Imperial Valley press., 1919-09-19

l
: in excess of 100000 annually to build
= and destroy these weirs.
. To this procedure for getting our
water Yuma most strenuously and We
hemently objects, as constituting a
menace to their valley. They contend
that the putting of large quantities
, of rock in the river each year, al
though widely scattered when the dam
is destroyed, will in time build a bar
in the bed of the river, constituting
such an obstruction as may cause the
river, during high water, to break in
on their valley. They also claim that
the weir by holding up the water ele-
vation in the river, causes the water
table under their lands to rise, to the
injury of their crops.
TIE people of Yuma earnestly be-
live that the construction of these
weirs threatens the life of their pro-
ject, and to this extent are interested
in the passage of this bill, which is the
only way we can remove the danger
| from them.
They are also interested as l said
this morning, in this contract which
was made with the Secretary of the
Interior, which gives them cheap hy-
droelectric power to be developed by
this canal. for the purpose of raising
the water 80 feet on to their mesa, 40
! 600 acres of which, | think Mr.. Dav-
is said, they hope to open this fall.
To make their objection more point
ed. they have secured a temporary
| Injunction from the Arizona courts,
prohibiting our irrigation district
from constructing these weirs; and,
while this has been modified from
time to permit the building of weirs
! during the war, they now threaten to
now make their injunction perman-
ent. l will file a copy of this injunc-
tion and papers relating to it and ask
to have them made part of the re-
cord
Mr.. Hayden. And also copy of your
last War Department permit, please.
| Mr.. Swing. Yes, sir.
Mr.. Smith. What court granted that
/ injunction?
/ Mr. Swing. 1t is the superior court
of Yuma, State of Arizona; and aft
er the injunction was issued, which
was right at the time we had to get
/ the weir built, they compelled us to
stipulate that the trial of the case
when it came on should be conducted
and concluded in their local State
court, and should not be removed to
the Federal court.
Mr.. Smith And you had to make
that concession?
Mr.. Swing. We submitted to the
| jurisdiction of their Yuma court, by
stipulation, as the price of getting the
weir put in at that time.
Mr.. Hayden. The jurisdiction of the
State extends to the median line of
the stream does it not?
Mr.. Swing. Yes, sir.
Mr.. Hayden The Arizona authori-
ties can not prevent any obstruction
beyond the California line which is
the middle of the stream, that is, it
could only go halfway across?
Mr.. Swing. Yes, sir.
Mr.. Smith. Is it not an unusual
thing to have a stipulation Of that
kind entered into and not have the
privilege of appealing to a higher
court?
Mr.. Hayden. The landowners under
the Yuma project were in desperate
. situation and wanted protection.
Mr.. Swing. We were also in des-
perate situation and wanted water.
, The Chairman You signed it, and il
q is valid?
Mr. Swing. 1t is valid, in our opinion
and that of our attorneys. So we know
O what they mean when they say tina
they intend to make the injunction
! permanent, because it being in thei
O own courts we do not doubt their abil
6 ity to get favorable court action. Blu
,r both the Interior Department and tn
o War Department concur with tn
Yuma project in their attitude. The
rs have served formal notice upon tn
D. Imperial irrigation district by letter
at copies of which | will file and ask t
is be made part of this record, in whic
as they say that unless we make res
progress in getting away from tn
n place where we are and eliminate tn
IS necessity for the temporary weirs-
il and it is just because of the failure c
of the Ockerson levee that we have t
nd use them-they refuse us any furthe
,h permits to build these weirs.
re And then along comes the FEEDERS
is farm-loan bank, which says, "becaus
it. of this uncertainty of your getting W;
tit ter out of the river when you need