The San Francisco call., 1909-01-14
TO HELP IN FIGHT
FOR H[TCn HFTCHY
Committee OF Four Appointed by
Mayor to Attend Com
gress' Sessions
Men Will Appear Before Both
Houses to Battle for
Water System

Walter Macarthur, labor leader:
James D. Phelan, ex-mayor of San
francisco; Warren Olney, ex-mayor of
oakland. and j. D. Galloway, civil en-
glneer, will start this morning at 10
O'Clock for Washington, there to voice
san Francisco's demand that she be
connrmed by congress in her Sierra
water privileges.
The four were commissioned yester-
day by Mayor Taylor, following a spe-
cial session of the board of supervis-
ors, called to decide what should be
done to reinforce Supervisor Giannini
and City Engineer Manson in their bat
tie before congress to secure the per-
petuity of the Lake Eleanor -Hetch
Hetchy grant.
one would naturally suppose" said
mayor Taylor yesterday, that San
francisco could have had no trouble
at all in securing the privilege which
sne asks at the hands of congress;
one would suppose that a city like San
francisco, with its population and i'm
portance, after virtually having been
wiped off the face of the earth by
earthquake and fire, could have had no
d1ff1culty whatever IN securing what
she desired; in fact, one would sup
pose that congress would have been
eager to help her; that congress would
nave been eager to give her that which
she has sought for many years, and
which is now within her grasp, for un-
til San Francisco has a superabundant
supply of water, both in esse and in
potentiality, she is in deadly peril. So
this is matter of vital necessity for
her, and we must take every step we
possibly can to overcome the opposi-
tion which has so suddenly and unex-
pectedly developed at Washington. Why
is 1t that we have to struggle for that
which should fall into our lap? To
some 1t may be mystery, to others
it may not be mystery. The condi-
tion, however, is as it is, and we must
meet that condition
The board Immediately and unani-
mously empowered the mayor to ap-
point representatives to go to Wash
ington and after informal consulta-
rtion with the members of the board
DR.. Taylor selected the above named.
City Attorney Percy Long was also
commissioned by the board to represent
the city at Washington, and will pro-
ceed eastward with the committee.
Attorney Curtis Lindley. the city's spe-
cial expert, Will be detained on this
coast till the 10Th, the day the house
committee reconvenes, by the necessity
of appearing before the United States
circuit court at Globe, AriZ., but in
formed the mayor and supervisors yes
terday he would hold himself ready TO
go on from there after the 22d, should
the matter not be decided by that time
Favors Hetch Hetchy
CALL HEADQUARTERS, CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE BUILDING, SACRA-
MENTO, Jan. 13.-Senator Curtin.
whose good faith Is not questioned by
his colleagues, and those obstruction
lists with ulterior motives who have
been opposing the adoption or the
joint resolution directing the United
States senators and urging the con-
gressmen to pass the Hetch Hetchy
bill ratifying the Garfield grant to the
city of San Francisco were routed
this afternoon in an exciting scrirn-
mage before the assembly committee
on federal relations.
The committee unanimously decided
to report favorably on the resolution
and it will undoubtedly carry in the
assembly tomorrow with little or no
opposition. The resolution will then
be wired to Washington, thus advls-
ing congress that the California legis-
lature favors the granting to San
Francisco of the water supply site
in the Sierras
Senator Curtin assured the commit
tee that he and the people of Tuolumne
county were not opposing the resolu-
ton, but he did want TO amend II TO
make certain just what San Francisco
was going to do. He offered an amend
ment to the resolution providing that
the point of diversion be fixed at Jaw
bone creek, 20 miles above Jacksonville.
He feared that San Francisco might
attempt to take water from the river
at Jacksonville, where the stream was
polluted with cyanide of potassium
from the mines, with the result that
condemnation of property might later
be found necessary to insure pure
water.
Senator Wolfe, the champion of the
resolution, pointed out that Engineer
Marsden Manson's plan was to divert
the water from the vicinity of Jawbone
creek, but he objected to any amend
ment of the measure, asserting that he
should prefer to see it defeated
IF you will assure us that Manson
will be the engineer and Taylor the
mayor while the dam is being con-
structed there will be no complaint
from u.s." asserted Curtin.
Russell L. Dunn, who said he rep
resented minority of the citizens of
San Francisco, but who, In fact, owns
water rights in the Sierras, which he
might like to unload to San Francisco,
objected to the joint resolution on the
score that the measure tended to re-
1inquish the states title to the streams.
Wolfe assured him that the federal