The Elbert County tribune., 1907-06-20
To Win With MoIasses.

A revocation, or at least satisfactory
modification of the Interior Depart
ment order preventing the use of Rio
Grande water for new irrigation pro
jects in the San Luis valley promises
to be one of the beneficial results of
the land convention
This means that the federal govern
ment will shift its position and per.
init new reservoirs to be erected to fur.
nish water for Tertiary in southern
Colorado and northern New Mexico
equal in size to the entire state of Con
necticut.
This promised relief for the San Luis
valley has been contested for years
and the bureau at Washington has ig-
nored the law for 1891 and refused to
accept reservoir filings for irrigation
schemes. Two conferences held yes
terday by prominent irrigation men of
Colorado and the officials from Wash.
ington may mean millions of dollars 20
Colorado, because the land convention
doomed up as a dark cloud for the fed
eral administration on the political
horizon.
There was conference attended by
R. A. Ballinger. commissioner of the
General Land Office: Prof l.. G. Car.
penter of the State Agricultural Col
lege, United States Senator Guggen-
helm, Congress ssman w. A Haggott,
Congressman Robert Bonynge, Attor.
ney General Dickson, Judge Holbrook
and Judge Charles d. Hayt The que5-
ton before them was the deprivation
of waters of the Rio Grande to which
the settlers and land owners in the San
Luis valley are entitled under the fed
eral law as enacted in 1901. These
rights were abrogated by arbitrary
rules of the department in defiance OF
which such authorities as Frank C.
Goudy declared to be "the plain letter
of the law"
With Congressman Bonynge was ,
committee from the San Luis valley
consisting of Speaker Robert G. Breck-
enridge of the Colorado House of Rep.
resentatives. Gen. Ira j. Bloomfield
and Judge C. C. Holbrook. These same
people, in the evening, had a confer
ence with secretary James r. Garfield
of the Department of the Interior. It
is merely department order which
has made all the trouble. The law on
the subject is satisfactory All that is
necessary, therefore, is for the federal
officials named to secure the consent
of the President to modification of
the order, thus placating some OF the
bitterest opposition to the administra-
tons policy in the West. One OF the
leaders in the fight declares that the
intimation of these officials was that
the controversy could and would be
amicably settled. A tentative promisa 2
was made to modify the objectionabl :
order. il possible, after further consid-
Grafton.
Speaker Breckenridge declared mo
lasses will catch more flies than will
vinegar. But we want to know where
we stand with the government. Our
rights under the law are clear, and If
we do not secure the modification in
tho government order which | now feel
sure will come, then we will be forced
into the courts. But we are not look
ing for a fight If there is any other
way"
Professor Carpenter explained, from
statistics. that the San Luis valley
could be properly irrigated, as allowed
under the law, without interfering with
any rights which the republic of Mex
leo had under treaty by which that
country is to be allowed 10000 acre
feet of water annually from the Rio
Grande. Both Secretary Garfield ami
Commissioner Ballinger. at these two
conferences, were very much I'm
pressed with the representation OF tho
case.