Imperial Valley press., 1923-03-30

in this matter. You tell us how we
can cooperate with you, and we
pledge to you our support for any
program you outline Following
that came the Davis-Fall report.
Fall Approves
At the conclusion of that report
there are series of definite
recommendation for the solution of
the problems of the lower Colorado
River; when it became my duty,
with the help of others representing
Imperial Valley and Southern Cali
fornia, to draft bill, we took up
these different recommendations,
and to the best of our ability fran
ed a bill which carried into legisla-
ton and into execution the pro-
gram laid down by Secretary Fall,
and when that bill went over to his
department for his formal approval
he gave his unqualified endorse
ment.
Well, l think we have lived up
to our part of the program pretty
well. We are all pretty well back
of that proposal. The Imperial r.
rigation District unanimously en-
dorsed that bill; your body has en-
dorsed it; practically every civic or
ganization in Southern California
has endorsed that bill.
Takes Time
We did not get far enough along
with the bill to determine where, if
at any place, serious objections
might be raised to it. The fact is
that no objections were raised to it.
We did not get further than we did
with it because of shortness of time
1t was first introduced less than a
year ago and no project Of this mag
nitude has ever passed congress the
first time it is proposed. 1t takes
| time to educate 435 members from
all parts of the United States. How.
ever we got the matter well pre-.
sented to the committee on Irriga.
tion of Arid Lands.
Now we must prepare to arouse
public opinion of the country at
large so as to get the support of
congress.
This is big matter. 1t has been
compared to the building of the
Panama canal. 1t takes not only
the united approval of the people of
Imperial Valley, Southern Califor.
MIA and the Southwest, but it must
have the vote of the congressman
from the East and the South.
Every proposed project is present
ed to the committees and to con-
gress in superlative terms, just the
same as every circus poster declares
it to be the biggest, ,grandest, the
most stupendous-sO every project
presented to congress is presented
as the most important, the most
necessary, the most urgent. They
hear that every day. They get fed
up on it. 1t gets so it all sounds
alike but when they come out on
the ground and took the evidence
first hand, then they began to un-
derstand our problem and give it
sympathetic consideration. w c
stopped first at the dam site going
down to the lower site, in Boulder
canyon, as we have decided to call
it, for it will be the Boulder Reser-
voir no matter where the dam is,
! inasmuch as the "Boulder' has
been advertised all over the United
States, it is advantageous to keep
that name.
All Agreed
The walls go up nearly perpendic-
ular 80 degrees-straight up 600
feet, and then slope back to 1900
feet high. We showed them where
the dam should be put in and not
man who went there but what
was convinced of the, feasibility Cf
building 600 foot dam at that
place, and then we brought them
here and showed them the benefi-
cial results which would be obtain.
ed here and in Yumd, from flood
control and extension Of reclama-
tion. We showed them the coast,
with its prospective markets for pow
er, where the government after
spending this money for the devel-
opment of all this inland empire
would get its money back by the
sale of power in San Diego, River
side, Long Beach, Pasadena, and
Los Angeles in 80 years.
These congressman had in mind
lion dollars on flood control.
Mississippi river where the United
States government since the crea-
ton of the Mississippi River Com
mission 10 or 12 years ago, has
spent one hundred and sixteen mil
lion dollars on flood control, and
and they will keep on spending
million after million because it is a
never ending problem of constantly
raising levees, reinforcing and re-
pairing them, not a dollar of which
which ever return to the United
States Treasury except indirectly in
the increased prosperity and happi-
ness of her people; and they saw
here proportionately greater men
ace i'll a river whose variance is
from 5000 second feet low water
to 100000 second feet in flood sea
son, which makes it practically i'm
possible to control it by levecs
alone.
They saw where God, in his infin-
itc wisdom, had prepared a place,
where by the exercise of a little
craftsmanship on their part they
could solve this problem by install
ing a dam which would hold back