Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-04-07
MUST BE DEFEATED
The Proposed international Dam at
Ell Paso Would Ruin the
Mesilla Valley.
MEASURE BEFORE CONGRESS
A Sand Bar Would Be Formed Across the
Rio Grande That in Years Of High
Water Would Flood the
LAM.

A correspondent of the Rio Granue
Republican writes as follows:
THE question is coming on for a
showdown whether the Mesilla valley is
to be or not to be. 1t is stated that Sen
ator Culberson and Representative
Stephens will very oon introduce SIM
ultaneously in their respective houses
of congress Identical bills providing for
the international dam at Ell Paso, ETC.,
at an expense of considerable over
SO, 900. 900.
TT is stated that Secretary Hay and
Attorney General Griggs rave both eX-
I pressed themselves as being in favor of
| the bill. And that Chairman Hit, of
| Illinois, chairman of the committee on
| foreign affairs, has intimated strongly
that he and his committee will be guild
| ed in their disposition of the bill by the
secretary of state and attorney general.
| That the bill, when introduced in the
house, will go to Mr.. Hits committee,
| when it is about certain to be reported
favorably and promptly. That in the
| senate the project has many friends,
| and no opposition is anticipated. If the
| people of this valley shall sit down and
do nothing there is a grand prospect for
General Mills and a few others to pull
| Uncle Sans leg in good shape. This
part Of it, we as individuals, could get
| along with If the rest of the country
-I..1 ID - T1,,A ln,,n fo nnf tho
point that most interests the people of
| this valley. We all know that 1t Is only
from 5 to Is feet to water through the
| valley. The proposition is to sink down
to bed rock just above the Southern
| Pacific bridge and form a lake to extend
| from there to lear Anthony, condemn
| this land and pay for it. Now, If that
| would be the only land which the reser-
| voir would injure, that could be got
along with, but all who know the Rio
Grande have al least serious doubts as
to that being the only land which would
| be injured. The injury to the land above
| the surveyed lake would be from two
causes:
"First, at the delta of the lake, that
is, where the river discharged itself in
to the lake, there would, after the lake
| should once fill, form a sandbar consid-
| erably higher than the other land, and
in a semi-circle, making a well-defined
lake shore, and sufficient to back any
| flood waters back for ten miles: and
l .Ia,,1I +1,o,o ~ &c &C. Ito h1n tn nnn1a
| any year, such floods as we had in 1884
1885 and 1891, about all of the land on
| each side of the river from the Earl
ham bridge down, would be under wa
ter for some two months. at least suffi-
| GENTLY long to kill anything smaller
than a grown cottonwood tree.
"Some who have never experienced a
rise in the Rio Grande may doubt this,
] but any one who lived in the lower part
| of the valley in either of the years
| named will not doubt it, when they re-
member that in those years, with moth
| ing but the FL Paso canon to impede
the water. the whole country from a
| mile above Brunswick was under wa
ter for a month at a time.
"Then. again, the stopping Of the un-
lerfow is bound to bring the underflow
I'd the surface throughout the whole
valley, and will make the whole valley
a worthless swamp just as sure as the
lake shall be filled.
1--WE all know hat underneath our
best lands are sufficient deposits of al
kali. If brought to the surface, to ruin
the land the under1ow, if forced up.
brings along with it. Will the people of
the valley stand by and see this done
without entering a protest?
when the water of the lake shall
naturally cover the land the govcrn-
ment will pay some price for the land,
but land that is ruined by occasional
overflows and by seepage it will be a
long day before the government viii
pay for it. If the dam is built-El Paso
people make a big kick against building
a dam where it would do no injury
but must have one located to ruin this
valley. I don't blame them for 1t, but
blame ourselves, If we don't make our
strongest fight against it. Without a
senator or congressman this territory
can prevent this great wrong being
done if the people Of the territory will
do the right thing"