Arizona sentinel and Yuma weekly examiner., 1912-11-28
THE IMPERIAL VALLEY WATER
 PROBLEM

| FhO6LCm
 The water question in the Imperial Valley is just as far from settle ment, satisfactory to the people, as it ever was, and the water question never will be settled right until the people of that valley own their own system and then buy their water from Uncle Sam and secure permanent source of supply from Laguna Dam
 This will, eventually, be the solu- ton of the water difficulty over there and the private interests that now have the people of Imperial in their grasp realize it and are playing their last and best hand In this they are being aided by the courts.
 Under the caption of What Is the Program?" the Ell Centro Progress has shot thunderbolt into the camp of the interests referred to, as follows
 With the reversal, by the supreme court, of the Thayer decision, the man who thinks is asking himself ques- l . tions.
 "The decision places the California | Development company in a position to sell water to whom it pleases, how and when it pleases and at the rate it pleases. It is, therefore, not a com mon carrier, is not bound to observe the regulations governing common carriers, is independent of the law in this respect and is corporation en- toying the possession, outright and utterly, of the most valuable water light in the whole state of California.
 ''The thinker is wondering what the program is to be. He has seen politi- cal slates made up by the boss; he knows the game of chance, as often played between the masses of people on the one side and the corporations on the other; he is wondering if he $ being made a pawn in the litigation 5ame that is going on in the state of California over Imperial Valley water natters.
 Here's what it looks like: The ,. P. was forced to throw he c. D. 70. into the hands of a receiver; it leld it's securities and had to take the arrangement of it's affairs to protect ,ts own interests; Boaz Duncan held lalf a million dollars worth of the Jonds; the Liverpool Salt Go. was giv en a big judgment. Now, it stands to reason that these three interested parties wish to get out whole when he Imperial Valley takes over the c. D. properties. How can they do it?
 Lets see.
 '1F, mind you, IF the supreme court could be induced to rule that the c. D. company owed outright the water right that has supplied Imperial Val ley for ten years and more; IF it ruled that the c. D. company was NOT a common carrier and that it was in dependent and free and could charge what it pleases for water-would not the ultimate effect of said rulings be to ENHANCE THE VALUE OF THE c. [. PROPERTY AND MAKE THAT COMPANIES ASSETS WORTH CLOSER TO TEN MILLIONS THAN THE TWO MILLIONS THIS VAL LEY EXPECTS TO PAY FOR THE SYSTEM!
 Would it, or wouldn't it?
 ''The Progress believes, implicitly, that the three great creditors of the other; that none of them intend to lose a cent and that this valley had better get hold of the system at the earliest possible date, under the cir cumstance.:.
 AS we understand it, the c. D. company is not even bound to observe it's contracts with the mutual con- panies. Else why has Receiver Hola- bird issued an order that water rentals must be paid in advance, monthly, when the contracts read that rentals are to be paid semi-monthly, AFTER the water has been used?
 "Is THIS order a test of the c. D. | company's new powers? Will he next order be raise in rentals from 50 | cents to $1.0O an acre foot of water?
 "Who can tell the program that has | been slated for the perusal of the good J people of Imperial Valley?"