partment, all urging the rejection of the railroad right of way application and the preservation of the reservoir site for development and use in the irrigation of arid lands in the Gila Valley. The several applicants for the right to use the reservoir site for irrigation purposes appear to be at cross purposes with one another, but all unite in opposing the railroad application, urging that the construction of a railroad upon the level proposed in said application will forever defeat and prevent the use of this reservoir site for the reclamation of arid lands. The United States is especially interested, because of its guardianship over the Pima and other tribes of Indians domiciled on lands which might be irrigated in part, lying below the proposed dam. Because of the large and varied interests involved I made a personal inspection of the premises, in company with Director F. H. Newell, Reclamation Service; Mr. W. H. Rosecrans, consulting engineer in irrigation matters connected with the Indian Service; James D. Schuyler, consulting engineer; and other engineers and representatives of interested parties, and also accorded a public hearing on the several pending applications, at which all parties were represented and participated in oral argument, and upon the entire record thus supplemented the matter has received careful consideration. It is contended on behalf of the railroad company that the refusal of its application will result in the abandonment of a proposed short transcontinental line of lower grade than any other existing line, the construction of which would afford the shippers lower rates and more expeditious handling of freight between the East and West, and, incidentally, through the construction of branch lines, supply the Salt River Valley, now irrigable under the Roosevelt Dam, the Globe mining district, and southwestern Colorado, with cheap transportation facilities, cheap fuel, and easy outlet for crops, minerals, and other commodities. It is contended by the reservoir applicants that a "high-line" location of the railroad, so placed as to avoid any interference with the utilization of the reservoir site, is entirely feasible, and can be constructed and operated at a comparatively small increase in cost over a railroad upon the right of way applied for. Such a "high line" has been surveyed by an engineer employed by reservoir applicants, but the findings of this engineer are controverted by the engineers of the company who contend that the additional cost of construction and operating the so-called high line will be prohibitive, and state that unless its application for right of way as applied for is approved the railroad will be compelled to abandon its purpose to construct through Gila Canyon. A number of examinations of the proposed reservoir and dam site have been made by engineers in the Government service and by engineers in the employ of private parties, and their reports as to the feasibility of the utilization of the site, the cost of construction, the available supply of water for storage therein, and the possibility of disposing of the accumulation of silt carried in the waters of the Gila differ quite materially. The reports also differ widely as to the amount of land which could be reclaimed through the construction of the proposed dam, but there is no doubt that there is a sufficient supply of water in the Gila available for storage and a sufficient area of fertile arid lands susceptible of irrigation from the reservoir to justify the utilization of the site if it be determined that a suitable foundation is present for the construction of a high dam which will create a reservoir of sufficient capacity to impound the flood waters of the Gila, and if a method of disposing of the silt carried in the water can be successfully worked out and the cost is not prohibitive. The project is, however, of such magnitude and involves such problems as to require that anyone undertaking the construction and utilization of the reservoir be assured of ample funds to carry the project to a successful conclusion. In the interest of the landowners, who must ultimately bear the burden of expense involved in the construction of any such project, the financial and engineering features of the project should be carefully worked out and assured before this department will be warranted in granting the use of the site. Reservoir sites wherein it is feasible or may be practicable to store the waters of the Gila for the irrigation of arid lands in its valley are not numerous, and it seems to be the opinion of many engineers of high standing that the San Carlos site is the best adapted to the purpose. A railroad constructed through the reservoir site upon the grade applied for by the Arizona Eastern would practically destroy the future use of this site for irrigation, and the department is by no means convinced that the additional cost of building and maintaining the railroad on a higher level, so as to avoid interference with the reservoir site, would make the construction of the railroad impracticable. Certainly the railroad should not be permitted to destroy the possibilities incident to the irrigation of the arid lands in the valley, including Indian lands, and the resulting agricultural prosperity of that portion of Arizona from which the railroad itself will ultimately derive a substantial benefit, especially where a change in the location of its line is reasonably possible. Accordingly, and in view of the foregoing, the application for right of way filed by the Arizona Eastern Railroad Co., August 3, 1909, is hereby rejected because of its interference with the San Carlos reservoir site, but this rejection will not preclude the railroad company from presenting another application for right of way for its road along the Gila at such an elevation as will avoid interference with the reservoir site. As hereinbefore indicated, there is no unanimity among the applicants for the right to use the reservoir site as the basis for an irrigation project. Jamison and the Gila River Water Co. approach the proposition as promotors or as persons whose interest lies in the profit to be derived from the sale of water rights to owners of land under the project. The water users' associations mentioned, apparently composed wholly of land owners, desire to secure an adequate and permanent supply of water for the irrigation of their arid lands, do not expect to derive a profit from the sale of water rights, but expect to reap a benefit from the water supply and the increased value of their lands when reclaimed from their arid condition. None of said applicants have, however, satisfactorily demonstrated to this department that they have made such investigation as demonstrates the feasibility of their plans either from an engineering or financial standpoint, nor that they control sufficient funds to successfully construct and operate the project if the right of way were granted. Upon the present record, therefore, the several applications for rights of way for the reservoir site are accordingly hereby rejected without prejudice to the right of said applicants, or any one of them, to hereafter submit a new application, supported by such showing as shall reasonably demonstrate the feasibility of the scheme and the capability of the applicants to carry the project to a successful conclusion. SAMUEL ADAMS, First Assistant Secretary. 36. Brief reference will be made to certain reports which were before the Secretary of the Interior at the time this decision was made, or were prepared subsequently. 37. Report of M. O. Leighton, 1910.-Under date of February 8, 1910, Mr. M. O. Leighton, chief hydrographer, United States Geological Survey, submitted a report on the feasibility of the San Carlos project, and the relative importance of the use of the reservoir site for a reservoir or by the railroad. This report treats chiefly of the question of water supply, and expresses the conclusion that "the project should not be planned on the basis of a greater actually cultivated acreage than the equivalent of the average of the five dry years (1900-1904). The average was 140,200 acre-feet, sufficient on the basis of 4.355 acre-feet per acre (at the dam; 3 feet at the land) to properly irrigate about 32,200 acres. If we allow a margin for nonproductive land of 25 per cent we have a project of 43,000 acres, which represents all that is really warranted under the records at hand." Mr. Leighton recommended that the railroad be permitted to build through the dam site on the low line. Mr Leighton's position in regard to the hold-over storage of water and the basis on which it is advisable to enter upon an irrigation project is not supported by the board's investigations. 38. Report of F. E. Herrmann.-The report of F. E. Herrmann in support of the railroad's application unduly emphasizes the difficulties and minimizes the advantages of the San Carlos project. He concludes that with a duty of 4 feet per acre, 6 feet will be required at the point of diversion and 74 feet at the dam; that the safe annual supply is but 166,000 acre-feet, and that accordingly "there may be reliably irrigated from the San Carlos reservoir about 24,000 acres of land near Florence." 39. Reports of J. H. Quinton.—Mr. Quinton, in his report of September 11, 1909, assumed 260,000 acre-feet of water as the annual supply that could be drawn from the San Carlos Reservoir, and estimated that with a loss of 25 per cent in transmission and a duty of 3 feet at the land, 65,000 acres could be irrigated, or allowing for waste land, 100,000 acres. 40. He realized that the reservoir formed by a dam of the height he was considering-150 feet above the stream bed-would soon have its capacity seriously reduced by silt. As to the quantity of silt carried, he had only Davis's estimate of 6,000 acre-feet (U. S. R. S., 1st A. R., p. 85) and the estimate of the 1905 board of Reclamation Service engineers, namely, 7,500 acre-feet. He assumed 5,000 acre-feet. Even with this assumption, the reservoir he was considering would be filled in 75 years and its usefulness impaired in 25 years. Realizing the necessity of desilting, Mr. Quinton prepared a plan, which is discussed elsewhere in this report, and under which he estimated that silt could be removed for 2 cents per cubic yard. For 100,000 acres of irrigated land this would make the charge for desilting $1.60 per acre. 41. Mr. Quinton pointed out that the Gila River silt has high value as a fertilizer, and his report contains valuable information as to the agricultural possibilities of the land irrigable under the San Carlos project. 42. In a later report (Mar. 12, 1910) Mr. Quinton reviewed Mr. Leighton's report, referred to above, and revised his former estimate of water available and land that could be irrigated. He estimated that 46,000 acres of land could receive a full supply of 3 acre-feet of water per acre (at the land) and 50,000 acres additional could receive 1 acre-feet, 1 acre-feet being sufficient for one crop. Mr. Quinton also considerably increased his estimate of the cost of the project. 43. In a third report, dated September 3, 1912, submitted after the Secretary's decision, Mr. Quinton estimated the area irrigable from a reservoir formed by a dam 162 feet high at 50,000 acres. He assumed that the United States would require for the Indian lands stored water for one-third of that acreage, leaving 33,000 acres. He pointed out that there is known to be a copious supply of underground water under the Gila River Indian Reservation, and suggested that the possibility of obtaining water within reasonable pumping lift under the land near Florence be investigated. 44. Report of J. D. Schuyler and H. Hawgood.-Messrs. Schuyler and Hawgood, in a report dated September 27, 1910, controvert Leighton's statement that the "factor which determines the feasibility or nonfeasibility of an irrigation project is not the abundant but the scarce years of water supply." They point out that "if the annual water supply of dry seasons * * * be used as a criterion for the feasibility of irrigation projects in southern California there are few which would be able to show a sufficient supply to be considered as successful and safe irrigation projects," and that in the Gila Valley the water supply in dry years may be supplemented by pumping from the underground supply, which appears to be more than ordinarily abundant. They show that following Leighton's treatment of the San Carlos storage the Roosevelt Reservoir would have been empty for months at a time during the years 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1904. They expose errors in Leighton's estimate of cost, and finally point out that the figure he assumed for depth of evaporation from the reservoir, 91 inches, is too great. 31679°-H. Doc. 791, 63-2-2 45. Report of J. D. Schuyler.-Mr. Schuyler, in a report of September 28, 1910, dealt with the "injustice which may be done in perpetuity to the present population and future inhabitants of the Gila River Valley" by the granting of the right of way for a railroad through the dam and reservoir sites; with the disadvantages (on the score of less abundant water supply) of reservoir sites above San Carlos; and with the water power that might be developed at the dam for pumping or other purposes. He states that "it is feasible and practicable to take care of the silt and maintain the serviceability of the reservoir," but he does not suggest a means. 46. Report of William H. Rosecrans.-Mr. William H. Rosecrans, consulting engineer, was employed by the Interior Department to report on the issues raised by the applicants for the dam and reservoir sites. His report on "Reservoir site at San Carlos" is dated 1912. He believes the railroad company's estimate of $680,190.94 as the cost of constructing a new line around the reservoir is ample; is unable to see any justice in the claim that the cost of operating the new line would be greater than that of the present line; and thinks that the railroad overestimates the cost of building through the box canyon on the high line, as compared with the cost of building on the low line. He recommended that the application of the railroad company for a right of way on the low line through the dam site be not granted, but that the railroad company be informed that application would be entertained for a right of way on the high line. 47. Mr. Rosecrans reported the 1899 dam-site location to be a poor one, because (1) depth to bedrock is too great, being about 78 feet; (2) a fault crosses the site; (3) the strata dip downstream. He adds that the quantity of silt carried by the Gila is so great that the reservoir would fill up in a short time, and desilting methods are too expensive to be practicable; and that "raising the dam is not feasible in this instance, as the dam will have to be built to the greatest practicable height in the first instance in order to impound sufficient water to begin to justify the expenditure. A point up the river a short distance from the present proposed location would make a feasible dam site where an absolutely safe structure could be built, although the cost of such a structure at the present value of irrigated land would be prohibitive." 48. Mr. Rosecrans discusses the question of available water supply and concludes that 9 years out of 10 there would be available from the San Carlos Reservoir 260,000 acre-feet. He allots 90,000 acrefeet to the Pima Indians; and after allowing for loss by evaporation from the reservoir, and by evaporation, seepage, etc., from the canals, and assuming a duty of 3 acre-feet, he arrives at 62,000 acres (gross) as the acreage that could be supplied if a private company should build the system. The cost of the project he estimated as about $60 per acre for this acreage. He considers this prohibitive, apart from the fact that the reservoir would be filled up with silt in 50 years. He therefore concludes that a private company would find it impossible to finance this project, and he recommends that the applications of Jamison and the Florence-Casa Grande Water Users' Association be disapproved. 49. Mr. Rosecrans entertains the idea (similar to that expressed by Mr. Schuyler) that "the silt problem may be satisfactorily solved within the next 10 years." On this account he recommends that the San Carlos Reservoir site be retained. 50. Under date of January 4, 1912, Mr. Rosecrans submitted a report on "Irrigation of the Pima Indian Reservation, Gila River Valley, Ariz." In this he described the combined flood-water and pumping system recently installed on the north side of the Gila opposite Sacaton. The flood ditch is 10 miles long and has a capacity of 400 second-feet. There are eight wells, each equipped with electric pump and capable of furnishing 6 second-feet per well. Connecting the wells is a ditch having a capacity of 80 second-feet; it is approximately parallel to the flood-water ditch and just below it. 51. Mr. Rosecrans estimates that 12,000 acres can be irrigated from the wells and flood water. The cost of operation of the plant he estimates at $2 per acre per year, not including maintenance of the ditches. 52. This system was constructed with funds appropriated in the acts of 53. The electric power for driving the pumps is obtained from the Salt River project. 54. Report of J. D. Schuyler.-Under date of December 5, 1911, Mr. J. D. Schuyler submitted a report on the "Water Supply and Proposed Irrigation Works of the Pinal Mutual Irrigation Co., of Florence, Ariz." The following extracts are made from that report: The Pinal Mutual Water Co. was incorporated March 29, 1911, by the owners of land and water rights under the Florence canal, for the purpose of supplying themselves with water for irrigation, which they could no longer obtain from the Florence canal by reason of its financial and physical failure and collapse as an irrigation system. This they have undertaken to do by building a canal of improved gradient and dimensions, practically parallel with the Florence canal for 20 miles, beginning a half mile or so above the old Florence canal headgate, and some eight feet higher in elevation, by erecting a substantial diverting dam which will perform its functions at all times whenever there is water flowing. The Florence canal is the largest ditch built by white settlers on public lands in the valley outside the Indian reservation. It was begun in 1887 by the Florence Canal & Land Co., who, after completing about 10 miles of canal at a cost of about $60,000, sold their franchise and all rights and property to the Florence Canal Co., who finished it in 1888, a total distance of about 50 miles. On the McClellan wash, some 22 miles from the head, they built the long earth dam or dike across the wash which forms a reservoir of 1,800 acres area, and about 15,000 acre-feet capacity, which is known as the Picacho Reservoir. This work was paid for from the proceeds of bonds to the amount of $300,000 sold at 70 cents on the dollar. This sum of $210,000 realized was used to complete the canal and reservoir, the latter alone having cost $125,000. From the head to the Picacho Reservoir, on McClellan wash, the canal was built on specifications calling for an excavation of 25 feet at the bottom, sides sloping 1:1, and having a center depth of 64 feet, with an average fall of 2 feet per mile. Below the reservoir it was extended of smaller dimensions some 28 miles farther, crossing the Southern Pacific Railroad 12 miles from the reservoir. Subsequently, on April 16, 1894, the bondholders organized a new corporation, called the Casa Grande Canal Co., for the sole purpose of handling the property, which |