Imperial Valley press., 1910-06-04

The boards of directors of all the mutual water companies in Imperial Valley have pledged the companies to raise money for the construction of a new intake from the Colorado Riv- CT that will avert the danger of wa ter shortage at low stages of the riv- CT, and all but two of the companies have announced their readiness to provide means for building the works necessary to control the river from the heading to a point of safety some twenty-five or thirty miles below. The people of the valley have taken the matter into their own hands and will help themselves.
 At meeting of all the directors held yesterday morning in the Opera House at El Centro, the following was adopted unanimously:
 "Resolved-That the mutual water companies here represented request the receiver of the California Devel- opment Company to proceed at once with the construction of a new intake and pledge themselves to supply the money required, taking his certificates therefor, in the proportion of their shares of issued stock, provided that their obligation is limited to $35,0O0 and that the stock of company No. 8 held by W. J. Doran as trustee shall not be regarded as issued"
 Action upon the matter of provid- ing funds for building controlling works, at an estimated cost of $500, ,000 was postponed because No. and No. 5 desired to await the report of a board of engineers and to investi- gate other features of the proposed plan. Ultimate ownership of the canal system by the people of the valley is considered the inevitable outcome and the two companies that declined to act upon the larger proposition ex- plained that they want to know what terms the Southern Pacific, or any other party to the present litigation that may bid in the property at re- ceiver's sale, will make to the people when they are ready to purchase the system.
 The plan for protection of the canal system of Imperial Valley and insur- ance against shortage of water at low stages of the river has been worked out by Receiver Holabird and Engi- neer Clarke and placed before the water users. After thorough examin- ation of the problem and considera- tion of conditions that have develop ed recently, the receiver has conclud- ed that dredging the present intake would not give permanent relief and would fail to meet the situation cre- ated by cutting back of the channel. He proposes to make new intake and to begin the work of putting the riv- CT back into it's old bed, and he asks the people of the valley to help them selves by helping him to raise the money required for the work.
 F. s. Webster was chairman of yes1 terdays meeting and pr. Patten was secretary. Receiver Holabird explain ed the situation and said he had been unable to persuade the Southern Pa- cific to supply any more money. The executive board of the railroad noti- fled him last Tuel ay that it would not buy any more certificates and he was up against it and had to appeal to the water users, who must be the ultimate owners of the system. A dredge to build the present intake could not be built in less than sixty days, and in thirty days there might be a shortage of water that would cost the valley far more than the sum re- quired now to avert it. Unless the river were controlled, the recession of grade might leave the floor of the headgate high and dry this year. When the river should be under control the value of land in the valley would be so increased that the money spent on the work would seem but trihe Certificates purchased by the water users would be first liens upon the