Mr. RAKER. That they may have the information to know who of this committee has gone out there; so that they may know the exact situation as to why they went; how they went; and who paid the expenses, as it was published in the papers and tre record.

And in addition to that the chairman introduced a resolution in the House to have the House pay the expenses; and in the jam at the end of the session, while the House was favorable to it, and Mr. Mondell was favorable, we were unable to get it through, by virtue of the crush of business.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. The committee met so promptly this morning, Judge Raker, that I did not hear the very first part of your statement. As the Member who did not go, I would like to know who it was that paid these expenses. Is that in your statement?

Mr. RAKER. NO. I understood that the irrigation district paid the

expenses.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. What irrigation district?

Mr. RAKER. Imperial irrigation district; it was so stated in the committee.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Are there any officers of that irrigation district here?

Mr. RAKER. Yes; I understand Mr. Rose is and officer, and Mr. Nickerson.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Since that has been brought up, I would like to have that irrigation district supply us with the total amount of the expenses incurred by reason of that trip.

Mr. RAKER. I hope they will; and I thought it would be a good thing to have the committee to know about that.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Who represents them here?

Mr. ROSE. I do.

Mr. SWING. That will be filed in the record.

(The statement appears in testimony of Mr. Rose.)

Mr. SWING (continuing). Mr. Rose is here now to discuss the legislation and the project, from the standpoint of the people of the Imperial Valley, and I will ask the committee to hear him.

TESTIMONY OF MR. MARK ROSE, DIRECTOR OF THE IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA

Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I represent the Imperial irrigation district here. The Imperial Irrigation District is an organization organized under the laws of the State of California. I am a director of the Imperial Irrigation District, elected by the qualified voters of that district.

Mr. RAKER. Mr. Chairman, has the witness been sworn?

Mr. ROSE. I was sworn.

The CHAIRMAN. Were you sworn the other day?

Mr. ROSE. Yes.

And I also was appointed to represent the district here, by unanimous vote of the board.

The Imperial Irrigation District is a semipublic corporation organized under the laws of the State of California, under what is known as the Wright act, for the purpose of supplying water to the taxpayers within the boundaries of the district.

The Imperial Irrigation District comprises about 604,000 acres, of which about 525,000 acres are irrigable; of which there has been irrigated in any one season 450,000 acres of land. The district maintains about 2,500 miles of canal. It diverts its water from the Colorado River for 450,000 acres irrigated in the United States, and also there has been irrigated in the Republic of Mexico about 190,000 acres. I think that probably the largest amount of land actually under cultivation in any one year in the Republic of Mexico is about 160,000 acres. There is always some land in the irrigated project that is lying idle, for grass and otherwise.

Our canal system, as you people probably know, passes through the Republic of Mexico, on the short way, about 60 miles; on the longer route, which irigates the west side of the valley, everything west of New River, it passes through Mexico for about 100 miles. We are seeking to get out of Mexico by building a canal commencing at a Government structure known as Laguna Dam on the Colorado River, about 12 miles above the town of Yuma, thence following along the international boundary line, keeping on the American side, and coming across the Imperial Valley-a canal which will be about 50 miles in length, and which will remove the canal system of the Imperial Valley out of Mexico onto American soil.

Now, the advantages of that canal, as we see them, are these: That it will increase the irrigable acreage about 400,000 acres, not including pumped lands; that is gravity lands. There are 219,000 acres which can be irrigated by gravity in the Imperial Valley on the east side mesa; there are about 150,000 acres in the Coachella Valley; and there are on the west side mesa about 150,000 acres. Of that land, there are about 200,000 acres of Government land, which will go to the ex-service men under the pending bill.

That would give the present area of Imperial Valley a dependable water supply, from a dependable diversion point on American soil. Now, to some of you gentlemen who are not familiar with Mexico, it may seem a simple matter to run your water through Mexico. But there are a great many difficulties that we encounter in operating

in Mexico.

In the first place, take the construction of the dam: When the water was turned in, it was turned in at this point here [indicating on map], just above the international boundary, and turned into what was then known as the old Alamo River, and it wound down around there [indicating] and finally was caught up at Sharps Heading and turned into the American side. In some places it was 10 miles in width; and in other places it was 5 miles. It ran on that way for some years; and then the channel was filled up; and then the flood of 1906 came and washed it out; and for a great many years it remained in that channel.

But now the channel has been straightened out. It follows this black line [indicating on map]; there is a well defined channel there [indicating], with substantial banks on its borders. We have made a great many cuts for the purpose of straightening up the channel. We have left the old river and made the channel here [indicating]. For instance, here [indicating] is what is known as the Tecolota cut-off. That would shorten the distance in the canal some 3 miles, and probably would lower it so that we would be able to get the water out of the river with less difficulty.

But after the district had spent $150,00 for building the cut-off, having a permit from the Mexican Government, we were stopped, the dredge was tied up, and the Mexican watchman on it was killed, and the dredge was burned. We have fought that thing, and never have been able to open that cut. Our money is in there and that dredge is gone.

Mr. HUDSPETH. That cut is in Mexico, is it?

Mr. Rose. That cut is in Mexico. Here [indicating] is the international boundary line.

Mr. HUDSPETH. You were stopped by the Mexicans, were you? Mr. ROSE. Yes; we were stopped by the local authorities, not by the Mexican Government. There are two distinct factions there. Cantu, for example, has ruled Lower California. Everything we did we had to get permits from the Mexican Government. Those permits are not always honored. In fact, there are a great many interferences by the local authorities; as a matter of fact, there is always conflict there, and that ties us up.

That is another thing that is bothersome. Of the land that is irrigated in Mexico, they draw large quantities of water, for which they do not pay their just proportionate share. In fact, our records show that since the district has actually operated and delivered water there or since 1916-the Mexicans have lacked very close to $4,000,000 of paying as great a proportion of the cost of operation as they received in quantity of water. In other words, they have received 36 or 37 per cent of the water; and they lack close to $4,000,000 of paying that percentage of the actual expenses of operation. That burden falls, of course, upon the American farmer.

In other words, when we started to operate through this country, there was a flat rate fixed on both sides. In Imperial Valley this rate has been raised from 50 cents to 75 and 85 cents, and up to $1; and a tax of $2.50 an acre up to $5 has been added; and there has been only one raise in Mexico for 20 years, and that was to 85 cents. And we are not able to get an adjustment of those things. We sent our committee, Mr. Nickerson and our chief engineer, to Mexico two or three years ago, and they got all kinds of promises; but Mr. Chandler and Mr. Allison-Mr. Chandler is the main owner of all of those lands

They went to Mexico City
We never got any further

Mr. RAKER (interposing). You mean in Mexico? Mr. ROSE. Yes; I mean in Mexico. and that is the last we heard of it. response.

Mr. SINNOTT. Who is Mr. Chandler?

Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chandler is the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, and many times a millionaire, living in Los Angeles: and he is a son-in-law of General Otis. They acquired a concession down here in Mexico [indicating], to some 800,000 acres of land many years ago. And they still own that land, and operate down there, with Chinese labor, and the like of that.

Mr. RAKER. Who was the other gentleman with Mr. Chandler? Mr. Rose. Well, I do not know all of them.

Mr. RAKER. Well, you named one other man?

Mr. ROSE. That is his engineer, Mr. Chester Allison, who went down there with him.

Mr. HAYDEN. How many dollars difference did you say there was between the amount paid in by the farmers of the Imperial irrigation district and the landowners in Mexico?

Mr. ROSE. Well, I did not put it exactly that way. Here is the situation: Mexico is entitled, under a Mexican concession given to a private corporation, to receive 50 per cent of the water on demand. She has received about 36 or 37 per cent of the water, and has lacked almost $4,000,000 of paying that percentage of the cost of operation and maintenance.

Mr. HAYDEN. You are speaking of the total gross cost of operation and maintenance, which includes the delivery of water to the end of all the laterals in your system.

Mr. ROSE. No. During this whole time we have never delivered anything north of the international boundary line that is, the irrigation district has not; that is owned and operated by mutual water companies, and the cost of it is not included in this operation. The figures I gave included the building of levees, however, and the building of the canals, all of which benefited Mexico, and not only that, Mexico got the first benefit and the greatest benefit from those operations.

In addition to that, all of these expenditures did not reclaim an acre of land on the American side, but reclaimed 150,000 acres on the Mexican side; and the expenditure was very largely dominated by the interests on the Mexican side of the line, who had political control of Imperial irrigation district for many years; and yet they did not come within $4,000,000 of paying their just proportion of the cost of operation.

Mr. RAKER. Do you have a contract with them that they were to pay a certain proportion?

Mr. ROSE. We have no contract with them. We have a concession, which provides that the minister Fomento and the secretary of agriculture of Mexico shall from time to time adjust the charges. Mr. SWING. You say we have a concession; that is not exactly correct, is it?

Mr. ROSE. Well, I mean the Mexican company, of which I am also a director and hold one-fifth of the stock of the Mexican company in my own name, because it can not be held in the name of the irrigation district.

Here is another thing that is a great menace to us: This canal, in running for a distance of 50 miles in Mexico, has but one check, known as the Cudahy check. This cost from $126,000 to $127,000.

Mr. RAKER (interposing). Do I understand correctly from you that, nothwithstanding all your united efforts, combined with Mr. Chandler's efforts and Mr. Allison's efforts, to get results from the Mexican Government, all of you failed?

Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chandler and the other landowners in Mexico kept us from getting it. We tried to get it; and they tried to keep us from getting it.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. What could have been their motive-to keep from paying the higher charges?

Mr. ROSE. To save themselves $4,000,000 that they could stick down in their jeans.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Well, that is a very powerful incentive.
Mr. Rose. It certainly is.

Here is another thing: This canal at times carries 6,500 secondfeet of water, at its peak demands. In other seasons of the year, October, November, December, January, February, and March it would carry about 2,000 second-feet, and as I say, there is only one check in that canal in the whole 50 miles, and that is the Cudahy check.

Now, at various times, the Mexicans will go in there at high water and put small checks in, just to deliver 10 of 15 second-feet of water to their lands. At the time they put those in there they can draw water from the canal; but that is a very heavy silt stream, and at the natural flow it carries the silt in it; then when the water is turned into their canals, they have a very much lower grade; and immediately, when it fills up with silt, they demand of us that we make delivery of that amount of water to them-not the landowners, but the Mexican officials do that.

Mr. HUDSPETH. I do not want to disturb your statement, but I am seeking information, of course, on this question. Whom do you negotiate with in the Mexican company when you discuss matters of payments, as between your company and the Mexican company? Mr. ROSE. Under the Mexican concession, there is a Mexican representative representing the Secretary of State of Mexico-not by name, but that is the official. That man is on our pay roll. We are compelled to pay him. We negotiate with him if there is any negotiating to be done; generally, we are told what to do and we do it.

Mr. HUDSPETH. But with whom have you taken up the matter of paying this $4,000,000?

Mr. ROSE. Right at Mexico City, with the secretary of state and the secretary of agriculture. We have sent our delegates down there. We keep on our pay rolls a Mexican lawyer, an American in Mexico City, to try to adjust these things.

Mr. HUDSPETH. Well, have they ever given you any answer in regard to these funds, $4,000,000 in excess that you have paid?

Mr. ROSE. No: they have not said a thing: they are very nice gentlemen to talk to.

Mr. HUDSPETH. Yes; I understand their character very well. Mr. ROSE. They "throw the bull"; but at the end of that you get nothing.

Mr. HUDSPETH. It is all "manana" with them, is it?

Mr. ROSE. It is all manana with them. Generally they say, "We have no way of doing it." You understand that there is no land tax down there, and there is no road tax down there, and we are compelled to maintain the roads.

The CHAIRMAN. Did I understand you correctly to say that you have on your pay roll a Mexican engineer who supervises your activities in the use of this canal?

Mr. ROSE. He tells us what to do in the use of this canal; and we pay him; and we have nothing to say as to his appointment or recall, or anything else. He is independent of us. We simply obey him. Now, with respect to these structures in there (indicating on map), they will draw water at the high load. Then, when our canal goes down to 2,000 second-feet, they demand that we make delivery through the high checks to their canals.