Imperial Valley press., 1910-08-20

Oscar Lawler, Assistant Attorney General of the United States and special representative of the Presi- dent in the matter of control of the Colorado river, came to Imperial Vail ley last Sunday, spent several days on the river and in the delta in com pany with Engineer Ockerson, and on Thursday afternoon met the direc- tors of the mutual water companies and number of citizens in the water company hall at Imperial.
 MT. Lawler's observations in the valley evidently removed from his mind some misconceptions of condi- tions that he had harbored in common with most government officers that have had anything to do with the settlement of land questions arising in this county, and he frankly ad- mitted that he had been mistaken in some of his views and that he was surprised to learn that most of the land in the valley was actually occu- pied and cultivated by the owners or entrymen. Evidently MT. Lawler had been led to believe that the reclama- ton of the valley was a speculative enterprise, promoted by corporations, and that to find the owners of land or the claimants of possessory rights, one would have to search outside of the valley. It is more than probable that MT. Lawler derived his erroneous views from the statements made to him, while he was U. s. District At torney, by Prescott, Skinner and the rest of the gang engaged in the pro- motion of contests against the owners of valuable farms, and that he had been led to believe that the valley was reeking with land fraud and in- fested by grabbers and dummy en- trymen.
 Naturally the settlers of the valley have felt that MT. Lawler was un- friendly to their interests and respon- sible largely for the delay in issue of patents. The meeting and the frank ness of MT. Lawler did much to re- move that impression and to establish an understanding that will improve the situation. The man we don't like io, fhn uo don't nd that the settlers and Mr. Lawler have become better acquainted the rela- tions between them should be more harmonious.
 MT. Lawler told the water users at Imperial that he wished to relieve their apprehension that he had come to the valley to drive a bargain with them. He explained the steps taken toward government control of the Colorado and said the chief difficulty was not to be found in the physical problems involved but in the adjust ment of international relations, and those questions would be determined by joint commission. He had come to the valley to get facts for the President, who was deeply interested in the matter and had been much i'm pressed by the statements made to him by the valley representatives, who recently conferred with him at Beverly
 Ignorance of conditions here and of what has been done by the set tlers," said MT. Lawler, lis general ana profound, and that is quite natu- ral, as you are so far away from Washington, It Is unbelievable to one who has not seen the valley that in less than ten years you have con- yerted this great stretch of desc t into a garden. I thought 1 knew something of the work you have done, but I had no idea of its magnitude. I am surprised and gratified to learn that from forty to sixty per cent of the land entered is actually occupied by the owners
 Here Mir, Lawler was informed by