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

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Imperial Valley Press.
VOL. V
NATIONAL IRRIGATION
POLICY SUCCESSFUL
Government's Method in Handling Problem of Reclaim
ing Arid Weft Proves a Winner
Obstacles in the Way of Carrying Out the Reclamation Service's
Plans For the Full Control and Utilization of
the Colorado River Removed
The National Irrlgatlonal Act was
passed by congress and signed by Pres
ident Roosevelt on June 17th. 1902.
On the- morning of June 18th 1902. a
number of gentlemen of eminent stand
ing In the engineering world, met In an
office 'in the Interior Department at
Washington city and organized the
National Reclamation Service, and
took up the work of carrying out the
newly enacted law, both In letter and in
spirit. In order to do this successfully
or. at all. it was necessary, first, to
adopt a broad and comprehensive pol
icy in consonance with the spirit of the
law, and then to follow a line of action
in keeping with its letter. The spirit
of the law is that the waters tn the
streams of the arid states belong to the
lands tributary to said streams, and on
which said waters can be used. That
title to said waters can only be acquir
ed by an owner of some of- the said
tributary land, and then only by mak
ing beneficial use of said water" in the
irrigation of his land. Also that where
the waters of a stream were put into
such beneficial use, those first in time
should be first in right. While it was
comparatively easy to see what the
spirit of the Irrigation Act called for,
and what such a policy as would carry
It out would lead to, it was also easy to
see what the. difficulties were that the
officers of the Reclamation Service
were called upon to contend with in re
alizing such a goal. The Act Itself
specifically recognizes the rights to
the use of water established under
State, laws, and directs the officers of
the government to honor such rights.
To anyone conversant wlfh the various
water right laws of the states compos-
Ing the arid West, and aware of the
claims made under such laws. It seem
ed that the Reclamation Service was
put up agalnsf such, conditions as would
render them powerless to act excepj In
'a very limited way, and only under
such circumstances as offered no ln- #
ducements to private capital. In the
presence of such conditions It was
therefore manifest, that the Reclama
tion Service must proceed along sound
llr.es Tf its operations were to fulfill the
hopes of those who looked upon It as a
new economic force for the welfare of
our Nation, The only fair method of
Judging anything Is by Its results, and
that Is the way we propose to discuss
the National Irrigation policy of our
government. The policy formulated
by the master minds who organized the
Reclamation Service has never been
made public, so far as we can learn,
but,- nearly~four years have elapsed
since the organization of thd Service,
and we can now fairly Infer what some
of its cardinal tenets must be. From
the events which have transpired we
can safely conclude that it is the gov
ernment's purpose to use the waters of
each drainage area In Irrigating the
arid lands In that area. Also, that
these waters will be used at the place
or places where it can be done to best
advantage. And also that the full
utilization of the Irrigation resources is
to be reached by the construction of
storage reservoirs at mos: advantag
eous points in the drainage area under
consideration. Such a policy Is busi
ness like and direct, and strong at ev
ery point. It would expend the peo
ple's money in the most advantageous
way and bring the largest blessings
possible ,to the desert regions of our
country. But such a policy would
come In contact with the state laws,
and in some cases, conflict with
them. _None of the principal drainage
areas are altogether in one state, and
the largest one, the Colorado, Is in sev
en states and territories. And It is In
handling just such problems as are in
volved In the utilization of the waters
of the Colorado for irrigation, that we
see the best illustration of the course
of the Interior Department In following
out the letter of the National Irrigation
law, and at the same time loyally ob
serving its spirit. As might have been
expected, when the Reclamation Ser
vice started into business, they found
the promoter with his irrigation scheme
practically omnipresent. No feasible
scheme could be found in all the West
but had already been exploited, and at
least a water ••filing" recorded, and
sufficient work done to "hold It down."
Water claims had been filed under
state laws to an amount that would
vastly exceed the flood of every stream
In the arid states. Each one of these
claimants was a representative of "pri
vate enterprise," and must be dealt
with as such. The government, there
fore, soon found It necessary to formu
late a policy with reference to the pur
chase of property for use by the Recla
mation Service. And right here was
where the crucial test was applied to
the government's Irrigation policy, and
where the officers of the Reclamation
Service proved themselves loyal to the
spirit of the National Irrigation law.
The government decided that the qnly
water right It could recognize was the
right of the actuaiuseV of the water to
the water necessary for the Irrigation
of the lands he had already reclaimed.
That beneficial use was the only basis
of a water right. Also that all com
panies or parties engaged in delivering
water for hire were common carriers,
and owned no interest (whatever In the
AND THE IMPERIAL PRESS
EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 24, 1906
water they were delivering. Having
thus disposed of the question of water
ownership, it naturaliy followed that the
only basis on which the government
could purchase irrigation works was the
actual value such works would be when
included in a Reclamation project for
the lands formerly served by these
works. The decision of the govern
ment in this matter, made It very
clear Indeed that there was no -easy
money" there for the promoters, or
any opportunity for "graft" in that line.
So the übiquitous water claimant, the
bogus promoter, and the man with the
hold up scheme, found themselves
powerless to impede the wheels of pro
gress. Having thus disposed of the
class who thought they saw "easy
money" in- the Reclamation fund, the
next thing to consider, was how con
flicting state laws could be reconciled
and the broad plans of the government
for the- handling of each river system
and drainage area, as a separate prob
lem could be realized, Just as 1n the
other case of water claims under state
laws, it was necessary that the govern
ment lead the way. Careful meas
urements covering a great many years
have been made of the discharge of
each of the streams of the arid land
states, and the government officials
were thoroughly informed of the
amount of water in each stream that
could be depended upon, and just what
the irrigation resources were in each
of the dralnrge basins of the West.
As a necessary first step in this mat
ter, the Secretary of the Interior with
drew from entry except under the Rec
lamation Act, large areas of public
land in each drainage basin, and plan
ned projects that would use the entire
irrigation resources of each drainage
area on lands tributary to Its rivers.
In doing this, he was, therefore, per
force, compelled to Ignore state lines,
and follow topographical divides. It
therefore followed that the plans for
each drainage area would include the
use of the waters at the most advan
tageous points, and the location of stor
age reservoirs where the topographical
and other conditions indicated they
should be placed. In the case of the
Celorado river, the government has
apparently decided that the best
place to use Its available flow In
its present condition, Is in the Yuma
Project, and the Imperial Valley. Also
that the proper places to locate the
great storage reservoirs for the full util
ization of the Irrigation resources of
the Colorado drainage basin, is at Gore
canyon. and»ln Brown's Park, in the
State of. Colorado. The successive
developments which have "taken place
in the elucidation ef this matter are
certainly most interesting, and show
most clearly the sound basis on which
the governments' Irrigation policy Is
founded. The State of Colorado,
more than any other state in the arid
West, has water laws that conflict with
the spirit of the National Irrigation
law. According to the Colorado Con
stitution, it is held that all the waters
of, Colorado belong to the state
of Colorado, and an estimate has been
made by the auditor of that state, that
the flood waters from the streams of
Colorado are worth $265,000,000.
The geographical position of Colo
rado, and its position with regard to at
least two of the great drainage basins
on which the Reclamation Service
must operate, soon brought about a
controversy over the waters of these
drainage basins. We refer to the Rio
Grande and (he Colorado. „' In the case
of the Colorado it cropped out when
the government sought to secure Gore
canyon and Brown's Park for reservoir
sites at which to construct impounding
dams to catch the flood waters of the
Colorado drainage* system.
As soon as the government's plans
were known an old defunct railroad
scheme was resurrected and both res
ervoir sites immediately became the
only places in Colorado to build rail
roads. The government appealed to
the courts and then the fat was all in
the fire. A most violent carh^njgn of
abuse was entered upon by the leaUjng
newspapers of Colorado, and all kinds
of villlflcatlon and abuse heaped upon
the officials of the Reclamation Ser
vice, even Secretary Hitchcock him
self not escaping the general onslaught.
After a time, and while the excitement
was at fever heat, the Colorado courts
decided against the government and in
favor of the railroad company for pos
session of the reservoir sites. Just
about this time President Roosevelt's
attention was called to the matter and
he ordered the government to dismiss
the suits. It is evident now that this
was not done to abandon the reservoirs
to the railroad or that It was decided
to permit the flood waters of the Colo
rado to run to waste forever. No, for
Uncle Sam had a Joker up his sleeve
Mr. Moffatt and the railroad people
were not looking for. The following
Associated Press dispatch, which was
published in the papers of February
28th, 1906, shed some light on the
matter and disclosed the nature of
Uncle Sam's Joker;
WATER DECISION
Denver, Col.. Feb. 28.— The Audi
tor's office has received information of
a ruling concerning flood waters In the
Colorado, which, It is believed, will bar
individuals and Irrigation companies
from using the flood waters In this*
state under certain conditions.
Recently the Elk Creek Canal com
pany made application for the right to
construct a reservoir site on the Elk
creek in Conejos county.' The Inter
ior Department refused the application
because, as stated In a letter conveying
the decision of the department, the
storing of water on EIK creek, would In
terfere with the fjow In the Rio Grande
In New Mexico and lessen the supply
of water running Into the Evagle dam.
The decision is interpreted here as
meaning that no res^/olrs can be
built on the stream^ IColorado that
are feeders , for rlvers>ir\ or out of the
state where the government proposes
to build reservoirs. The Ilood waters
of Colorado are valued at I $265,000,
000, more than the total valuation of
property in the state, and\ should the
government's irrigation pUuis reach a
considerable number of the H*: ts .Q&lv
oardo streams are feeders for, CpJaftT
doans will be deprivejUoH-T'valuable
asset - Irr-itnioo'd waters. This can
only be prevented, it Is argued, by local
people gaining priority rights over the
government by building reservoirs on
all Colorado streams."
We feel certain there was "some
thing doing" In Colorado when this de
cision was received. It didn't take a
Solomon to see that If the government
could prevent the construction of a res
ervoir in Colorado to Impound water
It had planned to use In another state,
it could plan to use the unstored flow
of the Colorado at Yuma and In the
Imperial Valley, and compel the ac
quiescence of Colorado In the construc
tion of impounding dams at Gore can
yon and Brown's Park. A fortunate ,
incident to the solution of this matter
Is the fact that there Is about 240,000
acres of land in Colorado that can be
Irrigated from the Colorado and Its
tributaries. One project had already
been proposed at Grand Junction, Col
orado, and the people there are clam- „
orlng for the government to go ,a^eadu|
with the construction of their works. •
It is entirely likely that a hint was.)
dropped where the Colorado people
could find'lt, to the effect that all the
water at present available in the Colo
rado river was already provided for by
the Yuma project and Imperial Valley
irrigation rights. At any rate it Is now
announced that Mr. Moffatt haschang
ed his original plan of building his rail
road and will keep out of Gore canyon
altogether, leaving it for the reclama
tion sfeYU"ft-.tn_ hjiiiLL- gn r . tm£^ivj]n^;
dam there whenever they are rea^^
do so. This removes the only serious :
obstacle that has ever interposed .
against the carrying out of the govern
ment plans for the complete utilization
of the waters of the Colorado river and
Its tributaries for the reclamation "of
the arid lands within its reach. This
outcome also fully vindicates the hon
esty and wisdom of the policy the Rec
lamation Service has followed since its
inception. These events prove that
the money of the people is being used
honestly and with the very best busifT
ness judgment. Also that no "graft 5 '
obtains, nor is It possible to work a
hold up game on Uncle Sam. The
fact that this great Irrigation fund
amounting to more than thirty millions
of dollars, cannot be reached by either
the "grafter" or the "hold up," has led
to the venomous attacks on these of
ficials in the past.. But their integrity
is now so well established in the minds
of the people, that attacks on these
men will hereafter be ascribed to sore
headed bunco men and their friends.
The Reclamation Service has abund
antly fulfilled the fondest hopes of its
friends, and its splendid policy for the
redemption of the^ deserts Is proving
successful in every respect.
Dairyman's Meeting
There will be a meeting of the Im
perial Valley Dairyman's Association
on Monday, April 2nd, 1906, at Water
Company No. 1 office, Imperial, to .
which all the dairymen of the Valley
are requested to be present. Would
be very glad .to see representatives
from Brawley, Holtvllle. Calexlco and
El Centro, The business of import
ance is to elect officers for the
coming year, and any other business—
that may come before the meeting.
H. J. Fuller. President
H. R. Kyle, Secretary. }.
W. A. Van Horn made tho tlmt m yi
meat of cream ever mad© from Ely'
tro, last Monday. It wait to thfg
forma Creani aim Butter Co. at J'ji
geles. The establishment £~*^
cry will 1 f-enima ••..•■jr..'^ "
■.Btry.jV.. ..■••" »" J
NO. 50