Imperial Valley press., 1912-08-17
NO. / WATER PROBLEMS
ARE FURTHER DISCUSSED

Editor Press-Dear Sir: There are
so many of the problems connected
with the better management and con-
troll of water distribution, and the cor
lection of the necessary funds to car
ry on operations, that depend upon
the moral support of the great body Of
stockholders and water users, that /
had hoped for a more general discus
sion by the stockholders of individual
ideas, based upon their experience
and observation. 1t affords no helD
for some one to give forth false and
incorrect statements of conditions
Misstatements circulated as facts, do
not help any cause.
About every third water user you
meet can tell you of some one whom
he knows that steals water. | am not
saying that one in three steals water,
but that one in three knows that sCme
one on the canal line steals water
Suppose that instead of water, this
party was stealing chickens, for one
is as bad as the other. What is public
sentiment? You condemn the chick
en- thief and pass him by. What are
you doing as regards the water thief?
You are winking at his misdeedS.
When public sentiment and the spiriI
of the water users is manifested in
acts and speech against the man who
disregards the rules of the company
and the rights of his neighbor ana
secretly takes water that is being run
for some one else, then the company
will be able to put a stop to it. 1t IS
impossible to effect reforms or clean
up the dirty places in a community
without public sentiment demanding
that it be done, and standing in with
the proposition.
Several times of late there appeared
in the papers of the valley a query
why the company did not buy in all
the stock at delinquent sale, etc, and
some very fine results were predicted
from such action. The answer is be-
cause the legislature has directed s
different rule and the directors have
not the power, if they had the inclina
ton, to rescind the law. For general
information, l quote from section 34i
ct seq. of the civil code of California:
'On the day, az the place and az
the time appointed in the notice of
sale. the secretary must sell
VI NuuoC W Dt oOlu at DuDllC
to the highest bidder for cash, SO
many shares of each parcel of the
described stock as may be necessary
to pay the assessment and charges
there on =. The person offer
ing at such sale TO pay the assess
ment and costs for the smallest num-
Der of shares or fraction of a share
Is the highest bidder >. If az
the sale of the stock, no bidder offers
the amount of the assessments and
costs and charges due, the same may
be bid in and purchased by the cor
pOratiOn at the amount Os
the costs, assessments and charges
1t will be noticed from the above
extracts that the company cannot be-
come the purchaser so long as some
one will bid the amount duo on the
assessment.
In an article appearing the In,-
perial Valley Press under date of
August s. the writer asks the ques-
ton: rs it reasonable to think Il
would call on you to assess my No.
stock if | were in the s. S. Water
Co.? Neither would | have said YOU
had given the S. S. enough when you
gave them the bitches and allowed
them to retain their No. l stock"
There you have in the writer's own
language his full measure He at
TENTS 70 make a quotation from tbe