Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., 1906-06-30
SECRfTARY'S OPINION
Don't Agree With l.. w. Gleason that Water of Colorado River Belongs
 to C. D. Company

III ldSl WSCh lIlpCIIdl oldIlUdIO President Gleason of Water Go. No. publishes very hasty and ill tempered attack upon us. in which. however, he admits that he believes with Messrs. Stephens and Stephens that the Cali fornia Development company owns the waters of the Colorado river, and that neither the stockholders nor any per sons other than stockholders have ever made any appropriations of water nor done any act upon which a claim of right can be based" /" He also argues that it is best for the people of the Valley that the water rights belong to the California Development company and not to- the people for he fears they might not be any account if the people owned them, but is sure they are all right in California Development com pany ownership.
 Of course we know MT. Gleason is so constituted that he hates everybody that don't agree with him and pursues them with vindictive spite. but as this is matter that concerns a great many others besides Mir. Gleason and ourself we shall be compelled to disagree with him regardless of the consequences.
 He accuses us of trying to stand in with the Interior Department because we-prefer to believe the Secretary of the Interior and follow his advice rath- CT than to trek after Mir. Gleason in the service of the old California Devel- opment company push. The Secre- tary of the Interior and the Secretary of War have both~ruled that the waters of the Colorado river are not subject to appropriation under the laws of this State. The Secretary of War in re- sponse to the application of the Cali tornia Development company for per- mission to take water from the Cobra do river declined to give them any permit but added that if any water was taken out no objection would be raised as long as the diversion did not inter tere with navigation. In view of the total diversion of the river from it's old channel and the fact that its former course contains no water except at ex- treme stages of the river, is pretty good evidence that the warning of the War Department has been ignored and any forbearance the company might expect from that source has been forfeited. While the War Department might not care to take active notice of the..C. D, company's operat tons on the Colorado, the Secretary of the Interior has js2been compelled to take cognizance of them. It will be remembered that in February. 1904, Mir. Heber had a bill lintroduced in congress to grant the c. D. com pany, of which he was then president, an absolute title to 10000 cubcl feet of water per second from the Colorado river. After number of hearings on the matter. in which MT. Heber was heard out in full. congress passed resolution instructing the Secretary of the Interior to investigate and report on the use of the waters of the Lower Colorado river for irrigation and to rec ommend what legislation, if any, was necessary to confirm the rights of any persons or corporations who had al- ready appropriated any of the waters of said Lower Colorado river. Pursu ant to this resolution Secretary Hitch cock filed with congress a report cov- ering the entire matter. This report was made January 9th, 1905, and.pub-