Imperial Valley press., 1919-01-20
EXCERPTS FROM SPEECH
OF PHIL ID. SWING AT
HIGH SCHOOL SATURDAY
WE SHOULD CHANGE TO

WHY WE SHOULD CHANGE 10
HANLON HEADING.
THE contract in the first instance
provides that the Imperial Irrigation
District may change its point of diver
sion from Hanlon Heading to the La
guna Dam. The question has been
asked, by so doing, do we lose the
water rights which we now have,
which attach by diverting the water
at Hanlon Heading? The law in Cali
fOrnia is clear upon the subject, that
an appropriation of water, whether he
be an individual or corporation, has
right at any time to change it's point
OF diversion without loss Of water
right, provided in so doing, it does not
interfere or jeopardize some other APP
proprietor. That is, you could not
take a new point OF diversion if by so
doing you would have to cut off water
from some man that Was diyerting
water between your old intake and the
new intake, but If thee is clear
space between you and the intake you
desire, you have the same right to
take water out at the new site that you
have to take it out at the old site.
The important thing is, where you
take it to and what you do with it.
Your right is acquired principally be-
cause of the beneficial use you put
The water to, and you become entitled
to the water you have put to be,nefi-
cial use, so in this case there being
no Appropriation other than Yuma be-
tween us and the Laguna Dam, and
we having come to an agreement with
Yuma, there is no less of water right
merely by an act of moving up to that
point
Now, the question of the legal rea-
son for moving:
Our district is now enjoined by
temporary injunction issued out of
the courts OF Yuma, from constructing
any more wiers in the Colorado River.
They nave IN the past, owing to rep
resentations which we have made TO
them out of our good intentions to get
away from necessity of continuing for
ever to build these weirs, and because
1t was patriotic to aid in the increase
of production, consented to a mOdifi-
cation of the original temporary in
junction and instead of the injunction
reading Imperial District is hereby en-
joined from building any obstruction
in the river it added, except for the
year 1916 We also got by for the
year 1917. The war was on in 1918,
and we went back, and after a good
deal of pressure, the aid OF the Cali
fOrnia Stale Council of Defense, and
aid of the Arizona State Council of
Defense, and the aid of officers in
Washington, we got them to make an
other modification except for the year
1913 Now they have told us that
there must be stopping point some
where upon this proposition, and we
told them the last time that we We're
going TO get this contract and go to
Laguna Dam, and they said alright, If
you really are going 10 do something,
we will make an exception and We will
take one more chance and that is one
| legal reason why We are moving away
| from our present site, which doesn't
! afford a ground for permanent wier,
! to the place where the government
| has picked a site and will afford per
manent wier. Hanlon Heading is the
site of the pioneers of Imperial Valley
originally picked, but they were moi
able to make use of because of insult
ficient funds.
1.-THE other legal reason why we are
going up there is that the United
States government holds the Colorado
| River to be navigable, under the laws
of The United States 1t is under the
control of the War Department, and
no person, firm or corporation can put
an obstruction into the river, whether
temporary or permanent, without first
securing the permission OF the War
Department i'm writing, so to do, and
each year before we nave put any,
thing into the river, VIC iirst secured
from tho War Department perhlli 70
do it, and that permit defined how II
might be done SO as TO create the