Imperial Valley press., 1919-01-15
COMMUNICATED.

lOM NJ u MIA Ell.
Neighbors: In my last letter ask
ing advice as to how to vote on tn
water question, we named this con
tract ratification as "a very poor sec
ond choice" our first choice belns
to vote for union with others in th'
unified Colorado River project" un
der government control and manage
ment. Since writing that letter, we
have about decided to vote mo OF
the contract and vote eyes" on the
government control resolution. Anc
our reasons for doing so are as fol
lows:
The advocates of the contract only
profess it to be their intention tc
vote for the contract and to vote
against the government control res
olution and against any bond issue
to put through the work they vote
for. Either they are crazy or | am
If you do not expect to do the thing
you contract to do, why sign the
contract, for it is very certain that
when you vote for the contract you
sign the contract, and we do not pro-
pose to sign a contract with our
neighbors obligating ourselves to
find and spend $4,000: 900 when they
tell us they do not expect to fulfill
the contract, but do expect to obli-
gate US to the full extent of the
contract so far as it makes conces-
sions to Yuma. When the contract is
signed up by our votes, all the con-
cessions to Yuma are confirmed, and
that is certainly as far as their plans
can be followed with clearness. 1t
is true they severally talk glibly OF
the easy money they expect to get
from Uncle Sam and offer very nu-
merous and very hazy plans for get
ting it, but we do not believe in as
suming obligations where the out
come is so obscure, except where the
issue is forced upon us. When the
Laguna dam was built, we were ad-
vocates of going in with Yuma and
we yet believe we made our gravest
mistake when we did not do so. Again
We voted against the Irrigation Dis
trict organization, advocating gov
management instead, and
we think it was a material error when
We elected the obscure trail we have
followed. Now, remember, some OF
he older men now advocating rati-
'ication of the contract were againstl
Joining in with Yuma, to build the
lam, and these same men were
strong for saving the Vallev when
t came to saddling us with the r.
legation District. Now they want
@ save us again by signing by our
,oting contract which they expect
md profes sthey will repudiate if
Uncle Sam fails to fall for their
,lans to touch him for funds to fl
lance the same. You can camouflage
hese facts under as much verbiage
is you wish, but they are facts, re-
,ardless of brother "Howe's Chick
IN -per-Acre" plan to pay off the
lebt. l notice that the payment OF
he little taxes to the Irrigation Dis
rict is no chickens job.
The Second Reader crowd advocate
yoting for both issues. l was with
his lot until 1 learned the primary
outfit were regulators, and before
luly considering the results. After
polling down the whole business, you
,re forced to the inevitable conclu-
sion that vote for the contract is
\ vote to cloud our titles, if we eX-
pect to or hope to hand the whole
matter over to the government to
work out for Us. If the government
will write us under the "Unified Col
orado River Project" it is very GER
tain this contract, if confirmed by
our votes, will be a stumbling block.
With a strong vote in favor of gov
ernment management, and our prop
erty clear of mortgages, such as this
contract will be, we have first class
chance to get now where we must,
ultimately, get under the government
banner. There is no other. plan
worth considering and a vote for the
contract only muddles the issue.
When the government takes over
an enterprise to place it under gov
ernment works, it must assume the
obligations of that concern. DO you
think for a minute the government
would consider our propositions with
$50 100000 more piled on top OF our
quite husky pile of debts?
Vote "No" on the contract.
Vote eyes" on the resolution.
It'd. MCCALL,
L. F. FARNSWORIH.