El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-06-03
THAT DAM INJUNCTION.
SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE
BILL FOR INJUNCTION.
A Storm of Indignation Uttered by he
New Mexicans, who Need Dams and
Irrigation in Their Business.

"a A Storm of Indignation Uttered by 1
9 New Mexicans, who Need Dams and
d Irrigation in Their Business
Old residents of New Mexico wi
read the testimony as to the navigab i
e ity of the Rio Grande above Ell Pas
= with much injere ST. Perhaps it wOul
: | be a good plan for the dam people t
= | wait until about the end of July ant
y then insist that the applicants for th
Injunction furni-h ocular demOust~ a
, tion as to the navigabilify OF the river
. It is pretty certain that the navigator
: would have dusty time of it.-Eagl e
5 The people of New Mexico and AT
t torney General McKenna do rot agree
upon the question OF constructing dam:
in the beds of the Rio Grande. The
: attorney general asserts that the Rio
: Grande in New Mexico is a uavigable
stream, but the people know better
To be sure, with the expenditure of a
couple of hundreds of millions of dol
lars and 80 years of time the Rio
Grande may be made navigable, but
that is not the question at issue.-New
Mexican.
| WHAT THE BILL FOR INJUNCTION AL
LEGES.
1t recites tha1 the Rio Grande Dam
| and Irrigation company Is an English
| corpora ton, chartered in LONDON for
the purpose as set forth in its printed
| prospectus, Of constructing at Elephant
| Butte, N. M, the largest irr cation
| rese vOir in the world and monopoliZ-
| ing by appropriating to its exclusive
| dse IL the waters in the Rio Graude.
This, the attorney general holds, is
contrary to the laws of the I'm
States and constitutes a violation of
this country's treaty with Mexico. II
is further set forth In the bill that con-
gress and the secretary of war. as the
custodian of ali Davigab BILE streams
have recogp ized it as a fact that the
Rio Graude Ia navieaDle at Ell Paso
and as far as 200 miles south 10 the
mouth of the Mexican CuuchO. and by
proper government expenditure eau be !
made nav gable 100 miles above Ell Pa
so, to Joint at or near the projected |
dam sites. Thus the government pr8ys |
the court to grant forth with a tempo |
rary restraining order and to fix the |
second Monday in June as the date for
hearing arguments as TO whether the |
Injunction shall be made permanent.
A hsor bling interest has been aroused
in the proceedings in the case, for aside
from the vested property rights involv-
ed. the question of the right of Ameri-
can citizens in Colorado, New Mexico
and western Texas to appropriate aud
use the waters of the Rio Grande and
its tributaries is brought squarely 10
an issue. Whatever the result of this
case may be, it is apparent that an sp-
peal will be made to congress. AL
ready it is sug geSted that congress
should provide some unquestioned au-
-hOrity of law by which the storm OF
Hood waters in the Rio Granje may be ;
ard stored in adjacent :
'atchmeut basins for use during tue
period when the Rio Gfande river bed 5
s practically barre waste OF sand
between Albuquerque and Ell PasO,
which is usually the case annually :
between July ana October.
JIMIUS REVIEWS
THE SITUATION IN THE OPTIC.
At Silver CRY, Judge Bantz has is .
ued an order grantIak a temporary |
UjuncLion on beha of the United y
states against the Rio GrAnde Dam
nj irrigation company. Such an or l
Ter has been applied for by Assist
mt United States At orney George p :
Honey, acting under Instructions from .
he depar ment of justice. The bill of Z
Injunction is a very technical inssru-
tent, formidable in its legal phraseo- >
Ogy and drawn with the greatest re- Il
pect for detail under the personal I
supervision OF Solicitor General Nc I
Aenna. 1t reclteS that the RIO Graude !
Dam and Irrigation company is an
English corporation, duly chartered in d
london, the printed prospe1 tus Of
which makes public announcement o
hat it proposes to construct a series of ;
ans aero. the Rio Grand ia south p
IN New Mexico and enjoy a monopoly e
+ ali such waters by APP jropriating Ut
ONE to lis exclusive u.s.. AS congress, a
he declar at on runs, and the secretary T.
war have recognized the Rio Gran j
e a. Il navlga bic stream at Ell PaSO. g
nd one which may be readily made u
avlgable as far north as old Fort Sell
en-, and other points where these pro W
9cted dams are to be bull, the bill of q
ljuaction asks for restraining order 81
'om the court to The end that exist 81
lg vested rights shall be protected p
nd the UDited States laws and the >
'e4ty with Mexico shall not b viola = II
d. Argument as to making the re p
order perpetual will, it is o.
lggesGed by the department of JUS o.
ce, be heard by Judge BanIz on June OF
18th. e
Then the fur will fly. This will give Ia
.awyer Hawkins chance to show his o.
and at international law, domestic Is
alter rights foreign corporate powers Is
l monopo izing public waters, etc W
nat Will prove Immensely entertaining u
} the people along the Rio Grand Sc
nd its tributaries. Momentous and b.
lr reaching questio is are involved in g
lie jud cial proceedings thus initiated
y the United States authorities. If it N
true as alleged tina this corporation 9
foreign concern that proposes to p
the irrigation and IN
omestic water supply of the Rio q
raude for distance of l2O miles IL
Oove Ell Paso. why of course THAI II
uts very different face on tae affa l. q o.
5 championed IN the press by friends h
fair play in general and Law, er m
awkins, the corporation attorney. in ut
irticular. The serious part about it 81
i is that we who hibernate along the !,
anks of the R.o Grande AMI its trio. NJ
taries IN New Mexico, Colorado and a.
estern Texas may have our just rights nj
entangled in the muss with this al u
ged foreign corporation that will I'd
axe up after while that we have no W
ghts whatever, and that all these ui
atcrs must be left untouched by lie
mericau citizens to run to waSta fo,. pr