Imperial Valley press., 1921-09-19
Los ANGELES
TO Be HEARD
ION BOULDER
CANYON
El Centre Progress Engin-
GERS Way for Angel City
to Participate in What
Was Intended to Be Fam
lily Conference. Z,

Tomorrow morning one of the most
important conferences ever held by
representatives of civic bodies in the
Imperial Valley is to be held in Ell
Centre by committees from the Farm
Bureau, the Bankers Association, the
American Legion, the Water Improve
ment association and the County Tax
Payers association with the directors
and Officials of the Imperial Irirga-
ton District and the Coachella Valley
water users. s...--
This conference which has been
weeks in the planning was originally
suggested by President B. D. Irvine
of the Farm Bureau the announc .d
object of which, was to secure united
action by all the parties at interest
upon the Boulder Canyon power and
water conservation project.
Originally intended as family af-
fair and with only the neighbors from
the Coachella Valley invited, because
of their purely local interest in the
future water supply, other influences
at the last hour before the conference
has secured the acceptance of a self
extended invitation from the City of
Los Angeles to be present and take
part IN the preliminary deliberations
of the committeeman from the various
local bodies.
Because of the fact the officials of
the Los Angeles Power Bureau have
never kept faith even with their own
neople, and their past record is cre Ut
broken pledges and unfulfilled pron.is.
es, it is deemed proper at this time
to ask the people of the Imperial Val
lev to look with caution upon any al
vances made by the representatives OF
the Angel City and to give most tacs-
full consideration to any proposition
submitted by them.
About ID years ago Messrs. Mulhol-
land, Scattergood, Matthews, Haynes
and their associates of the Los An
geles bureau of power and light "sold"
the taxpayers of that city the aqueduct
idea by promising that all the Owens
river water would be transmitted into
gold for it's owners. Not only would
the cost be returned, said these men
to the voters at that time, but the
profits would pay the interest, sinking
fund and maintenance.
That that pledge was false is shown
by the facts and figures as given in Of
fetal reports on file in the office OF the
city clerk of Los Angeles. In the u
years time since it started on the JOB,
the bureau of power and light has de-
veloped only about 10000 horsepower
out of possible 250,O00 horsepower
in the auueduct and the taxpayers Of
the city have been called upon to pay
the enormous sum of $685. ,403.95 to
meet the interest and sinking fund re-
ouirements on the power bonds issued
by the city. And in IL years since
the water has been turned on in the
aoueduct the bureau of power and light
his contributed only $605,000 toward
these charges and of this sum they
borrowed back from the city to pay
maintenance charges the sum of $780,
600. and of this amount they still owe
the city $225,0O0. !,
Filings on water power sites up and
down the state by the city, including
thc Colorado river, total 1865 the
oretical horsepower. OF this enormous
amount of power, the city of Los An
yeles. has developed in the past IL
years, exclusive of the filings upon
the Colorado river, but 8.6 per cent at
an approximate cost of $26, 900, 900 to
the taxpayers of which huge sum the
bureau Of power and light has re-
turned to the city the, sum OF $28O,OOO.
In view of this state of affairs the
question is seriously asked of the peo-
ple of the Imperial Valley, can we
safely take the pledge of tn city power
officials that the Los Angeles voters
will risk the pledging of $l5O,O0O, 900
or more to pay for quickly developing
nrd delivering water and power - our
doors,
IL must also be remembered that in