The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-04
BELONGS TO CALIFORNIA,
Valuable Lands and Improve
mentS in the Town of
Yuma, AriZ.
WORTH a MILLION DOLLARS
The Acknowledgement VIII Assert
the States Rights In the
Premises.

w. f. Fitzgerald, Attorney-General of
California, has examined voluminous doc.
uments recently placed in his possession
and has decided to take steps necessary to
collect taxes and exercise State sovereignty
over tract of 5000 acres of California land
which is claimed by the Territory OF Ari-
iona.
Many buildings in the business quarter
OF the town of Yuma are situated on this
land. The extensive buildings of the ter
rltorlal penltentlary are on the soil of Cali
tornla. So are the Southern Pacific Rail-
road shops, steam boat landing, the Yuma
Water and Light Company's pumping
works, the Yuma electric plant and about
one-third of the business section of the
city. The Yuma property within the linn
Its OF California is valued at 81 ,000, 600. The
buildings on the line of Modesti's store and
north of it are really in San Diego County
of this State.
From the organization of the California
state Government until 1873 the taxes
were collected by San Diego County, and
the authority of California was fully
recognized. In 1873 the county officers
appointed to collect personal property and
poll-taXes were driven out of the town by
mob, and since then San Diego has not
attempted to assess property or bring the
town under California's jurisdiction.
Colonel Chalmers Scott of San Diego is
familiar with the boundary lines and
quite well posted regarding the merits of
the dispute. He served as County Clerk of
San Diego when residents in Yuma on
both sides of the Colorado River voted in
California and paid taxes to this State.
n an interview yesterday Colonel Scott
SAID: Arizona exercises sovereignty over
5000 acres of land in California, under de-
n G1n IN oT16 hxy hri1 I'd
case wherein California was not repre-
sented. In fact it was pretended case
put up for the special purpose of getting a
decision one way. The record of SURVEYS
Is so clear and the boundary lines are so
distinctly defined and stated in the Guada-
lupe Hldalgo treaty that there can be no
doubt that Arizona is the trespasser. I
have frequently retraced the lines, and
what is more important now as bearing on
the case is the fact that the boundary line
has been remarked within the last few
months by joint commission of the
United States and Mexico. In the work
of the commission Colonel Barlow, United
States engineer, represented our Govern
ment and Colonel Blanco of the Mexican
engineers the Government of Mexico.
They found the initial point and the mon
uments OF the survey in the city of Yuma,
on the line established in 1852.
"In order that the merits of the con-
IioNelSS may De com prenenueu, reference
should be made to article 8 of the Guada-
lupe Hidalgo treaty, which defined the
boundaries. The boundary line, after fol-
lowing up the Rio Grande to point above
Ell Paso, runs west to the western bound
airy of New Mexico; thence northerly until
it intersects the first or nearest branch of
the ella; thence down the middle of said
branch, and up the said river until it
empties into the Rio Colorado; thence
across the Rio Colorado following the
division line between Upper and Lower
California to the Pacific Ocean. And in
order to preclude all difficulty in tracing
upon the ground the limit separating Up
per from Lower California, it is agreed
that the said limit shall consist of a
straight line drawn from the middle of the
Rio ella where it empties into the Colo
RADIO to point on the coast of the Pacific
Ocean distant one marine league due south
of the southernmost port of San Diego
according to Panlaja's chart)."
The straight line so run, SO clearly es-
tablished by surveys and so fully recog-
nized by treaty. includes in California a
strip of 5000 acres south of the Colorado,
where the river runs east and west for
few miles near Yuma.
In 1857, under Colonel John G. Hays,
United States Surveyor General. township
Is south, range q and % east of San Ber-
nardino meridian, was subd1vided and
the subdivision line carried across the
river to the boundary line. ''But for some
unknoH reason" said Colonel Scott, "the
subdivisions on the opposite side of the
Colorado River were scratched out on the
official maps of the Surveyor-General's
Office
On the day that California was admitted
to the Union, September 9, 1850, Congress
passed the organic act creating the Terri
tory of New Mexico. including then Ari-
IONA north of the ella, but section Is of
that organic act of New Mexico suspended
the provisions of the act until dispute
with Texas as to the eastern boundary of
New Mexico should be settled, which was
really not settled until after 1874, if settled
to the strip south of the Colorado River
cannot now be disputed.
Arizona sets up a claim, under a mis-
reading OF the Gadsden purchase (Gadsden
treaty, December 80, 1859, but this treaty
retains the dividing line between Upper
and Lower California as then established
The boundary lines of California, as es-
tabllshed by the first constitution at Mon
terey and repeated word for wo-d in the
second constitution conform to t re Guada-
lupe Hidalgo treaty. Under our State con-
stitution one-third of the town of Yuma is
In California. 1t may be true that, &C
cordlng to geographical situation, the
land on that side of the Colorado belongs
to Arizona, but not according to official
survey of boundary lines under the treaty
of original acquisition.
The controversy may be settled in the
united, States courts or joint commission
representing California and Arizona NAV
agree on terms of settlement.