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Newspaper Page Text
IMPERIAL VALLEY'S CALUMNY AGAINST YUMA j gffi!li!fiffiHiffi PROJECT CANNOT GO UNCHALLENGED. est s Some of the people over in Imperial Valley, notably two or three of the local papers of that section, have been looking for a "goat" for a long time. They have at last hit upon the concerted idea of making a "goat" out of Yuma Project in order to cover up their own misdeeds in other words they have come to the conclusion that Yuma Project is responsible for their annual losses of millions of dollars in crops for the lack of sufficient water to keep the crops from burning up in that well known summer inferno. The fact of the matter is that Imperial Valley is "short" of water because its laterals are so conjested with silt and sand that the water that is diverted at Hanlon head ing runs on down into the Salton sea because of the lack or outlets into the canals and laterals connecting with the Al amo river, through which all the water flows from Hanlon heading. And as time passes these canals and laterals will become more and more conjested until it is only a question of a few years until every canal and lateral in that fertile valley will become so conjested that not a drop of water will flow down them from the main canal. This is just as sure to happen as two and two make four, unless the people oi Imperial Valley mend their ways by mending present conditions. The charge is made that Yuma Project deliberately opens its sleuce gates in order to damage the weir now being constructed at Hanlon heading; that Yuma Project has thrown every obstacle in the way of constructing that hated diversion dam; that Yuma Project has refused to al low the proper size stone to be placed in the weir, compelling Chief Engineer Clarke to use stone of a size so small that the current carried it away almost as fast as it was dumped into the river all of which is absolutely untrue. The open ing of our sleuce gates has nothing on earth to do with the conjested condition of the Imperial Valley canals and later als. If we had no settling basin at Laguna dam Imperial Valley would get MORE silt than it gets now, for we utilize almost 50 per cent of the silt that enters the settling basin, permitting the other 50 per cent to go where it all would go if we had no settling basin down the river. When we open our sleuce gates we turn loose about 1000 cubic feet ot water per second, which does the diversion dam just about as much harm as a drop of water would do if dropped into a bucked half full of water. And as far as Yuma Project retarding the work of the diversion dam is concerned that is just about the boldest faced misrepresentation of a fact as could possibly be stated, for Project Manager Schlecht has .-Innft ftvervthincr in his nower exceot to - J O X i rmt nnr nwn nrniect at a disadvantage in if-- " " i j - - - his patriotic desire to save the immense crops o Imperial Valley. For the past month practically every ounce of stone that has gone into the diversion dam has been fur nished by the Yuma Prroject manager. The entire equip ment of both Yuma Project rock quarries has been in con stant use to aid in the construction of the Hanlon heading diversion dam. Our steam shovels have been in use day and night and our rock trains have hauled thousands upon thou sands of tons of stone of the proper size in an honest effort to prevent a great disaster in Imperial Valley. It therefore comes with poor grace for the squirt-guns of Imperial Val ley to try to saddle their sins on Yuma Project or the Recla mation officials. Such attacks are liable to work an irre parable injury to Imperial Valley in the future, if the people over there ever expect another lavor at Yuma s hands. So far is connncting with Yuma Project is concerned there isn't a man on Yuma Project that wants it done, be cause of the fear that if it is ever done Yuma Project wil get the worst of the deal, for we all know that Imperial Val ley would try to "hog" the entire flow of the river if there ever happened to be a shortage of water. But personally I realize that Imperial Valley will never have its water shortage question solved until it connects with Yuma Proiect. That is that valley's only salvation Makeshifts, such as they have resorted to in years gone by, such as they are resorting to by constructing another diversion dam and constructing a new and more expensive intake, will never solve the question. 1 he new intake may serve the purpose for a few months, but just as sure as the sun rises and sets a diversion dam will be required at the new intake next year, and if Yuma Project protests ano enforces its rights in the matter, why, Imperial Valley wi be so short of water next year that they won't have enough to breed mosquitoes, let alone irrigate half a million acres of fertile land. The Mark Rose scheme to construct an all-American canal is a dream. It is exceedingly doubtful if it will ever amount to more than a canal on blue print, even though at this time Consulting Engineer Richardson, of the U. S. R. S., is now making a superficial examination of the lands proposed to be irrigated on the Imperial mesa. A proper and equitable adjudication of the rights of the water flow ing down the Colorado, between the Mexican and American governments, connot be delayed much longer. Until these rights have been settled by an international court Imperial Valley will probably have to go along just as at present, go ing from bad to worse all the time until she makes up her mind to quit dilly-dallying and connect with Yuma Project. EH Hhi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi SB Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi anguinetti's Dry Goods, Mens' Furnishings and Shoe Departments Will Move to the New Sanguinetti Building ON OR ABOUT 1 SBi ineteen Hundred Seventeen BIGGER STOCKS BIGGER BARGAINS BETTER SERVICE In the meantime, the Imperial Valley loud-mouthers and its papers should be a little more discrete than be charg ing absolute falsehoods against Yuma Project and the Re clamation officials. Had it not been for the generosity of the people of Yuma Project and the painstaking work done by Project manager Schlecht and his well trained forces Imperial Valley today would be a desert, inhabited by cac i.us. iackrabbits and jackasses. Personally I have fought for 5 the best interests of Imperial Valley at all times and will ! keep on fighting for the best interests of the good people of that splendid principality, but I am getting devlish tired of having Yuma Project maligned by a lot of squirt-guns who are looking for a "goat" in order to hide their own dev iltry and short-comings. Quit dumping your good money into the Colorado river arHanlon heading. Do away with your make-shifts. Wake up. Get some sense in your heads. Connect with Yuma project and then be assured of a suffi cient flow of water at all times to save your crops from your inferno-like weather in the summer months. That's your only salvation, and the sooner you realize that fact that much sooner will you cease losing from five to ten millions of dollars every year because of water shortage. Lots and lots of farms in Imperial Valley are literally burned up for lack of water, while hundreds of second feet of water have been wasted into the Salton sea every day be cause the laterals are so filled with silt and sand that water won't flow into them. That's the whole trouble. Yuma Project has acted more than fairly in the whole matter. Re clamation officials have done all in their power to save Im perial Valley. Instead of receiving thanks Yuma Project and Reclamation officials are being soundly abused. It is time to call a halt. Yuma county now has fifty-seven of her truest and best young men at Camp Funston training for "somewhere in France." By this time next month we will send an addi tional one hundred, and according to reports from Wash ington we will keep on sending them as long as their ser vices are needed in the defense of our country. Deserters from our army, in time of war, are subject to the death penalty when caught. If they find asylum in some foreign country they are forever debarred from returning to the United States. The statute of limitation never stops against a deserter. Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi - Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi ifi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi r Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi m m m Hi m si m m Si m si is y? m as