Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-12
Col. 0ckerSOn Makes
Report
Problem Is international
Matter
Secretary Hitchcock Realizes Gravity
of the Situation and Will Urge
Action Of Congress to
Save Land
Special to The Herald

Special to The Herald
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 11.--Col. John A.
Ockerson member of the Mississippi
river commission, who was called to
Washington D. Co. by the interior de-
partment TO report his findings on the
Salton sea problem in Southern Cali
fornia, returned to st. Louis last night.
Col. Ockerson also met President
Roosevelt and talked with him ,about
the matter. The president asked MANY
questions and was of the opinion that
steps should be taken at once to turn
the Colorado river back into it's channel
and to reclaim the land now submerged
by the Salton sea, a formerly dry de-
preston, into which the Colorado river
has been pouring it's entire volume for
many months.
The problem has taken on an inter-
national turn. The break in the channel
of the Colorado is in Mexico, but the
Salton sea, which is doing the damage,
is in California. The question of wheth-
er Mexico will allow the United States
to go upon her soil and mend the break
in the river bank, now over 1000 feet
in length, confronts the government at
the very outset and must first be set
son said, would have to take up the
matter with Mexico and get permission
to do the work.
To Go Before Congress
| Secretary Hitchcock of the interior
department and those in the reclama-
ton service realize the gravity of the
matter and necessity of prompt action
in order to bring relief to the several
thousand people living in that section
of California, and the matter will be
laid before congress, Col Ockerson said.
No plans, he said, were devised for
mending the break. The cost of doing,
| the work would have to be met by q
special appropriation as the regular ap-
| preparation for rivers and harbors could
not be used for that purpose. The Cali
| fornia Development company, which is
| said to have been responsible for the
! river breaking it's banks, and the South
| ern Pacific railroad, whose tracks have
been flooded several times, have already
expended about 81, 900, 900 in six ineffec.
tual attempts to dam the river and turn
it back into it's channel. A seventh is
being made now. The development COM
pany may be called upon by the gov
ernment to assist in mending the break
ii congress takes action in the matter.
| Not a drop of the water of the Colo
rado river reaches the gulf of Califor-
mia, Col. Ockerson said, and the river
bed is perfectly dry below the break.
Salton sea, into which the river has
| been pouring it's entire volume almost
two years, now covers about 270 square
miles of land and is ninety feet deep
in some places About 5000 people are
affected by this inundation. Irrigation
has been interfered with also. The
break was caused by the cutting of an
! irrigation ditch.
| Col. Ockerson has made two trips to
Salton sea. The last was made in De-
cember and the other last August. He
said he could not even approximate the
cost of reclamation, and at present had
evolved no theory of his own for turn
| ing the river back into it's course.
Il was simply to report the condi-
| tons there as | found them to the rec
lamation service and was not called
upon for any plans of reclamation" he
| said.