Imperial Valley press., 1910-10-22
Willing to Compromise Rate Question With the Water
 Users
Hearing on Restraining Order Brings Out History of Complicated Affairs of Canal Company. Necessity For Extensive Repairs of System Main taIned By Engineers.

Hearing of the applications of the mutual water companies for an order restraining the receiver of the Cali fornia Development Go. from raising the rate for water from fifty to eighty cents an acre foot was begun in the Superior Court of Imperial County last Tuesday Receiver Holabird s counsel was J. w. Mckinley, and the mutual companies were represented by attorneys Eshleman, Haines, Britt, Shaw and McPherrin.
 Receiver Holabird had notified the companies that the higher rate would be charged in order to raise money Improvements on the canal system as would be necessary to insure delivery of water and maintenance of the sys- tenn. The mutual companies ques- toned the urgent necessity of the proposed work and contended that the revenues of the receiver at the rate of fifty cents would be sufficient to maintain and operate the system.
 The engineers estimate of the cost of repair work and new structures ag- gregate $176.346,. providing for tenn porary structures of wood, which the receiver and his engineers regard as sorted to. Permanent concrete work would double the initial cost The operating and ordinary maintenance expenses for nine months are esti- mated at $160,O0O, making total of s336,346 The delivery of 41O,O0O acre feet at so cents would produce revenue of $328,000, and the receiver has additional resources of $21,O0 in certificates authorized but unsold, making total hypothetical revenue of $349,0OO.
 The proceedings were opened by a statement from MT. Mckinley, in which he said:
 If it please the court, Receiver Holabird comes before you at this time, not as litigant but for the purpose of enlightening the court in regard to this matter of proposed raise in the rates. We are here to show cause why these rates must be raised. We have no desire to take this action, but money must be forth represented here can show us any other method for meeting the bills that promise to appear this year we shall be highly pleased, for our inter ests are those of the valley and no selfish motives are prompting the action of the receiver"
 The first witness called was c. K Clarke, engineer for the receiver, who presented and explained an itemized estimate, and testified that no in- crease of deliveries would be possible unless the work should be done and that much of it was necessary to even maintain the present deliveries. Cross examination, conducted mainly by MT. Britt, was designed to draw from the witness admissions that the system might be operated in it's present condition and that the pro- posed expenditures were not required to meet emergencies but were to be indispensable Improvements Be- indispensable improvements. Be- cause of the engineers laconic an swers and his reluctance to explain what seemed to him too obvious to need explanation, the efforts of the lawyers were in some degree success ful, MT. Clarke seemed to deem the lawyers guilty of willful and premed- itated ignorance of the simplest phy- sical facts relating to canals, and he declined to enlighten them. IR his opinion, the work proposed was ab solutely necessary to the safe ppe- ration of the system, and that was all there was to 1t; the nagging of the lawyers was all waste of valuable time and nothing but chin wagging for fees. The rotten old structures and ramshackle canals of the c. D. Go.