMON WICKENBURG so LOMONVILLE SALOME SPRINGERVILLE GILA BEND HOLBROOK TUCSON The Seven Cities of Cibola were a myth. Coronado failed to find them because they had no existence. Greater wealth than the Gold of the Incas was hidden in the rich desert soil of Arizona, but Coronado wanted only the gold that was yellow. He did not know how to get gold from the deserts by water- ing them and trading their products for wealth that could be exchanged for all human needs. The Seven Cities of Cibola were only Coronado's dream of wealth,—a dream that never came true ! We know now how to realize that dream by ourselves creating the wealth ! We have already done it in the Salt River Valley in An- 1 WEALTH FROM WASTED WATERS zona by building the Roosevelt dam for Water Conservation to Stop Waste and Create New Wealth. We know now how to harness the mighty Golden Colo- rado river by building at Glen Canyon, in Arizona, one big dam TEN TIMES BIGGER THAN THE ROOSEVELT DAM, and tunnels and canals to transport the waters of the Colorado river to the ARIZONA TEN PROJECTS, where the use of that water to plant new rain-making forests, and to create new garden-farms, will return to us, as the reward for our labor, wealth vastly greater than all the Gold of the Incas or the dreams of Coronado. Those Arizona Ten Projects will be based on and rest back against the Golden Colorado River-Glen Canyon- Verde River-Central Arizona Reservoir System as a National De- fense against the Devastations of the Deserts. TheArizona Ten Projects will be built around the City of Phoenix,—the heart of the Salt River Valley,—Paradise Val- ley-Deer Valley and Agua Fria Valley Projects. Farther west the lower Golden Colorado River will re- claim the Nile of America, with Parker as its Cairo and Yuma as its Alexandria ; and a Ship Canal from Yuma to the Gulf of California. The ARIZONA TEN PROJECTS, each of which is set, like a diamond encircled with gold, in a Treasure Valley of its own, and each with its own Golden River as a local source of water supply, are (1) Tombstone, (2) San Simon, (3) Solo- monville, (4) Springerville, (5) Holbrook, (6) Ash Fork, (7) Wickenburg, (8) Salome, (9) Gila Bend and (10) Tuc- son. No. 1: The TOMBSTONE PROJECT for its Treasure Valley has the San Pedro valley and is at the Gateway to the 2 11h CREATE WEALTH AND STOP WASTE Sulphur Springs Valley, with both valleys contributing to its local water supply drawn from the surface flow of the San Pedro river, which is its Golden River, and the subterranean, lake or river under Tombstone that is replenished annually from the watershed of the Dragoon mountains and the moun- tains encircling the Sulphur Springs valley. No. 2: The SAN SIMON PROJECT comprises the San Simon Valley running far south beyond the Cienega and the Chenoweth Ranch to Rodeo in New Mexico, and spreading out to the north as far west as Bowie and as far north as Tanque, and taking in the whole Whitlock Valley with its Cienega. No. 3: The SOLOMONVILLE PROJECT takes in the Lower San Simon valley north of Tanque, including the Mesa sloping east from Graham Mountain, the Upper Gila Valley, and the adjacent drainage basins north of the Gila, extending to the base of the mountains on the north. The plan for this project is to a large extent already compiled with Maps and Report by Engineer Harry F. Olmsted. No. 4: The SPRINGERVILLE PROJECT embraces the territory now tributary to Springerville, including the towns of Eager and Colter, and extending on the south to Clifton and Morenci and north to Snowflake and St. Johns, one of the best watered regions in Arizona, and needing only complete Water Conservation on its own watershed. No. 5: The HOLBROOK PROJECT covers the coun- try north of St. Johns and Snowflake, extending east to the eastern boundary of Arizona and north to the Indian reserva- tions, draining the watersheds of the Little Colorado and Zuni river, Rio Puerco, Cottonwood creek and Pueblo Colo- rado. No. 6: The ASH FORK PROJECT is in the center of 3 WEALTH FROM WASTED WATERS a large region capable of high development, extending from Prescott on the south to the Grand Canyon on the north, and from Flagstaff on the east to Peach Springs on the west. Whatever development is planned from Ash Fork would be with the purpose of making it a manufacturing city, and would be shared by Prescott, Flagstaff, Seligman and Peach Springs. The extent of the development would depend on the amount of water that could be economically pumped from the water surface level of the Glen Canyon reservoir to Ash Fork. The elevation of Ash Fork is 5143 feet ; of Prescott, 5367 feet ; and of Flagstaff, 6896 feet above sea level. No. 7: The WICKENBURG PROJECT is one of the most favorably situated of any of the projects for immediate development. The elevation of Wickenburg is only 2116 feet, from which the Colorado river water could be distributed over the Wickenburg acreage quota of 50-6,000 acres to each proj- ect, with expedition and economy, the land to be reclaimed lying adjacent to and immediately west from Wickenburg. No. 8: The SALOME PROJECT would be almost in the center of its quota of 500,000 acres, with its water dis- tribution accomplished by extensions of the Wickenburg canals over lands in the drainage basins of the Butler valley, McMullen valley, Vicksburg valley, Ranegras plains and Har- quahala valley. No. 9: The GILA BEND PROJECT is in the center of another immense area of fertile and easily reclaimed land of which a considerable area is already reached by the canal system leading from the Gillespie dam on the Gila river. The lands in the Gila Bend quadrangle can all be irrigated under this plan by gravity, and extend from Arlington on the north, Maricopa on the east, and Ajo on the south, to the Mo- hawk valley on the west. 4 CREATE WEALTH AND STOP WASTE No. 10: The TUCSON PROJECT, with its quota of 500,000 acres of irrigable land to be reclaimed for Homecroft Forest Plantations, date gardens, olive orchards and garden- farms, has sources of local water supply which make the TUC- SON PROJECT, like the TOMBSTONE, SAN SIMON and SOLOMONVILLE PROJECTS, available for immediate de- velopment under a progressive plan that would so utilize the local waters that they would be adequate for all• needs until the arrival of the water from the Colorado river system to those projects. A complete survey and study of the Tucson Project on the lines of the San Simon Valley Survey and Re- port by Harry F. Olmsted, should be made without delay so as to tie it in with the Colorado river plans when that great statewide system is perfected. Within less than one year the surveys and reports with complete plans for beginning Rural Settlements under the system could be made so as to be ready to start the settlements under those three projects in southeastern Arizona : the TOMBSTONE, TUCSON AND SAN SI1VION PROJECTS. The dam for the Charleston reservoir and the large dam for local storage under the Olmsted system in the San Simon Valley should be immediately begun and pushed to com- pletion, with all possible expedition. THE RURAL SETTLEMENTS SYSTEM OF HOME-MAKING ON THE LAND. The Rural Settlements System for subdivision and Set- tlement to create Individual Independent Homes on the Land, highly diversified and intensively cultivated self-supporting homes, owned and tilled by the occupant with his own labor and the help of his family, has been advocated with far-flung success by the Rural Settlements Association for more than thirty years. That system should be immediately inaugu- 5 WEALTH FROM WASTED WATERS rated under all of the ARIZONA TEN PROJECTS. There is no need for delay. Water that can be pumped from underground sources, supplementing the conservation of natural rainfall and flood water that now runs to waste, will furnish all the water necessary for a long start before the works can be completed to make the Colorado river water available. Successful irrigation must go hand in hand with intensive diversified cultivation. The Rural Settlements System has been successfully in operation in Southern California for thirty or forty years. It was the ultimate objective of the Littlelands Movement or- ganized by William E. Symthe. He founded several Rural Settlements communities. One below San Diego he christened San Ysidro. Another in back of Glendale was originally known as Littlelands but is now known as Tujunga. The Weeks Poultry Colonies have furnished another demonstra- tion. Much remains to be done to fully develop and perfect the system. The System of Rural Settlements has reached its fullest perfection in the Mormon Colonies established more than a generation ago in Utah and Arizona. They have proved the benefits of Rural Settlements colonies or communities of small family garden-farms as a way of taking up the labor slack and thereby obviating unemployment. Unemployment has no terrors in the Mormon Rural Settlements,—in fact, they have demonstrated the Rural Home to be the national defense against social upheaval as well as against unemployment.