The Winslow mail., 1921-04-29

the United States Reclamation Ser
vice that is now gathering informa-
tion through its engineering corps
of the colt, possibilities and other
data with which to go before con-
gress and make requisition for the
money wherewith to bring into be-
ing this wonderful project.
On the other hand, the people
back of the opposition to the build
ing Of this dam by the federal gov
ernment is said to be the Mexican
Land and Development company,
composed of Los Angeles people, be-
cause of the fact that the U. S. r. S.
proposes to build an all-American
canal, cutting out the 10 miles of
canal that reaches far down into
Mexico and bends! back into the
United States, and waters the fer
tile acres of the Imperial valley
This canal also distributes water
over the holdings of the Mexican
land company, without expense to
that organization, but it the expense
Of the American farmers of the I'm
perial valley. 1t can be readily
seen that the big interests controll-
ial valley. below the line are unwill-
ing to give up present conditions
without a struggle. One of the men
who have helped reclaim the valley
told the writer that the farmers of
the Imperial valley had been mulct-
ed out of more than 100,000,000 by
the water users of Lower Califor-
mia; that the American farmers
were taxed with the building and
upkeep of the canal; were put to all
kinds of trouble to care for the wat
erway from the Yuma heading to
the diversions upon the lands
throughout it's entire course, and
without dollar of expense to the
Mexican farmers, below the line.
Who would not dislike to give up
such a good thing and who would
not fight to the last ditch to retain
sinecure of this nature. 1t is not
the people, it is a. little coterie Of
Los Angeles men who wish to get
strangle hold on the Boulder Can
yon dam site and absolutely control
the waters of the Colorado river.
There is no general interest in Los
Angeles concerned in the prosperity
of the Imperial valley Their inter
est is only SO far as it brings pros
perity to Los Angeles. At the meet
ing of the League of the Southwest
in Los Angeles a year ago, the may
or of that city stated that he had
lived in the Angel City Is years and
had never been in Imperial valley
until few weeks prior to the gath
ering. This conclusively shows the
interest of Los Angeles in the pros
perity of the wonderfully fruitful
valley of Imperial At the same
P railroad made the statement that
rs per cent of the eastbound freight
having it's inception in Los Angeles
terminated in the Imperial valley,
and that the towns of that valley
were of great Importance to that
city.
The building of Boulder Canyon
dam is of far more reaching import
ance than the development of power
for Los Angeles use. 1t means the
development of new towns along
the course of the river; the utiliza-
ton of hundreds of thousands of
conservation of flood areas from
Cottonwood valley to the Mexican
line, and would give to the mining
sections of Utah, Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Calf
ornia cheap and unlimited power.
In this county alone there would be
safeguarded and brought under cul-
tivation fully 100000 acres of the
richest lands in the world and the
same would be true of Yuma county
as we'll as the country on the west
side OF the stream embraced N Cali
fornia and Nevada. 1t would not
take from the lands of Mexico any
part of the water the lands are now
obtaining, but it would put the bar
den of upkeep upon the people 1e-
ceiving the benefits. The building
Of the all-American canal would al
So tring into being nearly million
acres that are now barren and make
them fruitful at low cost.
The U. S. R. S. does not proposc
to allow any individuals to get foot
hold in the potential canyons en-
closing waters of the Colorado rive
and in this stanl they will have the
backing of the people of the cOul,-