Imperial Valley press., 1944-03-06
Water Pact Hit
Al Farm Meet
Continued from page y

Of Colorado river water TO Mexico.
All the facilities of the Imperial
Irrigation district and all the per-
sonnel needed are being pooled
with the facilities and personnel
of other interested California agen-
cies to fight ratification Of this
treaty" Hewes said. The people OF
California have sold half a billion
dollars worth of water bonds on the
belief that the government CT the
United States would back UP its
| contracts with its own people and
/ permit them TO pay for structures
on the Colorado river which are
needed to provide water and power
for the southwest. Ratification OF
the treaty giving Mexico more
water than it ever used before will
mean reputation of the govern
ment'S treaty with its own people
the Boulder Canyon Dam act pro-
yiding for construction Of Boulder
dam and the All-American canal,
and other official acts passed to
provide for Utilization of the waters
of the Colorado i.HC"i
MEXICO FIJI
He said the treaty would give
Mexico the first water on the rival
and result in confiscation of Ameri-
can property, the waters which
arise within the United States.
THE state department has had
this treaty in mind since 1897, ="
Hewes said. AT that time the de-
partment asked the reclamation bu-
reau to make a report on the Colo
rado river. That report was con-
fidential, but Senator Hiram john
son got hold of a copy and made it
available to the Colorado River
Board of California. Engineers OF
this state objected to data and
figures in the report and forced its
modification.
In l941 the state department
asked that the committees of IA and
l6 which represent Colorado river
interests in seven western states,
to meet in Salt Lake for a discus
sion. The state department wanted
to know if the committees had any
objection TO the department having
conversations with Mexico about
controversial problems regarding
utilization of waters.
The committeeman said they
would net but interpcSed the fol-
lowing exceptions" Hewes said:
/. The Colorado river should not
lie tied to any wartime problems OF
the two nations.
2. Under no condition was the
Colorado river to be tied in with
the Rio Grande river in Texas, and
the Tijuana river in California.
3. Under no condition was the
state department TO discuss Mexico
using a greater quantity Of water
than before Boulder dam was con-
Since that time the state de-
partment has attempted to break
down the unity of the seven west
ern states and put over the plan to
give Mexico more water from the
Colorado river and to make the cit
izens of the United States pay the /
1ill." Hewes declared THE only /
reason TO" the state departments |
action has been that Mexico asked /
or it"
He said that the state depart
nent forced all persons attending
he meetings to promise not to tell
what was going on or what was
discussed or they never would be |
allowed TO attend other meetings |
neld for the same purpose. Repre-
of the. press always were |
barred and the committee members
not TO tell newspaper re-
porters about the meetings.
Ratification of this treaty will .
be a death blow to the people of |
Imperial Valley and TO other peo-
pie dependent upon Colorado river
water for agriculture and domestic |
Hewes told the Farm
but the results are more |
reaching than that. They at
.ack the very foundations OF our
'ree government and will make the
United States dictatorship.