Imperial Valley press., 1911-12-29
THE LOWER CALIFORNIA
THAT MAY BE ANNEXED

Byron Waters in San Bernardino Sun
Lower California is a territory of the
Republic of Mexico, bounded on the north
by the south boundary line of the state
of California; on the west by the Pacific
ocean; on the east by the Colorado river
and Gulf of California, and constitutes
what is geographically known as the
Peninsula of Lower California.
The area consists of 59,913 square miles
The topography is made up of. a large
area of the fertile delta of the Colorado
river lying south of the California bound
airy line and west of the river, large tracts
of fertile lands lying on the west slopes of
the range of mountains extending the
length of the peninsula from north to
south, and these large areas of fertile land
can not better be described than by say
ing that they are not unlike the valleys
and bench lands of Southern California,
which extend from the coast near Los
Angeles, to the Colorado river.
This great are OF Lower California
lies now as undeveloped in the main as it
was when Cortez saw it centuries ago.
This condition has been continued to the
present time, owing to the facts that the
of Mexico by the gulf on the east, and
being effectually fenced off from the MAIN
land on it's north boundary line, by the
tariff walls of the United States and Mex
leo and by the laws of Mexico restricting
immigration.
The climate. rainfall, topography,
stream flow and soil conditions of Lower
California are very similar to those of
4 = - 10
velopment now existing there is very sim
liar to the conditions existing in Southern
California in 1916, when California was
acquired by the United States. These are
shown by accounts written by travellers in
Lower California, particularly by j. Ross
Brown in 1868, to be found in his report
rendered to the secretary of the treasury
of the United States in. 1865, published
in the book, entitled Mineral Resources
of the United States" as an appendix
at page $50; also in the book of Charles
Nordhoff, entitled "Peninsular California" ;"
published in 1888.
Owing to the isolation of Lower Cali
fornia and it's want of a good govern
ment and the uncertainty of land titles
and having no outlet for it's products and
being sparsely settled 1T remains, as it
has been for ages, practically no mans
land, and yet judging by the development
made in the past sixty years in Southern
California, we can well estimate that
within the same length of time, under the
same conditions enjoyed by Southern
California, it would contain Il million in
population, and would produce annually
millions of dollars in value of products.
The present deplorable state in which
the government of Mexico exists, makes
this territory of Lower California stand
as a menace to the safety of our Pacific
coast states, as has recently been expert
enced in the attempt of Japan to get a
foothold upon the peninsula.
Upon both coasts of this peninsula,
upon the Pacific side, as well as upon the
Gulf side, are several admirable harbors
we'll situated so as to become naval bases,
offensive as well as defensive to u.s. If
this peninsula should fall into the hands, or
even several of it's ports fall into the hands
of a foreign power, for such time as that
condition should prevail, our strength and
prestige upon the Pacific coast would be
severely threatened and menaced; where
as, upon the other hand, with the penin-
sula ours, we would have these ports. ac-
Il
development, facilitate water commerce
that will go through the Panama canal,
control the navigation of the Gulf of Cal
ifornia, both for our offense and defense
for the future. In acquiring it our gov
eminent could get compensation from
Mexico for the great expense incurred as
a result of the present military maneuvers
on the border line made imperative in the
last few months.
1t is not for me to suggest in detail the
advantages to accrue to this nation in the
standpoint of the army and the navy. In
the past ten years the great development
in agriculture which is being made near
the mouth of the Colorado river, is but an
earnest of what the future will develop in
the matter of the navigation of the Gulf
Of California. From every point of view,
it seems to me that now is the propitious
time for this government to get, by pur-
chase from Mexico, the Peninsula of Low
er California.
The Mexican population of this terri
tory is so small that it could, within
few years, be entirely assimilated if the
territory belonged to us, and i'll that re-
spect would afford no such problem OF
difficulty as would the acquisition by our
government of any part of the territory
of Mexico on the mainland. The trade re-
lations heretofore existing between Lower
California and Upper California. and the
fact that the better class of population