Imperial Valley press., 1936-06-14

by refrigeration. (M12P-tf)
they needed. Sometimes it re-
fused them, and sometimes it
hurled its torrents across their
crude levees, inundating their
homes and sending them to the
higher ground.
Then, on June II. 1902. the
lawmakers in far away Washing
ton made the Reclamation Act
into law. The unwatered west re-
joiced. Following closely on the
heels of the acts passage, all
public lands in the locality of
Yuma We're withdrawn from entry
This was on June 27 of the same
year -Four months later the re-
clamation bureau sent its men
and transits cut along a 300-mile
stretch of the Colorado, from
Needles to the Mexican border
They were hunting for a place
where they could drive a barrier
across the treacherouS rivers bed
and they found the site of La
guna Dam.
Pioneers Join Battle
Somebody had to help. The
reclamation bureau could do moth
ing by itself. Yuma's pioneers
stepped into the breach.
The Yuma Water Users Asso-
citation was incorporated Nov 2
1903, with M. WinSor as chairman
Events moved rapidly after that
There were mass meetings. Re
clamation bureau officials talked
OF the dream they had, and the
hardy men of the desert saw the
vision, too.
In March, 1904, the total cost
of the proposed Yuma project was
estimated at $2,933,113. The ir-
rigable area was 87,449 acres, they
figured, and the per acre charge
would be $33.42. Then, on March
10, 1904, the secretary of the in
terror in Washington set aside $3,-
100000 for construction of the
project. Such a celebration as
only desert men can stage greeted
the news, and on May 3, 1904, the
Water Users Association had a
sufficient membership to make
formal request to Washington fol
construction of the project.
Laguna Contracted
The red tape unWound rapidly
Construction of Laguna Dam was
contracted July 6, 1905, to J. G
White 81 Co. of Los Angeles fol
$797560. Operations began July
10, 1905.
Then difficulties arose. In a
supplemental contract made neceS-
sary by the difference in antici-
pated materials, the contract price
was raised to $1,129,13 with the
governments permission. In 1906
the contractor prayed for relief
from the contract, but was denied
by board of engineers sitting
in Los Angeles. On Jan. "a, 1907
with the job "a per cent complet-
ed. the contractor was relieved
No comment was made in official
records, nor was there any authori-
tative statement explaining the ac-
ton. The government went or
with the work.
The Laguna Dam contractors
had also, on Feb. %, 1906, beer
awarded a contract for furnishing
and installing sluice gates, regulat-
ing gates and operating machin-
cry. On Jan. 81, 1907, three days
after the contractor was relieved
of the contract for the dam itself
the government agreed to assume
all work except that of furnishing
gates and other machinery. Sluice
and regulating gates were installed
in the winter of 10000.
Other Difficulties
Meanwhile there had been othel
difficulties. Official documents oi
the reclamation bureau, usually
couched in terse, emotionles'
language, described the years o.
1904, .905 and 1906 as "a perioC
of great trial and uncertainty.
It was in 1905-06 that the entire
| flow of the Colorado river, slic'
ing through man-made barriers
ravaged what is now Imperia
county as IL llOWeu ulGo odlGoi
Sea. Naturally there were de-
lays while man fought the ele'
ments.
But work had not stopped. There
was the problem of a canal
First they proposed canal or
the Arizona side of the river
skirting the mesa and crossing the
Gila river by siphon. The boaI
was great-but so would be the
benefits. They even started work
One week after the job began
however. word flashed from Wash
ington, and it was stopped. Some
one had a better idea. Besides
some of the Yuma property own
ers wanted too much for th'il
right-of-way. Then there were
leVee and embankment problems
along the Gila. A route through