El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-05

! company to be instituted as the quick
8 est way of definitely proving in coul
g of law that the Rio Grande river is mo-
D in New Mexico, or western Texas, prat
D tically, legally, or in any posi- bic sense
3 q navigahle stream. When the cOur
decides, as it must in face Of the wei
known facts of the case, that the Ri
that the Rio Grande should be unde
joint control, falls through, and like
, wise the international dam project; q
! manifestly the United States cannot b.
expected to provide S., 100000 or $6,
600 900 for an international dam at E
Paso, in order to supply the Mexican
farmers on the Mexican side of the riv
er with water for the irrigation of theil
lands, when the New Mexican company
can provide, for comparatively speak
ing small amount, as much water as the
Mexican farmers may be entitled to-
thereby making good the United States,
moral and legal obligation under her
treaty with Mexico.
To anyone familiar with the chsrac-
teristics of the Rio Grande, this is the
only possible explanation of the action
that has been instituted against the
New Mexican company, unless it is
admitted that the United States gov
eminent is acting in bad faith, and in
tends to out of hand confiscate the New
Mexican company's property, if it can,
by setting up false claim that the
river is legally navigable, obtain q YER
dict against the company. Fortunate
ly for our national reputation for hon
esty, the constitution of the United
States, as construed by the supreme
court, will, if the more creditable view
as to the motive of the action against
the company is misplaced, protect the
company and it's English financial sup
porters from spoilation. The fran
chise rights of the New Mexican COM
pany, legally acquired under the laws
of the territory, msy not be invalidat-
ed or impaired, and the company's
right to impound and appropriate the
flood waters of the Rio Grande is dou-
bly, secured, under the territorial laws
of New Mexico, and under the federal
statutes, by the direct approval of the
late secretary of the interior, who, by
his official approval of the plans and
specifications fled in accordance with
the federal laws at Washington by the
New Mexican company, has, as q rep
resentative of the United States gov
eminent, conceded to the company the
right to impound and appropriate the
flood waters of the Rio Grande. Meth
err by treaty nor by direct act of con-
gress may the company's rights be in
validated, the supreme court having
expressly declared that no act of con-
gress may be made retrospective In its
application so far as vested rights are
concerned.
Aside from the moral, legal, and
political aspect of this particular case.
nitude and of such vital moment to the
whole of the irrigation interests
the west, that every honest
man in the land who values the pros
perity and honorable reputation of his
country, will rally to the support of
what is right aud reputable in the pre-
misses. One and all will join in pro-
tecting from wanton misinterpretation
the laws upon which the prosperity of
the arid states SO largely depend. The
rights of two thirds of the irrigation
companies in the United States are
forfeited if the Rio Grande is declared
to be legallya navigable river. The
same principle must apply to all tor
rental rivers in the United States
capable of floating a log or two down
stream during the flood season,
though, like the Rio Grande, they
may be nearly dry mine months in the |
year.
However, there is not the slightest
possibility of the Rio Grande being de- |
clared navigable, legally or otherwise.
The thing is absurd on the face of it. |
No boat of any description has ever |
passed up the river above Ell Paso |
and no one has ever made business |
of floating timber down the |
stream. The Rio Grande,
although q mighty torrent during the
flood season from the melting snow of
the Rocky mountains of Colorado and
New Mexico, goes nearly dry almost
every summer, and when flowing at
it's highest, carries 80 much silt, and is
so full of rapids and shifting sand bars,
that no form of craft could possible
navigate it's rushing, turbulent waters.
A special committee of the senate
went fully into the question in 1888,
and Colonel Arson Mills of the United
states government boundary commits
sion, who has latterly become one of
the principal supporters of
the international dam schemers' in
trigue, and who has been largely in
strumental in instigating the attack
upon the New Mexican company stated
in unm istakable terms in his report
to congress 10th December, 1881 that