Imperial Valley press., 1935-06-03

O1SIflCL Is ElTOEeeOlliS Dy lSeiooAA "a
inadequate drainage facilities. Al
ready tens of thousands of acres OF
formerly fertile land throughout the
valley have been ruined by the con-
stantly rising water table or by the
deposit of salt carried by irrigation
waters in excess of that washed out.
1 have heard it predicted by GER
tain observers intimately acquaint-
ed with local conditions that unless
additional drainage is shortly pro-
vided the valley will revert to the
desert in fifteen years.
There is good reason to believe
| that the refusal Of the federal land
board to make farm loans in the
valley has been due to this situation,
which each year is becoming more
acute. Unless shortly remedied it
will inevitably depreciate the value
of all farm lands in the district,
which will in turn adversely affect
the values of all city property.
Prospective purchasers, after in
vestigation, will not buy into a
situation involving such menace
overhanging their investment.
| While the district already has the
beginning of drainage system, yet
such system is today entirely made
quate to effectuate its purpose. Fur
ther, the drainage problem, serious
as it is at this time, will become
much more menacing with the COM
pletion of the All-American canal,
involving the introduction of silt
free water and the irrigation of
large bodies of new land lying above
the present irrigated area. 1t must
be borne in mind that the present
| agreement between the District and
the United States makes absolutely
no provision for drainage.
I will not attempt tonight To
analyze in detail the Cone report
which holds out the lure of large
profits from the distribution of
power generated by the canal
plants, but do wish to call your at
tention to the flimsy basis on which
the vital item of revenues is estf-
mated.
A business man, in proposing to
enter into a competitive field ordi-
narily would set up his revenue on
the basis of securing certain per-
centage of the total existing buSi-
,neSs. Mr.. Cone, however, assumes
not only that the district will
secure 100 per cent of the business,
but then proceeds to estimate that
under district operations, with a
80 per cent redcution in rates, the
present consumption of electrical
energy in Imperial and Coachella
Valleys will be doubled. This as
sumption is made in the face of the
fact that approximately 25 per
cent of the power load in Imperial
Valley is represented by the con-
sumption of cur own ice plants,
and that the company has already
built up in the two Valleys the
; | highest average residential con-
sumption in the United States -
nearly double that, for instance, oi
the city of Los Angeles, which ha'
', lower rates today than Mr.. Cone
proposes to put into effect in the
valley.
If 80 per cent reduction In
rates would double the existing de-
mand, the company would make
such a reduction tomorrow as
matter Of pure selfish interest. Ex-
perience over many years, however
shows that this is impossible, par
tjcularly with demand that has
already been brought up to an out
standing figure.
Further rate reductions by the
company in it's valley schedules will
follow in the future just as they
have in the past, particularly with
the advent of Boulder Canyon pow
er. I personally believe that after
an adjustment for taxes, the COM
pany's rates within the next three
years will reach point as low as
those proposed by the district.
In the past we were handicapped
in making of rate reductions by
the necessity of spending large
sums of money in additional trans
mission facilities to protect your
service. We believed then, and dc
today, that this course was in the
best interests of our consumers. To-
day, however, the service Is amply
protected and as the electrical de-
mands of the valley grow, rate re-
auctions will not present the same
difficulties.
I am not asking that you take
my word on these questions, but am
simply suggesting that you in
vestigate the serious problems in
volved with an open mind; that you
consider the district power project
from the same angle you would If
you were investing your personal
funds in the enterprise. After all
it is yours-the taXpayers'-money
that is concerned.
Power Trust
One more word before close. Do
not let your Judgment in this mat
ter be warped by cries of power
trust" and the thought that the
company represents some greedy
band of financiers that are trying
to rob the community. In fact, the
company's investment in the val
ley's service represents the savings
of over 10000 individuals, most of
them people of but moderate
means-some 40 per cent of them
women, and many of them largely
dependent upon the income they are
now receiving from their invest