The Imperial press., 1905-08-26
UNCALLED FOR DELAY
DilatOriness in Talking Imperial Re-Survey Serious Handicap to our People

Generals office regarding the progress, Ii any, that Is being made in regard to the Imperial re-survey. There is scarcely any other one matter that more vitally concerns the people of this Valley than this Ie-survey. Going as it does, to the very root of our land titles, no other thing needs attention more promptly nor seems to be more unjusJlhably delayed.
 The survey of tDis Valley, made in 1856 by the United States government was such a piece of botching and so erroneous and fradulent, that when the Imperial Land Company, in 1900, took l the government field notes and tried to retrace the lines of the former survey, it was impossible for them to do so. The government survey of 1856 could not be found and the few places where witness trees remained, i'll many cases did not tally with the description writ ten In the field notes, either as to dis tance or direction. So fragrant was this survey that 1t was abandoned without an effort being made by the | government to retrace 1t.
 Meantime, correct survey as to distance and directions was made of the Imperial Valley by the Imperial Land Company and the lands entered in the Los Angeles Land Office and described by the numbers given them in this survey. It was discovered early Tn 1900 that the government survey was erroneous and fradulent. Mir. G. w.. BothWell surveying OH the Eastside made the discovery that there was d rather uniform error in the distance given in the old field notes as the dis tance from the old ocean beach to the Salton channel. This would indicate that perhaps this distance was measured i'll one instance and guessed at Ill all tle rest for neither the ocean beach line noI the river channel has moved much since 1856. Mir. BothWell laid out his townships to correspond with this error and crowded all the excess land to tie north and west Of the town ships thereby putting every township into trouble.
 The Imperial Land Company made no allowance for excess land, so 1t was all thrown together in d strip two miles wide and lays between the survey made by them and that made by Boutwell,. After repeatad efforts to have the Gen eral Land Office take mp the matter had failed, Congress was appealed to and on July l, 1902, enacted law pro- viding for the re-surveY of this Valley. Since then the matter has been allowed to drag in the Surveyor-Generals Office and only appears to have received attention spasmodicalIy. After the passage of the law nothing was heard of the matter for one year. Then in the summer of 1908 Mr. Amzi Hender- son got the contract to run out the township lines. In December 1903 Mir. Henderson and his assistants began this work, which they completed iu February 1901. They then went away and nothing further was heard of it or them until in December 1904, the Ex- aminer of Surveys appeared on the scene to check up the work of Mr.
 Henderson, After said examiner of surveys went away no more was heard of the matter till in May, last, when an advertisement was posted calling for bids to be submitted before June seven, for the work of running 2860 miles of subdivision lines, and completing this long delayed, much neglected and very urgent job.
 The successful bidder must be ready. so the advertisement read, to furnish bond and close contract within thirty days, or before July :, and complete work before May l, 1906. And there the matter seems to rest.
 Meantime all business is held back, it is impossible to get title to land, the Uuited States Land Office cannot act and matters are at a standstil waiting on the ridiculous methods prevailing in the surveying department.
 As no patents can be had to lands nor any titles perfected till the survey is completed 1t is impossible for our peo- pie to induce capital to invest or to borrow money except on personal security. This is a most serious handi- i cap.
 Our great Valley, lying ready for tillage, requires d certain amount of capital for it's development and when ! the settler is unable to provide it him. self, he is compelled to delay his inn provements and get along the best he l can. This is not only a severe hard ! ship on our most worthy settlers, but i 1t is drawback to the development of the Valley: But for the unconscious bie delay in making this survey and l correcting our land numbers, our peo- pie could complete title to their lands and be able to borrow the means to quickly put their ranches in a high state of production.
 We hope the Surveyor-General may be moved to take compassion on a 1 long suffering people or that Teddy Roosevelt will fira him and mt I'm ono