Mr. SWING. If it is convenient for the committee to meet on Wednesday, Mr. William Mulholland, the builder of the great acqueduct at Los Angeles, is in the city and will be here to-day and tomorrow; he has to leave to-morrow night.

The CHAIRMAN. We can not have a meeting to-morrow.

Mr. LEAVITT. Why would it not be a good thing for this committee to have the authority that Mr. Raker suggests, so that we can have it if we want to use it?

The CHAIRMAN. It is not necessary to have it; and it involves great expense in subpœnaing witnesses from the Pacific coast and paying their railroad and hotel fare during their absence from their homes. Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I did not intend to say anything about this. But since this matter has come up; and in view of certain statements that have been made, I should like to be in a position to cross-examine him under oath.

Mr. RAKER. This is not a friendly matter. This is a cold-bloooded proposition. We have had many hearings in the other body; and the other body spends money to get the facts. And we are entitled to do so here.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I have heard statements here which reflected upon the integrity of this committee.

Mr. ALLGOOD. Looking at that feature of it, Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a motion that we be authorized by the House to subpoena witnesses and put them under oath.

Mr. RAKER. That the chairman be requested to introduce a resolution giving this committee full power in this hearing to subpoena witnesses, and require the production of books and papers, and to require the attendance of witnesses; and that we may administer the oath to them and have them testify. I second that motion.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any remarks on the motion?

Mr. HAYDEN. I would like to know just what the authority of the committee is, with respect to the administration of the oath. Is the chairman of the committee empowered under the general rules of the House to administer the oath?

Mr. RAKER. I think if my recollection is not incorrect, that we have the power to swear and take the testimony of any witness, but we have no power to compel the attendance of witnesses.

The CHAIRMAN. I think it is necessary to get the authority of the House, embodied in a resolution, for the oath to be administered. Mr. LEATHERWOOD. We should have full power, to cover everything.

Mr. HAYDEN. Would we not have to make a showing of necessity to obtain that authority?

The CHAIRMAN. And the necessity has not yet arisen.

Mr. HAYDEN. My feeling is that if the committee has that authority, that is all we need. If there is any witness whom we desire to hear we should send for him.

Mr. RAKER. I ask the chairman to bring here Mr. Chandler. That will start it. There is enough evidence by Mr. Swing, in his answer to Mr. Leatherwood, in regard to the influence being used by the Mexican interests and the power interests to control this legislation to justify that.

Now, if that is not enough for the committee to go into it and ascertain the facts, concerning legislation which would involve from

$40,000,000 to $100,000,000 of expenditures by the Government; and where it is charged that legislation may be defeated by an underground process influencing the Members of the House, I can not conceive where you would get any more definite statement.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I do not want to cause any trouble. But unless this matter is taken up along the lines indicated, I shall introduce a resolution in the House calling for an investigation.

Mr. HAYDEN. I do not think that will be necessary, Mr. Leatherwood.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. I think it will be.

The CHAIRMAN. You may introduce it; but it is a question whether we can get it through the House. We must have some substantial information on which to base charges in order to have an investigation which might cost $15,000 or $20,000; and I do not think this hearing has developed any such situation. It seems to me it would be better for us to proceed with the hearings, and at the next meeting we can give the matter further consideration.

Mr. RAKER. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Swing has stated to this committee unqualifiedly--and he did it in the best of good faith I know-that the Mexican interests and the power interests are against this bill, and that they are doing everything they can to defeat it; and he turned around and said one of the agents of the power companies is sitting in the room now.

The CHAIRMAN. And that gentleman is willing to testify. In my judgment, this motion should be withdrawn and presented at a subsequent meeting.

Mr. HAYDEN. The committee should find out just what authority we have. I have never served on a committee where it was necessary to subpoena witnesses. My service has been on committees where the witnesses appeared voluntarily and their statements were taken down, without administering the oath--although I have seen the oath administered I think on two or three occasions. I think the chairman has the authority to do that.

Mr. ALLGOOD. Well, in line with the chairman's view, I will withdraw my motion for the time; and then we can get further information by the time of the next meeting.

Mr. HOXIE. Mr. Chairman, perhaps, since you asked me a question awhile ago, I might volunteer the statement that one may be in favor of some other development of the river. Mr. Hayden spoke of there being controversies among engineers without taking a position of opposition to the ultimate question of development. There are many methods of development that have been suggested; and there have been various arguments made in support of various plans of development. I think the discussion relates more to the relative advantages of the different plans.

The CHAIRMAN. Perhaps you can enlighten us, Mr. Hoxie?
Mr. HOXIE. I will be glad to do so.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. May I inquire whether any of the gentleman here present expect to leave the city before Saturday?

Mr. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Hoxie is the only one; and he says he will be here.

Mr. HOXIE. Yes.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. I take it that there are a number of gentlemen who expect to appear before the committee; and I would like to know whether any of them want to leave the city permanently? Of course, you can not answer that, Mr. Hoxie.

Mr. HAYDEN. I will say that last year I addressed a series of questions to Mr. Hoover, as chairman of the Colorado River Commission; also to Mr. Arthur P. Davis, as Director of the Reclamation. Service: Mr. Ottamar Hamele, chief counsel of the Reclamation Service; and Mr. George Otis Smith, Director of the Geological Survey, with respect to the Colorado River problem, and with particular reference to the Colorado River Compact. I printed the questions and answers as an extension of my remarks, in the Congressional Record. I shall be glad to furnish that information to all the members of this committee.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. I am one member of the committee that very much desires to get that.

Mr. SWING. I now file as a part of my remarks copies of the resolutions adopted by various national organizations referred to in my opening statement:

Resolution adopted by the National Association of Real Estate Boards at their annual meeting held in Chicago, July, 1921:

"Whereas it is now of vital importance to the States of California and Arizona especially, that annual floods in the Colorado River shall be prevented and irrigation districts in such States protected from destructive flood waters; and such protection can be provided by storage reservoir construction which would provide water for the irrigation of at least 1,000,000 additional acres in the lower Colorado River districts, and such storage reservoir construction would also provide large quantities of hydroelectric power needed for the commercial and industrial development of the Southwestern States, thus conserving to a great extent the supplies of coal and oil; and

"Whereas the States of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California, as well as Lower California in Mexico, are all interested in the waters of the Colorado River and its branches, and earnest cooperation between these States is necessary in order that early action may be secured to bring about the reservoir construction desired, and such proposed work would furnish employment for many thousands of men now idle and would also open up to settlement large tracts of land suitable for farm homes for World War veterans.

Resolved, By the National Association of Real Estate Boards in convention assembled July 15, 1921, at Chicago, Ill., that this association urges such action as may be necessary to hasten the inauguration of such proposed reservoir construction, through satisfactory cooperative efforts in which the United States reclamation districts and companies and municipaliies interested may participate promptly and effectively, and that realtors in the leading cities in the Southwest interested in the districts to be affected by Colorado River irrigation and power projects are hereby urging to cooperate and harmonize conflicting interests wherever found in order that this great constructive work of land development may not be delayed."

The American Federation of Labor adopted the report of a special committee submitted to it in 1922. The part of the report relating to the Colorado River project is as follows:

"We have carefully analyzed the need and opportunity for real, necessary constructive works, and have considered what we think are of the most importance, in housing, reclamation, and water transportation and power construction.

"We have generalized this entire matter under three captions, namely: Reclamation of the desert continguous to the great Colorado River system and including other worthy reclamation projects in other parts of the country; development of the plan to connect the Great Lakes with the St. Lawrence for deep-water shipping; and the fullest development of the Mississippi system in its entirety.

"In the general reclamation of the Colorado and other similar though smaller projects, we have in mind the inclusion of reclamation plans in general.

"The possibilities of the Colorado system challenge adequate description. Immense tracts of land, the richest in the world, can, throughout this valley and the desert, be brought under a high state of cultivation which will necessitate towns and cities, manufacturing, and railroads, as the development continues.

"The reclamation of desert and swamp, the building of good roads and canals and adequate housing plans might well absorb our attention and energies in these crucial times. That nation that can build, while other nations decay, is the nation that will endure."

Resolution adopted by American Farm Bureau Federation at its fourth annual meeting held in Chicago, 1922,

"Resolved, That we, the American Farm Bureau Federation, in convention assembled, indorse the National Reclamation Service general policy in the reclaiming of arid, swamp, and stump lands, and the furtherance and completion of such other projects as the Muscle Shoals, Colorado River, and like projects."

Resolution adopted at the Sixteenth Biennial Convention of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, held at Chautauqua, N. Y., June 20-30, 1922:

66 CONSTRUCTION OF COLORADO RIVER DAM

"Whereas the flood waters of the Colorado River have for years threatened and still threaten the lives and homes and property of 50,000 American citizens in the Imperial Valley of southern California which lies 250 feet below sea level and the bed of the river; and

"Whereas a destructive flood would permanently destroy these homes and property; and

"Whereas the construction of a great dam would eliminate these destructive floods, stabilize the flow of the river, enable the irrigation of several million additional acres of land, and lead the way to the establishment of prosperous communities and the development of millions of dormant horsepower throughout the Colorado River Basin, thus furnishing homes and employment to millions of Americans, including ex-service men and women, adding to the prosperity of the whole country and tending to lessen the burden of taxation: There be it

"Resolved, That it is the sense of the General Federation of Women's Clubs that immediate action should be taken by the Federal Government to authorize the construction of a dam at some point on the Colorado River and to appropriate the necessary money therefor or provide the necessary means of financing such dam."

Resolution of United Spanish War Veterans indorsing Boulder Dam and allAmerican canal project, adopted September 19, 1923, at Chattanooga, Tenn.: "Whereas there was introduced in the last session of Congress a bill known as the Swing-Johnson bill (H. R. 11640) providing for a storage and flood control reservoir at or near Boulder Canyon, in the Colorado River, and an all-American canal leading from the Colorado River to the Imperial Valley, to be constructed entirely within the United States.

"Whereas such a canal will irrigate vast areas of public lands now lying iale; and

6

"Whereas the above-mentioned bill contained the following proviso: Provided, That all persons who served in the United States Army, Navy, or Marine Corps during the war with Germany, the war with Spain, or the insurrection in the Phillipines, and who have been honorably discharged therefrom, or placed in the Regular Army or Navy Reserve, shall have the exclusive preference right for a period of three months to enter said lands. And also, so far as practical, preference right shall be given to said persons in all construction work authorized in this act'; and

"Whereas this legislation is of vital interest to all Spanish War veterans residing within the Imperial Valley, and of great interest to all Spanish War veterans; and

"Whereas above-mentioned legislation is a recognition of our fight for 'equal standard': Therefore be it

66

Resolved, That the United Spanish War Veterans, in national encampment assembled, at Chattanooga, Tenn., September 16, 17, 18, and 19, 1923, does hereby indorse said legislation; and be it further

"Resolved, That we instruct our legislative committee to do everything within its power to further said legislation."

COLORADO RIVER BASIN PROJECT

"Whereas the undeveloped resources of the Colorado River constitute one of our Nation's greatest assets; and

"Whereas the life-giving waters and potential energy of said river, equivalent in value to millions of dollars, is annually running to waste in the flood waters of the river and constituting a menace to life and property while it runs to waste; and

"Whereas the Department of the Interior of the United States has recommended to Congress the construction of a project for the protection and development of the lower Colorado River, commonly known as the Boulder Dam and all-American canal project, as the first unit of the ultimate complete development of the resources of said river; and

"Whereas this project is vitally necessary to safeguard the lives and property of many ex-service men and thousands of others living in the lower Colorado River Basin, now constantly threatened with devastation and destruction from annual floods of that river; and

"Whereas under said project thousands of ex-service men and women will be given the preferred right to acquire homes and farms by entry upon several hundred thousand acres of public lands in Arizona, Nevada, and California, now arid and worthless, but which by this project will be made intensely productive and valuable: Now, therefore, be it

"Resolved, That the American Legion, in national convention assembled, does hereby favor the adoption by Congress of a program for the ultimate complete development of the Colorado River, and favors as the first unit of that program the passage of legislation that will carry out the recommendations heretofore made by the Interior Department providing for the construction of said Boulder Dam and all-American canal, and that the national legislative committee of the American Legion be directed to use all legitimate means to secure the passage of such legislation."

The above resolution was presented by the convention resolution committee and adopted by the convention in annual session at San Francisco, October 11 to 15, 1923.

Certified a true copy.

CLAUDE J. HARRIS (For the National Adjutant).

(Thereupon, at 12.40 o'clock p. m., the committee adjourned until Friday, February 15, 1924, at 10 o'clock a. m.)

COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION,

n

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Friday, February 15, 1924.

The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Addison T. Smith (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. It is understood that Mr. Mulholland will address the committee this morning.

Mr. RAKER. Mr. Chairman, before proceeding with that this morning, I move that it is the sense of the committee that the witnesses who appear before the committee in these hearings be sworn. Mr. LEATHERWOOD. I second the motion.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, that is unusual, in considering legislation, to have witnesses sworn.

Mr. RAKER. Well, I do not see anything unusual about it. I have been on other committees; and every committee that I have been on at times has sworn all the witnesses; and I think it is very important in this case that we do so.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you swear witnesses who appear before the Committee on Immigration?