Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-03-25
SAN BEN|TO LAND
TO HAVE DRAINAGE
PETITION FOR DRAINAGE DIS
TRICT GOES THROUGH.
Formation of District Holly Con-
tested in County Commissioners
Cour for Two Days by the Owners
of Rio Hondo Tract.

| At the county commissioners
court on Saturday, the hearing Of
the petitioners for the formation of
Cameron County Drainage, District
| No. 3, at San Benito, was continued,
and proceeded at much more rapid
rate than on the preceding day. Sew
eral witnesses were examined, and
the objections of counsel were not
so frequent as at Fridays meeting.
The witnesses to take the stand
yesterday were, with the sole ex-
ception of Neill Mcdonald of Rio
Hondo, all witnesses introduced by
Judge Samuel Spears for the petit
TONERS
The first witness to take the stand
was ]. G. Hall, the government
drainage engineer. Mr.. Hall testi-
fed that he had been over the ter
ritory from San Benito to the Rio
Grande and that the country needed
drainage in order to carry off the
surface water, and that subs0if in
vestigation showed THAI the ground
was filled with water, that the water
table was rising, and that this
caused the rise of alkali, but that
drainage would relieve this situa-
NTv Io1I frtr hnys fal. al hot
as rule irrigation without drain
age was impossible, and that sur
face drainage was Inadequate Judge
Hawkins, counsel for contestants,
waived cross examination.
r. C. Wharton was che next wit
ness called to the stand. Upon be-
ing sworn Mr. Wharton stated that
early in life he had been educated
| and practiced as a civil engineer,
that he had resided in this part of
the country for about six years and
was Of the opinion that irrigation
without drainage was impracticable
on account Of the alkali in the soil
Mr.. Wharton said that as a rule in
this section of the country natural
| drainage did not exist. The wit
ness further said that the land in
the Rio Hondo tract might have very
good surface drainage but that good
surface drainage was not sufficient.
When asked how it was possible to
determine whether or not land
needed sub-drainage, Mr. Wharton
| replied that the proper method was
to make soil survey Of the particul-
lar piece Of land, and if the ground
water was found at satisfactory
| distance from the surface and did
not rise in the test holes after con-
siderable period of irrigation it
would show that the land had suf-
ficient drainage, while if on the
other hand the water table did rise
then artificial sub-drainage would
! become necessary. Mr., Wharton
said he thaught that sub-drainage
was necessary throughout the whole
of the district.
Upon cross examination the wit
ness said that he had never yet been
able to find land in ahe Valley that
did not need drainage of some kind,
and that the land along the Arroyo
Colorado must contain aIkali on ac-
count of its geological formation.
The next witness was Secretary
Graham Of the San Benito CONNER
cial Club. Mr.. Graham stated that
he had spent the most of his life in
irrigated districts and that he had
never yet seen one that did not need
drainage. Judge Hawkins said that
in order to save time he was ready
rtc admit that drainage was necessary
and that his only contention was
that the Rio Hondo district already
had it.
Mr.. Carpenter, civil engineer,
uHueT WHOSE supervision the district
was planned. was the next witness
called 10 the stand, and upon being
sworn, testified that as a rule all
the land in the district sloped away
| from the water ways, and that ar
| tificial drainage was necessary.
Judge Hawkins again objected on
| the grounds that the necessity Of
drainage had already been admitted
| C. E. Barber, the next witness,
said that he was of the opinion that
drainage in the Rio Hondo strip was
necessary.
Colonel Alba Haywood testified
that he had been over the land along
the Arroyo and that he regarded the
drainage as proposed, both feasible
and practicable
! Upon cross examination Col Hey
wood said that he did not regard the
Rio Hondo strip, or any other 900
4 acrac nf 1apd a. acrart;oI ~ tha Iifo