New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-07
TOPICS IN CALIFORNIA.
IRRIGATIoN-THE SAN FRANCISCO POST
oFFICE-GOLD DEPOSITS.
rBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE

OFFICE-GOLD DEPOSITS.
TBY TELEGRAPH THE IkIBUSE-f
San Francisco, June 6-"The Chronicle" will
publish on Sunday an exhaustive summary of the
progress made in irrigation enterprise in Cali
fornia, with particular reference TO the workings
of the Wright law. Under this law adopted four
years ago, owners Of land requiring irrigation from
n common source arc authorized to form irriga-
ton districts, to which are given the powers OF
municipal corporations. These districts may con-
denim water-right and right of way consuuc"
canals and reservoirs and issue bonds 10 pay ioi
the same, the bonds TO have twenty years "
run, TO pay per cent interest semi-annuaiiy' anu
they are to be first lien upon the lands In t,ie
district. The Supreme Court has amrnieo inc
constitutionalty Of this law In four dnerenf cases.
and there is no longer doubt upon any point
Under the Act thirty districts have neen organ
lied with an area of over 1000 900 acres, 81 OOO
900 in bonds have been voted and about ,Ooo'ooo
of bonds have been sold exchanged for water
rights. and purchasers have been found here in
the East and in Europe. The average cost OF
putting water on lands in districts already organ
lied is a little over Ss an acre. Without water
most of the land is worth no more than $40 or
SIS an acre. With water its value is increased
at once from 100 to 500 per cent. Actual IN
stances might be quoted where lands that were
dry could not be sold for more than SO or "a an
acre. vet soon as water was obtained uney iounu
eager purchasers at 100 and even $500 an acre
From these facts IL is argued that the bonds OF
irrigation districts make unsurpassed security and
letters are published from such men as Z. r.
Huntington and Others. and interviews are had
with q large number of men and bankers of San
Francisco and the interior in which the bonds are
highly inCorsed This district system of California
certainly solves the problem of the reclamation
of the arid lands of the West without Government
al assistance other than in the of necessary
laws.
Discussion over postofice site for San Fran
cisco will probably end as did the negotiations
for a city cemetery for harbor defence purposes.
A number of property Owners who had bought
land in one corner of the cemetery wanted an
exorbitant price, while the city officials were not
modest in their demands. The result was that the
Government has ordered condemnation suits
brought and will pay what the land is appraised
at The same procedure ought to be followed in
occurring a postoffice site The city would have had
n good new postoffce now had it not been for the
warfare between rival real estate dealers Each
site is doomed by coterie, and despite Mr.. Wanna
makers personal efforts a choice of a site seems
as far off ever.
The State Supreme Court this week rendered
decision which has caused much excitement among
stock brokers. 1t was that a customer whose
margins have been wiped out cannot be forced
TO pay stock brokers for the depreciation of his
stock as such claim on the part of broker
violates a provision Of the State constitution
5pecially devised to check stock speculation. The
brokers declare that this ruling must be reversed,
as it bears unjlstly upon them. Under it they
cannot afford to carry the stock for half its value,
as they have been accustomed to do. One result
Of the decision has been TO give the bears another
opportunity to break down Comstock shares All
the mines are looking better than they have
done FOR months yet prices drop in proportion as
the ore increases in value.
The heavy hand of c. P. Huntington has been
cit again in the Southern Pacific Companys Of
fees this week, when Superintendent Bassett of
the Coast Division handed in his resignation
When Mr. Huntington was out here last he de-
termined to merge the Coast Division into the
regular company and abolish the separate Of
ficals who had had charge of the road for twenty
wears. Mr. Bassett was ordered to turn over his
road to General Manager Towne and report to the
latter official for duty. AS he had been prac-
tically independent all these years, he could not
stand the new orders, SO he resigned. Vice-Presi-
dent Crocker, in accepting his resignation, dwelt
upon Mr.. Bassetts good service, he having kept
the operating expenses down to forty-six per cent
Two hundred men will he put at work next
week on the girls dormitOry building for the
Stanford University, at Palo Alto The struc-
ture will be of concrete and is to be finished next
September which will permit girls to enter the
University one year earlier than was expected.
The Yosemite Valley Commission this week are
considering plans for making an esplanade along
the MERGED River and restoring the original ap
pearance of the valley by removing underbrush.
One of the largest irrigation projects in the
State was begun this week by the purchase Of
three reservoir sites in the San Bernardino Noun
tains. The watershed is larger than that of the
Bear Valley Company, and it is expected that the
reservoirs will irrgate l2O, 600 acres lying between
San Bernardino, Pomona and Chino All this re-
gon is adapted to citrus fruits Water is gained
from Deep Creek, the principal tributary of the
Mojave River The company is known as the
Arrowhead Irrigation Company, and is composed
of Cincinnati capitalists.
Fresh reports of valuable ore deposits came this
week from the Montgomery mine in the Pahrump
Valley in Southwestern Nevada. A pocket of
coarse gold was found which yielded over $4,000,
while all the in the vicinity is rich in gold.
Some experts declare that this will be a second
Comstock lode: but the place cannot be large
camp till transportation facilities are improved.
The discoverer of the mines fancies he has struck
the old BreyfOgle mine, which for more than
twenty years has remained among the tabled lost
mines of the desert.
letter from an officer of the revenue cutter
Bear shows that Captain IIealey made remark
able trip last month TO Alaska. In six weeks he
went over 5000 miles, made sixteen anchorages
at different places arrested an Indian murderer
secured the country for ten witnesses who were
taken to Sitka and rescued sixteen shipwrecled
seamen. Usually such an expedition would have
consumed the whole summer: hut Healey did not
stop for raging snow storms, and broke the record
for quick work in the Arctic regions One of the