Imperial Valley press., 1908-08-15
RELATIONS BETWEEN USERS AND THE IRRIGATION COMPANY
 NOT ON RIGHT BASIS.
VIEWS OF A LAND OWNER
Income From Water Rate Suggested By Company Would Exceed Whole Investment in system-Pan For Ad- justment of Imperial Valley Water Problems.

G. w. Stevenson, of San Diego, who is an owner of land in District No. 9 of Imperial Valley, sends to the Press a copy of an open letter to Manager Cory, of the California Development Company, ill which he discusses at length the relations of the company and the water users and suggests a plan of adjustment. The letter in full would occupy more space than is available, but the following excerpts cover all the material points. MT. Stevenson says:
 When one buys water stock in the mutual companies, he is not buying a water right. The farmer of Imper- ial Valley has built and is building the system with his own money, and your company is owning it. Thus your company comes into possession of great irrigation system without the eX- penditure of dollar of money not contributed by the user. You must recognize this as fact, since you and your officers admit that it is with the money obtained from the sale of stock that the system is to be strengthened and extended, and all this time the possession of the thing which the farmers are building is getting far ther away from them. Our idea of a water right and the one which the govern ment adopts is that the land in a mu tual water district shall share equally the expense of building the system, cost of distribution, and shall be en- titled to it's pro rata of water at actual cost of delivery. Men prominent in your company, as well as some others, have tried to liken your system to the Government Reclamation system. The contrast of black and white is not greater The Government builds a system out of the solid rocks and ce ment, SpaTing no expense in making it perfect in every detail, and then says to her citizens, this system cost $35.00 or $60.00 per acre to install,- it is yours on payment of that amount, in ten annual installments, without in terest, to forever to remain your prop erty, subject only to maintainence. Then the farmer, in ten years, be- comes the owner of his irrigation Sys- tenn. Now consider yours, built with money obtained from the useres, built of lumber and earth, temporary makeshiftS instead of permanent fix lures; but you say to the user al though you built this system, it is mine and you shall pay me tribute per petually We want the water right as given by the Government to it's cit iZenS.
 Your president has made the pub lie statement that this fifty cents per acre foot is simply for maintainance, and pays very little profit, and if rate was established by law, it would necessarily be about $2.50 per acre foot. It is conservatively estimated that at least 100000 acres receive water from your system on the United States side alone. Let us figure that each acre uses 2R feet. Let us agree for arguments sake, that this delivery cost you fifty cents per acre foot. This leaves you profit of $200 per acre foot, $o00 per acre and $1,O0O,000 per year, more money by far than your system cost, exclusive of the break etc. Let us figure that you can irri- gate 400, ,0O0 acres, when all is covered. This gives you a profit of $2,000,000 per annum, on the calculations made by your president. All this on money donated by a generous public.
 My plan is for the c. D. to enter into an agreement whereby it will put in cement headings at points of greatest importance, maintain it's present system, put in such further eX- tensions as are practical, take for a period of five years rental as per con- tracts with all mutual companies. For such expenditures and extensions the c. D: Company to receive the proceeds on the sale of stock for unWatered land at $1500 per share. At the end of five years the c. D. Company to pass over to the mutual company, by proper conveyance, all it's rights and interests. For all stock now sold and applied to land a certificate of stock in the mutual company is to issue without further expense to the hold CT My plan is to have Imperial Val ley a mutual water district, author ized to dis stribute or deliver water at cost The farmers would then own their system, administer it at cost, and the veXatious contentious be- tween you and the user would be end ed An agreement no doubt could be entered into whereby the s. P, R.. R. Go. would protect and guard the works ut tho heading