Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., November 24, 1906, Image 1

About Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press. (El Centro, Calif.) 1906-1907

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Imperial Valley Press.
fOL. VI
AN IMPORTANT VISIT
rexican Boundary Commissioner Visits Hanlon
Heading and Imperial Valley.
avors Treaty Between the United States and Mexico Providing for
Division of the Waters of the Colorado River and
Their Use for Irrigation
The recent visit to this Valley of Se
r Fernando Beltran V Puja. the
jxlcan International boundary com
ssloner, was an event of great Im
rtance In many ways. Senor Puja
a civil engineer of eminent standing
t only In his own country, but In the
rid at large. He Is also a trained
>lomat, a lawyer of great erudition
d a man of commanding ability In
any ways. He is pre-eminently fit-
Ito perform the duties which have
[in assigned to him by his govern
bnt in this Instance. The solution of
[ International questions Involved In
[ use of the waters of the lower Col
do river for Irrigation is rendered '
ich nearer by his visit. While the \
itleman did not submit himself to
jrvlews while here It Is known that
was very much Impressed with the
Eiderful development that has been
ughtlnthe Imperial Valley and
it away a strong convert to the
position of doing away with the ,
igatlon requirement of the old
ities and devoting the waters of the ;
orado to irrigation. What he saw
he Colorado river at the Mexican
ke and at Calexlco and along New
r also convinced him that the wat
hould never again be diverted from
Colorado river below the line In
ilco. His skill as an engineer and
wide range of information enabled
to quickly see that no volume of
»r sufficient for the irrigation of
Valley and the lands below the
in Mexico could be safely diverted
i Its course except It be upon a
datlon of solid rock and protected
steel and concrete gate. He
d also see that no such place" ex
below the Mexican line, there
all diversions of water for use In
Valley and on the lands south of
Ine in Mexico must be made from
Colorado river above the Interna-
I line In the United States. So
convinced of all these facts did
>r Puja become that he expressed
■elf freely regarding them and gave
m that he would report to his gov-
Bent In favor ot the proposed treaty
His now being negotiated between
■Jnlted States and Mexico for the
■on of the waters of the Colorado
■ their use for Irrigation. Past
Hs have been of such a character
I Indicate to some extent what the
ft of this treaty will be. The treaty
ftrnlng the Rio Grande river Is a
■in point. There the United States
Bnment recognized the rights of
Is lands in Mexico that had ever
■supplied with water and binds It
■> deliver the water sufficient for
I them. In that case the rule was
■ished that all lands that ever had
■irrigated had thereby acquired an
■ship of water sufficient for their
■uous Irrigation, The fact was
Hilzed that an Irrigation right Is a
Heal right, for irrigation Is a per-
I process. It therefore follows
EL CENTRO. CALIFORNIA. SATURDAY, NOVEMBERS 1906
that the Mexican land owner on the
Rio Grande river Is the owner of part
of the waters furnished by the Rio
Grande water shed and that the canal
that will be built and operated in Amer
ican territory Is a highway for the
transportation of his water, that the
water is his property and/the /relation
between himself and the United States
government Is precisely that of shipper
and common carrier. The conditions
that have already accrued In this Val
ley are very similar and will inevitably
be recognized In the same was by the
forthcoming treaty. In this case the
operation began by the California De
velopment company making a filing on
the waters of the Colorado river to the
amount of 10,000 cubic feet per sec
ond for use in the Irrigation of the
lands In the Imperial Valley. They
then applied to the Mexican govern
ment for a charter for a corporation,
the Socledad de Yrrlgaclon y Terrenos
de la Baja California.
This application was duly granted
and the corporation chartered. In this
charter it is granted the right to take
water from a point on the international
line near the Colorado river and con
vey it through v exlcan territory to
other points on the international line
and there deliver It for use in the
United States. Ten thousand cubic
feet per second Is the amount of water
the Socledad is authorized to carry.
This water was to be diverted from the
Colorado river in the United States by
the California Development company
in accordance with its tiling made un
der the laws of California and deliver
ed to the Mexican corporation. Oper
ations under this arrangement began
on May 12th, 1901, and continued
without interruption for more than two
years. The water was diverted from
the river In the United States by the
California Development company and
delivered to the Mexican corporation
at the International line. The Mexican
company In pursuance of 'Its charter
rights conveyed the water through
Mexican territory and delivered It at
the International line for use In the
United States. That operation estab
lished the right of the users of water In
this Valley to the continuous flow of
their water through the canal or canals
of the Socledad de Yrrlgaclon y Terre
nos de la Baja California In Mexico.
All the contracts for the delivery of
water to the mutual water companies
in this Valley provide for this method
of diversion and conveyance and every
water right In the Valley Is based upon
It. The waters of the Colorado river
that have been put to beneficial use In
the Irrigation of the lands In this Val
ley belong to the lands on which such
use Is made. It is therefore the prop
erty of the owner of the land on which
It has been and Is to be used.
Just as the Mexican land owner on
the Rio Grando owns a right In the
waters furnished by the Rio Grande
AND TMH IMPERIAL PRBSS
watershed, just so does the Imperial
Valley farmer own a right In the wat
ers of the Colorado watershed. And
just as the canals of the United States
reclamation service on the Rio Grande
are highways for the conveyance of
the Mexican landowners' water through
American territory In like manner the
canals of the Socledad de Yrrlgaclon
y Terrenos de la Baja California are
highways for the transportation of the
water belonging to the American land
owners In this Valley through Mexican
territory. The gran: to the Mexican
corporation by the Mexican govern
ment of the right to convey water for
use in the United States through Mex
ican territory and deliver It back across
the line into the United States is nec
essarily a perpetual grant just as all ir
rigation 1 rights must be perpetual. This
Is a principle that Is so well established
and so clearly recognized by the Rio
Grande treaty that it is hardly possible
for the question to be raised in this
case. The fact that the Mexican
government later granted other rights
to the Mexican corporation did not
abrogate the first rights granted to it.
And the further fact that these last
grants contained In the concession of
May 17th 1904, will probably be set
aside by the forthcoming treaty between
the two nations Is not a matter of con
cern to the people of this Valley. Our
rights are firmly established and are
absolute and will be recognized by
both nations. In just what proportions
the waters of the Colorado will be di
vided between the two nations Is, of
course, a matter of speculation. It is
known that a tentative offer of 600.000
acre feet of water per annum delivered
at the international line on a reason
able monthly schedule was made some
time ago on behalf of the United States
to Mexico as her share of the water
the United States to retain all the rest
except such flood waters as might es
cape down the channel of the river.
The above proposed delivery to be
made in a canal and under control.
This offer was made before there were
any damages to consider. At any rate
the people of this Valley can rest as
sured that the forthcoming treaty con
cerning the' Colorado river will in no
way militate against their rights. On
the other hand they will be recognized
and safeguarded. The rights of the
California Development company and
the Mexican corporation as carrying
companies, serving the people with
water are also established and will be
recognized and protected.
The right of the California Develop
ment company to extend its canal sys
tem in this Valley will no doubt be pro
vided for, as the secretary of the inter
ior has already declared himself in fav
or of It. In fact there. Is nothing In
sight that can in any way jeopardize or
menace the'security and prosperity of
our people. The International ques
tions concerning the Colorado have
been so simplified and the problems
rendered so clear by the events which
have transpired during the past few
years in connection with the develop
ment of this Valley as well as by the
precedents established in the treatment
of the Rio Grande matter that they are
no longer formidable. Such questions
In the hands of men of such character
and ability as Senor Puja, the Mexican
commissioner and Frederick H. New
ell, on behalf of the United States are
assured of careful and equitable con
sideration and a speedy and just solu
tion. The time has come for the two
nations to come together and while
safeguarolng and protecting all legiti
mate rights to devote the waters of
America's greatest Irrigation resource
to their highest use In bringing millions
of arid acres Into fruitful production,
thus producing happy and prosperous
homes for landless man on manless
land.
DEATH OF A. H. HEBER
Pioneer Promoter Meets Death in
Hotel Holocaust at Coldfield,
Nevada
The tragic death of A. H. Heber
which occurred In a hotel fire at Gold
field, Nevada, Friday night of last
week was a severe shock to the people
of this Valley, almost all of whom were
acquainted with him and many of
whom held him In the highest esteem.
Mr. Heber was In business in the Ne
vada town, being the' head of the Im
perial-Goldfleld Mining company and
also conducting an Investment broker
age business under the firm name of
A. H. Heber & Co. His ventures
were proving very successful and at
the time of his untimely death he and
his associates were in a fair way to
recoup the losses they met In the Cal
ifornia Development company. Every
one in this Valley or interested In it
met Mr. Heber during the time he
was at the head of Valley affairs. He
led a very active life and always hand
led large enterprises. He had a large
part in the organization of the Califor
nia Development company and the
fermation of Its plans. After the
Chaffey regime was brought to a close
Mr. Heber took charge of the com
pany, as president and general manager
which position he held from February,
1902, to June. 1905. He was also
president of the Imperial Land com
pany and of Imperial Water company
No. 1 for a term. During his . man
agement of the California Develop
ment company many troubles beset
him. but he came through them all un
scathed and it is now believed that the
fault was none of his.
THOSE
6 acre
tracts
adjoining El Centro will
double in value
in the next year
Raise one crop of Cantaloupes and
Pay for the Land
in one season
$110 per acre and up
Apply to
D. H. Chaplin,
El Centro, Call
Mr. Heber was a native of Pennsyl
vania and was nearly 55 years of age
at the time of his death. He was a
successful banker In Kansas and lowa
before becoming Interested in Califor
nia. It was while living In Chicago
and occupying the position of general
eastern agent of the Kern County Land
Co. that. he became Interested In the
Imperial Valley enterprise. This was
In the year 1895. It was largely
through his efforts that the California
Development Co. was organized in 1896
and he has always been Its heaviest
stockholder. Mr. Heber's home was
at 1003 Bonnie Brae avenue, Los An
geles. Mrs. Heber and six children
survive him. His sons, Earl and Er
nest, were formerly in the lumber bus
iness at Imperial and are both well
known in this Valley. Ernest was
with his father In Goldfleld and escap
ed from the burning hotel In which
Mr. Heber lost his life. The Heber
family are all landowners In this Valley
probably owning more land In the val
ley than any other family that has in
terests here. They own the Keystone
ranch of 1600 acres near Brawley be
sides several sections In Water com
pany No. 6 and tracts in other parts
of the valley. The people of this val
ley always had a friend in A. H. Heb
er and many were the expressions of
sorrow for his tragic death. Mrs. He
ber and the family have the heartfelt
sympathy of all the old settlers In this
valley. Many whom they have never
met are sorrowing for the friend who
has met his death In such a terrible
manner.
J. L. Travers and a par y of car
penters arrived from Redlands last
Sunday night and early Monday morn
ing they began work on W. E. Down-
Ing's cottage. They already have or
ders ahead for eleven cottages and
still they come. Mr. Travers Is hir
ing all the carpenters he can get as he
Is desirous of rushing the work on
these houses just as fast as possible.- .
NO. 33