The Mena weekly star., 1906-10-11
THE SALT TON SEA DAMAGE
Interesting Complication May Arise When Mexico and United States
 Fix Responsibility.
TRYING TO DIVERT COLORADO RIVER
Diplomatic Representations Have Been Suspended and Both Governments arc Bending Every Effort to Cheek the flow of Water-4O0 square Miles Covered and 2.OO0 Threatened.


 of waier-40o sauare Miles Covered and 5000 Threatened.
 Washington, Oct 10.-Who is respon' sible for the creation of the Salton Sea in Southern California, which already covers an area of 400 square miles and l threatens to spread over 2.000 square miles if some means of diverting ths 1 Colorado river cannot be devised.
 This question is perplexing Mexican and American diplomatists, but for the time being diplomatic representa- tions have been suspended and both the United States and Mexico are bending every effort to check the river which has been accidentlly turned from it's course through the efforts of the California Development company to irrigate lands in Northern Mexico and Southern California
 Interesting complications of an in- ternational nature are threatened when the two governments attempt to settle their differences and make good the damage which has been wrought by diverting the Colorado from it's old channel The California Development company originally tapped the river below Yuma. Ariz., and carried water from Arizona through canal into Northern Mexico and back into great valley in Southern California In 1904, it was found that this canal was inadequate to supply water required for the irri- gation project and Mexican corpora ton, controlled by the California Development company was authorized by Mexico to take water from the Colorado in Mexico, short distance south of Yuma. The irrigation canal was only one-fourth of a mile from the river at the point In Mexico where bank of the river connecting with the great irrigation canal No gates were provided and with the high water Of 1905 the Colorado river was diverted from its channel. cut away it's bank, and went raging into the lowlands in California far below sea level. Re- peated attempts have been made to turn the river back into it's old channel, but without success.
 Again and again, the Southern Pa- cific railroad has been compelled to move It's tracks which ran through the Salton Sink and have been forced onto the foothills surrounding the great basin which is being converted Into a sea. Several small towns are now beneath the waters which the Colorado has poured into the basin and in many places only the tops of the railway telegraph poles indicaiv where the roadbed formerly was. Tn the lowest part of the sink the water is now 70 feet deep. For a time the water from the Colorado raised the sea at the rate of six inches day and ii has been estimated that grant ing the failure of engineers to check the river in 40 years, all the basin located beneath the main course of water. A part of this basin is in Mexico and the failure to control the river would give this country and Mexico lake comparable to the Great Lakes separating the United States and Canada. At present the lake is greater than any body of water wholly within the United States except Salt Lake and Lake Michigan.
 The Mexican company, to which permission was granted to take water out of the Colorado In Mexico. was merely created in Mexico to assist the California Development company in making a succtss of an irrigation pro- ject which was a partial failure when water was taken from the Colorado in Arizona. Most of the land to be irrigated was in the United States end the Mexican government had comparatively little to gain from the concession granted to the irrigation company. International complications have followed growing out of the fact that existing treaties provide that the Colorado shall be retained as navigable stream which is not now the case because 1t has been com pletely diverted from the Gulf of Cal ifornia into the sink. Expert en- gineers are struggling to control the flow of waters and the Southern Pa cific railroad, whose property is sui. fering greatly is cooperating with the Merican and American govern ment engineers in an effort to con. struct another channel with flood gates Into which the Colorado can be diverted long enough to repair the Salton break. The Mexican govern ment commission is headed by Brig Gen. Angel Garcia Jena and the Amer ican government by the reclamation service engineers.