Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., May 12, 1906, Image 1

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Imperial Valley Press.
VOL. VI
OUR WATER RIGHTS
The action of the General Land Of
fice In rejecting final proofs on lands In
this Valley on account of an Insufficient
showing of ownership of water rights
by the claimants has given rise to
considerable alarm and much discus
sion among those Interested. The
rulings were generally such as to leave
the claimant much In the dark as to
just where he does stand. The fact
that the land office recognizes the
right of the entryman to mortgage his
entry before final proof, and protects
the mortgagee In such cases by refus
ing to permit the entrymen to even re
linquish his land back to the govern
ment, unless the mortgage Is satisfied,
caused many to feel that the ruling
could not be taken on the. ground that
the water stock was not fully paid for,
and therefore must go to the root of
the water right Itself. The following
ruling In the case of the final proof of
Felix G. Havens, assignee of I. W.
Gleason, is a case in point;
Washington, D. C, March 21, 190 G.
Register and Receiver,
Los'Ang^lee, California.
1 Gentlemen: D. L E. No. 1118 (F. C.
No 167 May 12, 1904,) was made on
May 22, 1900, by Irving W. Gleason, for
the NX, Sec. 20, T. 16S, R. 13 E, S. B.
M., 320 acres, and was amended by let
ter "G" of September 24, 1900, to. the
E>£ of NW^andNEH.Sec 22, and \S}4
of NWJ-I, Sec. 23, T. 16 S, K. 13 E, S. B.
M., 320 acres. Said entry as amended
was canceled by relinquishment as to
the E>£ of XW^, Sec. 22, Vt& of NW^|
Sec. 23, T. 10 S, R. 13 E, S. B. M., on
December 3, 1900, leaving the entry in
tact as to the glg& Sec. 22, T. 16 S, U.
13E,-S.B. M.^ containing 160 acres,
which was assigned on the same day to
Felix G. Havens.
On May 12, 1904, the assignee made
final proof before the Register, and final
receipt and certificate No. 167 issued the
same day.
With the final proof papers is found a
/cross-examination deposition by claim
ant in which the following question and
answer appear :
Question : Have you mortgaged the
land embraced in this entry or assigned
the water stock appurtenant to thesame?
If so, state to whom and; for what pur
pose?
Answer: At the time I became the
assignee of Irving \V. Gleaeon for this
land, the entry was mortgaged to the
California Development company, to se
cure the payment of the balance on the
purchase price of the water stock for "the
irrigation of the land, and the water
. stock was assigned to thesame company
as collateral security. I assumed the
obligation entered into by said Gleason
und have made all payments as thoy
fell due, both on principal and interest,
reducing the indebtedness $320.00.
The land is still mortgaged and the
water stock still assigned, but the inter
est of the California Development com
pany lias been assigned to George C.
Hunt, of 1247 Ingraham St., Los Angel
es, California. Mr. Hunt holds the
mortgage against the land and the as
signment of the' water .fltoek to secure
the unpaid balance 0f '5720.00. There
is' no other indebtedness either on the
land or the water stock. The water
stock is worth $20.00 per acre or $3200.00
and the land and water stock together
are worth $8000.00. I, therefore, owe
lees than ten per cent, of the value of
the land and water utoek.
Claimant states- that he is not making
proof on this entry either directly or in
directly for the benefit of any person
other than himself, and that he has not
sold, assigned or transl erred bin claim
to saitl land or agreed to do ho.
, h} his final proof deposition claimant
stated that:
The water stock bought from I. W,
Gleason cost $12.50 per share for 160
shares of which amount I have paid $7.75
per share, and the annual interest. Hal
mice due is $4.75 an acre or $760.00 in
all. lam now paying out at the rate of
$100.00 each year and interest at 5 per
cent.
The water right relied on by claimant
is evidenced by a duly certified copy of
a certificate of stock from which it ap
pears that Felix G. llav«ne, the claim
ant; was, on December 3, 1900, entitled
to 160 shares of the capital stock of the
Imperial Water company No. 1, which
BY F. G. IIAVKNS
nre attached to the land embraced in
the entry of claimant.
For the purpose of more fully showing
the right of applicant to the use of wat
er to permanently irrigate and reclaim'
the laud embraced in the entry, refer
ence is made by claimant to documents
filed in the case of final proof in the
<:aa«; of Clara C. Drain, assignee of John
M. Heuck, being D. LJ E. No. 1263, Fin
al Receipt and Certificate No. 110, issued
March 29, 1902, and Patent issued March
12, 1903, consisting of a certified copy
of the water appropriation notice, made
by the California Development company
and recorded in San Diego county, the
Articles of Incorporation of the Califor
nia Development company, theSociedad
de Yrrigacion y Terrenos de 'la Baja
California, Sociedad Anonima. and Im
perial Water company No. 1; also By;
Laws of the Imperial Water company
No. 1, which show the right of the stock
holders of said water company to partic-
I ioate iii^the benefits accruing to the cor
poration by reason of its various con
tracts and the right of the individual
stockholder to receive water sufficient to
perpetually irrigate the land by virtue
of being a stockholder in said water
company.
Reference is also made to the affidavit
of the engineer of the California Devel
opment company as to the efficiency and
capacity of the system to permanently
supply the various mutual water com
panies with sufficient water to perpetu
ally irrigate the lands within the several
districts according to the terms of their
respective contracts.
All of the documents above mentioned
are specially referred to in connection
with this proof and made apart thereof.
The objection to the title of claimant
to the water stock relied upon is that it
is not an absolute title in claimant as
the said stock has been mortgaged, leav
ing in claimant not an absolute title
thereto, but a title that is liable to be
destroyed upon claimant's failure to
comply with the terms of the mortgage.
• It will be necessary for claimant to
show that lie has an absolute right to
sufficient water to successfully irrigate
the land. • '
The land embraced in said entry is
found to be in a township and range of
which the Secretary of the Interior was
authorized to cause'to be made a re»ur
vey by the Act of July 1, 1902, (32Stat.,
728.)
If the -requirements of this letter are
complied with in due time, the evidence
will accordingly be examined with a
view to holding the entry unapproved
for patenting until said resurvey is ac
cepted and the plats thereof filed and
approved, in order that the description
of the land may be corrected to agree
with the new survey.
Notify the claimant and all known
persons in interest of the contents here
of, and that unless he furnishes the ev
idence required above, or appeals here
from within GO days from notice, his
entry and filial certificate hereby held
for cancellation will be canceled without
further notice from this office.
In serving notices observe the direc
tions of 29 L. D., 649.
Claimant's poetoffice address is stated
to be Imperial, California.
Very respectfully,
W. A. RICUARDti,
Commissioner.
It will be observed that the commis
sioner went over the reference state
ment which was filed by the claimant
with his final proof, and recited its
contents, In a way that Intimated that
It was a matter of controversy a(id en
tered Into the defect In the water right.
Previous to the receipt of this ruling
of the land office, we had not heard of
any similar action In any oase, so we
at once wrote to the Commissioner of
he General Land Office, frankly stat
ing what conditions were in the Valley
at that time and pointing out the In
justice of requiring entrymen on these
lands to pay obligations that are not
due, In order to secure title to their
lands. We also recited that the water
AND THIi IMPERIAL PRIiSS
EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA. MAY 12, 1906
delivered In this Valley Is not under
control, and that the California Devel
opment Company delivering canal sys
tem Is Incomplete. Therefore, their
part of the work not having yet been
finished, and our obligations not yet be
ing due, we contended that we should
not be compelled to pay for what we
could not get In order to be permitted
to keep our lands. We also asked the
question direct if- we would have an
absolute right to sufficient water to
successfully irrigate the land If we
should pay off the mortgage on the
water stock, explaining the character
of the water stock In order to get a
clear statement on the matter, In re
ply to our letter, the Commissioner of
the General Land Office, under date
of May Ist, 1906, sent us the follow
ing letter:
Washington, D. C, May 4 1, 1906.
Mr. Felix G. Havens,
El Centro, California.
Sir : lam in receipt of your letter of
April 12, 1906, in regard to D. L. E. No.
1118 (F. C. No. 167, May 12, 1904,) Los
Angeles, California series, made May 22,
1900, by Irving W. Gleason, for the N^
Sec. 20, T. 16 S, R. 13 E, S. B. M,, 320
acres, amended by letter "G" of Sep
tember 24, 1900, to the E>£ of NW^and
NE^, Sec. 22, and W>£ of NW 1-4, Sec.
23, T. 16 S, R. 13 E, 9. B. M., 320 acres,
canceled by relinquishmentas tothe'E^
of NW 1-4, Sec. 22, W>£ of NW 1-4, Sec.
23, T. 16 S, R. 13 E, S. B. M., on Decem
ber 3, 1900, and assigned to you on the
came day.
By office letter "G" of March 21, 1906,
sajd entry was suspended and it was
held that it would be necessary for you
to show that you had an absolute right
to sufficient water to successfully irri
gate the land.
It seems that the water right relied oil
was evidenced by a duly certified copy
of a certificate of stock from which, it
appeared that you were, on December 3,
1900, entitled to 160 shares of the capital
stbck of the Imperial Water company
No. 1, which were attached to the land
embraced in the entry.
In a cross-examination deposition with
the final proof you stated that the entry
was mortgaged to the California Devel
opment company to secure the payment
gnu ■uinnnnnn mnmnmn « nn n m n mm nnnnnnnn^u U i^
where more „than a Glance at this Map will Show you that
$200,000 | • Jj \ \ I
IS BEING SPENT / /«—> j \ !"
The town of El Centro was started in the fall of N9B /L_/Js^\ \ -- - ; - -.- ■■•■ •
1905 and Is now about six months old. It Is located in I I~*~~ \ \
the center of the best part of the Imperial Valley, and is ' / J \ ''jp»a* \
destined to become the metropolis. y^~"^ | \ \
The following Improvements now completed, or f • ' I*""" I'*1 '* \
under way, make a record to be proud of : ; z 6533^-^ \ '»" (
Ice and Cold Storage Plant (Brick) $75,000 \
Hotel El Centro (Brick) - - 30,000 \p^ \ X /•.*«. I
Transformer Station and Power Lines 20,000 T~\ V~ '^ /£! =
Opera House Block (Brick) - 40,000 j i«^V^ \ X*^-^ 1
Cement Sidewalks - - 10,000 * V"~~~ q
Water Works System - - 10,000 f-~-- [ 2
Electric Light Plant for El Centro 5,000 g
• s»p. r. r. Depot - - 6,000 EL CENTRO 1
Holt Block (5 brick stores) - 1 5,000 wm g£^ |
Machine Shop and Equipment 2,500 ' ' ' "" " p
Hotel Franklin - - 5,000 METROPOLBB |
Hardware Store - - 2,000 .. of ' the §
T^l f** «._- f^ a 1 A. * ■* ■ * C
Packing House 2.000 IMPERIALVALLEY |
Peterson Building (Brick) - I ,2Oo^J***t:?»li? re '"qney has been spent in buildingH and ?
C..IL/. Rn«'^«« a • 1 cnA7,vß«t%vAU€!nt.4i|)i)rOVt;inentB in El Centro In the last d
hullers Residence - - f j^ ?
Three Cottages - - 3,OCK)i- 4 V® r ,!M' ; VHHoylin.fivtj ;^ett»^. Conn and neo for ?
El Centro Land Co*s Office - 800 <yiii^M^Bi^ i %
Bbnn Lumber Co. Yards 2,500 ™?M*^« w ? of |
Fuller & Aten's Office - - 600 A'-WTiiri d~\dh* lT%r+C C? q
Streets, Etc. -. - 1,000 ffiffi KVU K tbb |
2 For Information regarding El Centro and the Im- / '." '■'■■'.-/ Fl PftflfTft I i\f][\ f(\ 5
I pcrlal Valley, and Its opportunities, address *JsgmMf •• V/VUlt V LUIIU VU> |
| D. H. CHAPLIN for Sale D. H. CHAPLIN, |
5 general agent el centro lano co. / ■^/^Wl?^^™* .,, • General Agent P
I el centro. California «P||f Cl Centra, California
&imjrnjuTJTnJ\nj\rinjinjinnnnnj\JTJ^ rtnriAruriJijririjriJTnjiri jijitl^^ rf»
of the balance on the purchase price of
the water stock, aiid that the water
stock was assigned to the panic company
H« collateral security.
It was held in said office letter "G"
of March 21, 1906, that:
"The objection to the title of claimant
to the water stock relied upon 'in that it
is not an absolute title in claimant as
the said stock has been mortgaged, leav
ing in claimant not an absolute title
thereto, hut a title that is liable to be
destroyed upon claimant's failure to
comply with the terms of the mortgage."
In your said letter you state, that in
your final proof you explained the
scheme on which the right, or privilege
of using water under the Imperial canal
system is based, and that you filed a
reference statement in which the docu
ments, affidavits and records filed in the
final proof of Clara C. Drais D. L. E.
No. 1253, F. C. No. 110, were specially
referred to and made a part of your rec
ord. You state, however, that the
events of the past three years have
practically nullified the statements
made in those documents and that in
stead of the water being diverted from
the Colorado river in American territory
and conducted through Mexico and de
livered to your *valer company, the
California Development company has
turned the river from its old channel in
Mexico and its entire flow is now pour
ing through the Valley. and they are ap
parently powerless to control it at all.
You suggest that you have doubts as
to whether you would have an "absolute
right to sufficient water to successfully
irrigate the land" if you did pay off the
mortgage on the stock in Imperial Wat
er company No. 1, in view of the fact
that this stock' is not appurtenant to
your land, but is only attached to it,
and that it is personal property and is
taken as collateral by the banks, and is
issued to land owners and made attach
ed to specific tracts of land, and is also
issued to non-land owners and not at
tached to anything.
It seems, from your statement, that
the non-land owner, holding stock on
speculation, the non-irrigating land
owner and the farmer with the irrigated
ranch all pay the same assessments, and
that the water stock is sold for the as
sessment, if it is not paid, in each case
alike, and when so gold is taken off the
land to which it is attached, and the
land then no longer has a right to water.
Accordingly it seems to you that this
♦'water stock" scheme falls short of the
requirements that the right to the use
of water for irrigation should be appur
tenant to the land, an under thin scheme
oven if it were eucceseful and the Cali
fornia Development company controlled
the flow of the water, it would be possi
ble to prove up on ecveral pieces of land
one at a time, and nse the same water
stock on each tract.
You conclude your letter with the
statement that these questions are of vi
tal importance to every one in the Im
perial Valley, and you trust that they
will receive consideration and that it
will not be possible for anyone to criti
cise this office for any action that may
be taken in the premises.
Your attention is directed to the in
structions of the Secretary of the Interi
or to this office issued on February 17,
1904, and reported in 32 1,. D., 456,
wherein it is stated that among the es
sential facts which must in all cases be
clearly established by the proofs is that
the entryman has an absolute right to
sufficient water to successfully irrigate
the land. Under these instructions this
office can only require a compliance
with office letter "G" of March 21, 1906,
as aforesaid, subject of course, to the
right of appeal to the Honorable Secre
tary of the Interior, as was stated in
said letter.
In regard to your query at* to. whether
the water right would be absolute if
the mortgage should be satisfied, you
are advised that if the water right relied
upon is acquired in accordance with the
laws of the State of California it will be
sufficient. In this connection your at
tention is directed to section 324, 552
and 1412 of the Civil Code of the State
of California, as enacted in 1872, and
amendments thereto (James H. Deer
ing's edition, 1903.)
Very respectfully,
• W. A. Bichards,,
Commissioner.
From this letter it will be seen that
the action of the commissioner In rul
ing as he has in rejecting the final
proofs In this Valley, is taken In en- :
forcing the instructions of the Secre
tary of the Interior issued to him on
February 17fh. 1904, These Instruc
tions are as follows:
Desert Land Cultivation — Final. Proof
Instructions:
Final proof under a desert land entry
Continued on Bth page
NO. 5