Imperial Valley press., 1919-01-20

they have each year told us we must
get away from that temporary wier,
and the district has on file a letter
from the War Department, which
warns us that if we do not ratify this
contract and take some action, that
they will not again grant us the. per-
nit. Now those things are serious,
when taken in connection with the
fact that our own engineers, MI.
Clark, who has just left the service
of the district; Mr.. Perry, who has
Just assumed the position of general
manager; and Mr.. Cronholm, our SUI
perintendent on the river, all say we
must build a wier this coming summer
or have very long water shortage
Now it isn't a legal proposition, but
you can draw your own conclusion
whether it is an economic or a waste
full expenditure to put q hundred
thousand dollars in the river for
few months, and then take some more
thousand dollars to blow it out again.
NO LOSS OF WATER RIGHTS.
This contract provides by agree
ment for an apportionment of The
water of the river OF the Colorado be-
tween Yuma and Imperial Valley,
without litigation. We have always
taken the position, and why shouldn't
the man brag up his own side OF the
case, that technically we had prior
water right over Yuma? Yuma first
used the water, and that is in their
favor. They were 'appropriating water
out of the river before there was any
body in Imperial Valley, but there are
certain provisions of law relating 10
filing a notice in the county record
er's office, and On that score we are
claiming we flied our notice in The
recorders Office in San Diego a year
or two prior to Yuma but if the law
of beneficial use aplies, then TO the
extent to which they had used water
first, they have a prior water right.
While | will always cOtnend that we
have the best of the argument, there
is very considerable degree OF un-
certainty as to what a court would de-
eide as to the relative water rights
of Imperial Valley and Yuma valley,
but there is no uncertainty as to how
long it would take the courts TO finally
arrive al decision. Ii we were in
position where we could sit back and
wait, and you desired to hire eminent
counsel TO present your case, perhaps
Il
has been made in this contract, but ii
you are not i'll a position to wait q
number of years, ii you must act soon
in the next few years, then you must
come to some such an agreement as
this, because if we and the Yuma al
ley are to Jointly use common diver
sion, and common canal down eight
miles to the point where the two must
separate, then there comes a Time
and a place where the water diverted
must be divided between Yuma and
the Imperial alley in some such pro
portion, and Franklin X. Lane is the
man who says what that proportion
will be. He says this contract is fair
and just between Imperial alley and
Yuma. We say we don't like it and
Yuma says they don't like it, and he
says where both parties are .diSpleaSed
that assures him that he has hit about
the middle ground. How can you eX
pect to go back to the same indenti-
official and submit to him the same
Identical questions and expect diff
ferent decision?
Now we do not cOncede to Yuma
prior water rights. We simply say
you stay on your side of the proper
ton, and don't go beyond the one
fourth. We have prior right to
three-fourths.' 1t has been said that
this contract valves our water rights.
think Mr.. Will Edgar made that
statement. That is absolutely a mis-
take. In law there is no other party
to the contract but Yuma. We make |
no admissions or concessions or WaiV |
ers to any community whatever, eX-
cept Yuma, and then only as part
of the purchase price, as being per
mitted to use a structure built for
them. We haven't waived our rights |
as to anybody. What | said a while |
ago applies to the proposition Mr. !
Holt pointed out, you have got to |
make some such division, because I'm !
perial Valley and the Yuma Valley are |
the natural competitors for the water !
of the stream, and you cannot use the |
same canal without you first come 10 |
some agreement, and what division |
shall it be:
PROJECT VS.. DISTRICT.
'As TO all the other points in the |
contract, l might say it is immaterial |
whether you call yourself district or !
project, you have got to come to some |
We must bear our share OF the cost
of Laguna Dam. Mr. Lane laid out
the map, designated how many acres
in Imperial District, how many acres
in Yuma, and how much the works
that are to be used jointly, cost. I'M
perial Valleys just share, he said,
amounts to $500, 900. What differ
ence does it make if you call yourself
a project. The land that is going TO
benefit by The use of the structure
must bear its proportion of the cost
of that structure.
$50 to as TO power development
When we went there, they said, as
a part of the Yuma Project, We have
already planned and intend 10 reclaim
10000 acres of mesa land which is so
feet above the river, and the only way
we can reclaim ii is by the develop
ment of power. We have plans drawn
and a route prepared TO take the
water to Pilot Knob and there develop
power by dropping it back into the
river, and now you want to run right
over the same route, and you want to
A. ta,. md IN