El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-07-03

| uuucr Tue war anu interior departments
of the government, and also reports o.
| officers especially detailed to investi-
gate the feasibility of utilizing the
| river for navigation. and it's capa bill
| ties for reservoirs aud irrigation.
1t will be observed that in the origin
al bill it was not charged that the Rio
| Ora nde is a navigable river above
Ell PasO but charged that the river is
navigable below Ell Paso and that de-
fendant's proposed dam Q25 miles
abOve) will destroy the river as a
stream, deminish the volume of water
below and materially affects its navig-
ability. The amended bill charges that
the river is navigable up as far as Ro-
ma, a short distance above the Gulf of
Mexico, and is susceptible of navigation
and has been navigated from Roma to
a point $50 miles below Ell Paso pre-
sidio del Norte) where the falls and
rapid interrupt navigation, and
that the river above falls is suscepti BILE
OF navigation up to La Joya, above
Elephant Butte; the bill closes this
part with an allegation that the river
is navigable and susceptible of being
navigated as aforesaid for carrying on
commerce between the territory of
New Mexico, the state of Texas and
the republic of Mexico.
The course of the Rio Grande in
New Mexico is through rocky canons,
and sandy valleys; in the valleys it
banks, over fine, light sandy soil of
great depth; bars are continually form
ing, passing away and reforming, and
the quicksands in the bed of the stream
and along its margin are perilous TO
life. The fall is from four to 80 feet
to the mile ard the change in its course
are rapid, continual and often radical;
=, g. 7 x;&l
made by its progress in different places
stances were shown where the river
was actually utilized for the convey
ance of mercb andise, and these were
of timbers: one of these instances
occurred in 1858 or 1859 when a
raft was sent down from Canutillo to
Ell PasO, distance of II miles; and
the other recently when some telegraph
poles were hoated from La Joya
"short distance" 'The water of the
ern New Mexico is heavily loaded
with silt. The channel of the river
through those valleys is usually chok-
ed w tn saud and in times of law water
the stream divides into a number of
minor channels; andapparently large
percentage of the water is 10 it in these
great deposits of fine material" ~
annual Rept. Geol. Sur. 2O4.) "F'rom
Bernalillo n. NJ, to Fort Hancock
Tex. the Rio Grande is in the highest
d gee spasmodic, with immense
floods during few weeks of the year
and small stream during the remain
der of it, 90 Annual Rept. Geolog.
Sur. p. 99). From personal observe
tion, | know that these seasons of flood
and drOuth lin RIO Graude) were of
d bout the same character 80 years ago."
Maj. Anson Mills, 10 U. S. Cav. Rept.
S &c. Com. Sen. Vols. 3 and 1, o. 39).
But what is of more Importance we
have reports OF officials upon the ex-
plOratiOn of the river made under di-
rections of the government for the spe-
cial purpose OF considering its navign
bility From these it appears: "The
stream is MT now navigabe, and it
cannot be made SO by an open channel
improvement. An accurate survey and
hydrOmetric observations would be
necessary to determine positively
vb ether an improvement by locks and
iams could be made or not, but the
heavy fall of the river, the lowness of
It's banks. and the small discharge, do
not encourage the BELIEF that such i'm
provement would be financially, even if
physically practicable. Certainly there
IS ne public interest which would justi-
" The expenditure of the many mil
lions OF dollars which such an improve
nent would involve. The irrigation
)f the valley is matter in which the
are now deeply interested,
while the possible navigation of the
liver receives little or no attention
from them. ln my judgment the
stream is not worthy of Improvement
oy the general governments" (Reps. of
. H. Ernst, Maj of Engnrs. to Secre-
Iary Of War, 1881. Again, 81 consider
the construction not only OF an open
river channel, but of any navigable
channel to be impracticable. ***Dur-
ing the greater part of the year, when
the river is low. the discharge would be
Insu tticient to supply any navigable
channel, except perhaps narrow canal
With locks, the construction eff which
on d foundation of sand, in places forty
feet deep, would be financially If not
physically impractical BILE" Rept. of
Gerald BagnalI, Asst. Engnr. to Secty,
Of War, 1889.
The navigability of a river does
not depend upon its suscep-it
bil.ty of being so improved by high en-
giueeriug skill aud the expenditure of
vast sums of money, but upon it's natu-
al present conditions. In Daniel Ball
lU Wallace 557 the supreme court SAYS:
Those rivers must be regarded as
puUllC udN u dUlc rivers IN law which
are navigable in fact, and they are
navigable in fact when they are used
or are susceptible OF being used in
their ordinary condition. as highways
for commerce over which trade and
travel are or may be conducted in the
customary modes of trade and travel
on water. In the Montlllo 20 Wal
lace 43l the court say: "If it be cap
able In its natural STATE of being used
for purposes of commerce no matter in
what mode that commerce may be con-
iucted, it is navigable in fact and be-
COME $ public river or highway. n
The vital and essential point is wheth-
tner the natural navigation of the riv-
ar Is SUCH that affords channel for
useful commerce." Tne court appro-
yes the language of Chief Justice
5naw in u Pickering 344 who said: "In
order to give 1t the character of nav
gable sLream it must be generally
lad commonly useful to some trade or
,grlculture. See also Morrison VS.. |
coleman Gala > l.. II. A. 334. OIL
course it neeu not be peren ally navig-
81.