Imperial Valley press., 1910-01-08
RAILROAD MILLIONS
 FOR VALLEY CANALS Southern Pacific Plans For Great Improvements In
 Irrigation System
Proposes to Put in Concrete Structures at all Control Points Before Offer ing to Sell Out to Water Users Also Hopes to Recover Part of Cost of Protective Works.

session of Congress to pass the bill to reimburse the Southern Pacific for the actual cost of closing the break of the Colorado in fulfillment of the promise made by the President of the United States when he asked the rail- road to do the work that the govern ment was unable to do. The railroads original bill was $1,6OO,OOO, which in cluded maximum charges for freight on material hauled to build the dams and fees paid to lawyers for going to Washington, but that was scaled down by Engineer. Grunsky, to whom the account was submitted for exam ination, to $1,100,000 and that is the amount asked for in the bill before Congress.
 It is the purpose of the Southern Pacific, as stated by an officer of the c. D. Company, this week, to put the irrigation system of the valley in per feet condition, if permitted by the court to supply to the receiver the requisite funds for extensions, and then turn the works over to the water users on bond basis that will secure the railroads investment The plans include substitution of concrete struc> lures for all the wood works now in the system, and possibly the contsruc- tion of a high line canal on the east side of the valley The cost of the contemplated Improvements may run up to $2,500, ,000, and if Congress should keep faith and repay the million spent to bring the Colorado under control, the final cost of the system to the settlers of the valley would be re- duced by that amount. Either Uncle Sam or the people who have reclaim ed the desert and added an empire to the productive area of the country will have to redeem President Roose- velt's plain pledge some day.
 Southern Pacific officials have said repeatedly that the railroad company 
 business as soon as possible but req lizes that the canal system should be perfected and equipped with perman- ent structures before it is turned over to the water users. The people of the valley have not the capital neces- sary to reconstruct the system. The roi tO hA nj tai, considering the investment a good one in every respect and recognizing the fact that development of the val ley means great increase in the busi- ness and profits of transportation, and is confident that the work can be done more efficiently and economically by it's own engineers than by such engi- neers as the government employs in reclamation work, or under the condi- tions that would exist if the settlers should undertake to handle the job for themselves.
 There is another apparent reason why the Southern Pacific desires to COlHpleI6 InS oyoIOlh uclOIe ISllhqulSH- ing control either to the settlers di-' rectly or by way of the reclamation service. The proposed high line ca nal on the east side would convey water to some hundreds of thousands of acres of desert land owned by the railroad in the northern part of the valley. and probably that land and water rights could be offered by the railroad on more attractive terms than those which obtain under government projects. The sooner that high line canal is built, the more certain the supply of water to reclaim the north end of the valley.