Imperial Valley press., 1934-03-03
GOVERNOR Of
ARIZONA WILL
GUARD RIVER
Calls Out Militia To Prevent
Metropolitan Water District
From Tapping Colorado.
WILL PROTECT HIS STATE
Work On Parker Damsite May
Be Halted If Moeur Persists
In Present Course.

PHOENIX, Ariz, March 3. tU.H
Gov. b. B. Moeur today ordered
a squad of Arizona national guards
man to Parker Ariz., on the Colo
RADIO river to prevent the Metro
poltan Water District of Southern
California encroaching upon state
property.
The action was taken following
an opinion handed down by at
torney General Arthur La Prade
that Arizona was within its rights
in protecting the water rights
along the Colorado river.
With announcement OF the order
for the national guard to patrol
the district nine miles north of
Parker Dam site where diver
sion dam is to be built the gov
ernor said he had no fight with
the state OF California but with
the Metropolitan Water district.
Gov Moeur said he would go TO
the site personally Monday and
make an inspection of work now
being done. His orders for the
national guard to establish a camp
along the banks of the river came
after he had been notified that
several steel cables had been an
chored on the Arizona side of
the river holding a barge in the
stream.
The diversion dam to be built
is one of the main units of the
giant Metropolitan Water district
project which will carry water to
leading cities in the Southern Cali
fornia district.
First steps in this action were
taken Feb. IA, when Charles A,
Carson. member of the Colorado
river commission for Arizona filed
bill with the U. S. supreme court
seeking to perpetuate testimony
for future litigation.
Notified Rolph
Gov. Moeur previous to this had
notified Governor James Rolph, Jr.,
of California, that he would not
allow construction work on the
Arizona side until an agreement
as to future water and power
rights of this state had been set
tied. Gov. Rolph replied that
meeting on this matter had been
held in California several months
ago and Arizona was not rep
resented.
1t was said here that there is
no commission or authorized body
in California at this time to un-
dertake such an agreement with
the sister state. The river COM
mission in Arizona is composed of
John Mason Ross, chairman and
Charles A. Carson, of Phoenix, and
A. H. Favorite, of Prescott.
Ross is away from the city and
could not be reached for a set
tlement However, it was pointed
out at the state capitol here that
every effort of the commission to
reach an agreement with Cali
ifornia or members of the Metro
politan Water district has failed
thus far.
The guardsmen ordered to the
site today have been instructed to
protect the rights of the state
and report at once any encroach-
ment on the Arizona side of the
river"
Should work be continued at the
dam site it was said here Arizona
will go to the courts to protect
their rights.
LOS ANGELES, March 3. U.P) =
Officials of the Metropolitan Water
District withheld official comment
today on action of Gov. B. B. Moeur
in calling out Arizona national
guardsmen to protect the states wa
ter rights along the Colorado river
Position of local officers was that
the controversy was one between
Gov. Moeur and the federal govern
ment since the bureau Of reclama-
ton is building the Colorado river
dam.
Although the Los Angeles metro
politan area will use the water from
the river" one officials said, 1.-The
actual work is in charge of the fed
eral government. The dispute is not
between us and Gov. Moeur but one
for the governor to settle with the
federal government"
AS a result local officials deemed
it unpolitic to be quoted directly on
the subject.