Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-13
IMPERIAL VALLEY
TIRED OF LIBELS
PETITIONS PRESIDENT FOR A
SQUARE DEAL
CAUSED BY PREJUDIcED STATE
MENTS PUBLISHED IN NORTH
Belief General That Canard Was ln-
spired Directly or Indirectly by
Government Reclamation
Service

Believing that a dispatch from
washington published last week in the
San Francisco Call, which quoted a
government official asa saying of the
Imperial valley that IF the Colorado
river should go on one OF It's tanselUs
the entire region would starve for
water within forty-eight hours has
done them an injustice, officers Of the
Imperial county chamber of commerce
yesterday gave President Taft "a let
ter asking him to take action.
The letter was presented to the pres
ident at Pasadena in the name OF cit
liens of the Imperial valley. When
Secretary of the Interior Ballinger
comes to Los Angeles he will be met
by another delegation, who will osk
him to stop in the Imperial valley to
make a personal investigation.
The statement quoted as coming
from a government official was that
1.-THE people of the Imperial valley do
not know how slender is the thread
upon which they hang for their lives
and property. If the Colorado river
should go Oh one of its tangents the
entire region would starve for water
within forty-eight hours. The canal
people realize their danger and have
intimated that they wanted govern
ment assistance, but there is no help
for them as matters stand. The sit
uation is indeed very serious"
President Appealed To
Regarding this assertion the follow
Ing letter, signed by J. F. Giles, presi-
dent of the Imperial county chamber
of commerce, and William P. Mans
field, chairman of the committee, was
handed to President Taft:
"Inasmuch as the people of Imperial
valley generally believe that the en-
closed slanderous article from the San
Francisco Call was in some measure
either directly or indirectly inspired
by the government reclamation service,
we, a committee appointed by the i'm
perial valley chamber of commerce, do
hereby humbly petition your excellency
to use your good influence to prevent a
repetition of such untruthful reports
"Not only are the canals and water
supply generally of Imperial county
in better condition than ever before,
but preparations and plans are al
ready completed for replacing all tenn
porary structures connected with the
water system with permanent concrete
at a cost of hundreds of thousands
of dollars. .a,
Prosperity Is Shown
1--WE enclose for your further infor-
IQdLlOn a SldltillGHI just pdpliSilOh ~.
the officials Of Imperial county, show
ing our unparalleled prosperity and
the absolute absurdity and falsity of
the Call article enclosed.
"Were it not that the Call circu-
lates so widely among people wholly
ignorant of conditions in the valley
and the annoying frequency of other
and similar attacks we should be in
clined to ignore the matter.
"The significance of such circula-
ton Is best illustrated in the hun
dreds of letters and scores Of tefe-
grams received by residents of the
valley from friends and relatives i'm
ploring them to abandon their homes
and possessions and flee for safety.
I'm conclusion, we, the people of I'm
perial county, do humbly petition that
you will use your vast influence in
securing for Imperial county simple
Justice, nothing more, whether it be
in the issuance of our long delayed
patents or the frustrating OF further
schemes hostile to the welfare of the
Imperial valley"