Imperial Valley press., 1908-05-09
JUDGE WELLBORNS INJUNCTION
 DOES NOT CLOSE ANY CANALS|
Light, Power Irrigation and Securing of bitches Are All Substantial Needs and Are Not to Be Interered With For Imaginary Protection of Submerged Salt Works Contempt Cases Are Dismissed

 the contempt proceedings against of ficers of the California Development company and officers of the El Cen tro Chamber of Commerce and de- cided that the injunction issued against the c. D. Co. does not oper- ate to prevent the reasonable use of water for irrigation, power and other necessary purposes.
 Last January the Imperial Stand ard announced exultingly that the in junction was to be enforced in such manner as to put out of business the company furnishing the valley towns with power and light. So eager was that paper to see such injury infiict- ed that it twice declared prematurely that the injunction had been served, and even went so far as to assert that the contract between the c. D. Co., and the power company had been annulled and that the water power plant was out of business peraan- .ently.
 On February 8, the Press denied those reports and said
 Judge Wellborn's decree does not forbid the use of water for purposes other than irrigation, as has been CT roneously reported. It permits the is suance of an order restraining the C. D. Go. from "dlverting water in ex- cess of the substantial needs of the people for domestic and irrigation purposes and such other lawful pur- poses as the same may be applied to-" The injunction granted is against allowing waste water to run into Sal ton Sea in quantity sufficient to main tain or exalt the level of the sea-"
 Power Shut Off.
 On February il, the order of in junction having been served and of ficers of the c. D. Go. having been cited for contempt, water was shut off from the power canal, the power company was put out of business, and the Standard gloated and exalted it's horn nightly. The Press main tained that the action of Manager Cory in shutting off water was not in accordance with the terms of th9 injunction and was not necessary, and said:
 Tt is impossible to supply, through a canal system sixty miles long, just enough water to irrigate Imperial Valley farms and no more. It is i'm possible to run water through the power canal and the Holton turbines without discharging any into the Alamo channel. Generation of pow CT is lawful and necessary use of able to Imperial Valley as irrigation. ! To destroy the industries and the de- }velopment of towns by insisting on { a technicality which cannot possibly be of any practical benefit to any | thing or anybody, would be a mon- N
 strous perversion of the law. ie Tt is not conceivable that Judge Wellborn would demand literal com pliance with the terms of his order if he realized what that would mean to Imperial Valley.
 "The c. D. Go, could not obey the order literally and continue to supply water for the irrigation of farms. The order was not directed solely against the wasteway of the power plant, but against the wastage of water from all canals of the irrigation system, and irrigation cannot be prosecuted with out an excess of flow over actual use"
 lnadVertent Contempt.
 The Imperial Standard jeered and gloated and persisted in declaring that no damage would be done to any but the power company. The El Gen. tro Chamber of Commerce, unaware that the case was still before the