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Mr. LITTLE. Where is most of that land owned? Who owns it?

Mr. BACON. I understand that a good share of that land is owned by a Los Angeles man, Mr. Harry Chandler.

Mr. LITTLE. Owned by capitalists?

Mr. BACON. Yes, sir.

Mr. LITTLE. And they have the work done by Japanese largely?

Mr. BACON. That is what I understand, by Japanese and Mexicans.

Mr. RAKER. Is it or is it not a fact that in the last two or three years the Imperial Valley people have rented out their lands and have practically Japanesed that entire valley?

Mr. BACON. No, sir.

Mr. SWING. There has been a law against it, Judge Raker. You know that. Mr. RAKER. I was asking about the facts, irrespective of the law.

Mr. SWING. We are law-abiding citizens down there.

Mr. BACON. There is a colonization scheme starting in here [indicating] for ex-service men, and I believe the only successful one in this country. Some

of those men went in there and started from nothing and paid for the land in the last two or three years.

Mr. LITTLE. Went in where?

Mr. BACON. Right here, up near Brawley.

Mr. LITTLE. That is the northern end of the Imperial Valley?

Mr. BACON. That is about the center. There were some 150 men in there at one time. I believe that there are 50 there now. That is a pretty good average, I think, to make.

Mr. RAKER. Now, you have been in Imperial Valley, and you think I am safe in saying that the farmers there during the last three years have not been and are not continuing there to practically leave the land and rent it to the Japanese? Mr. BACON. Oh, no. But here is where the farmers are awfully handicapped: No bank is lending money on land there on account of this flood menace. The Federal farm loan bank has refused to make loans. They say that this danger is so great that they do not consider they are justified in making loans on that property.

Mr. RAKER. So that handicaps you?

Mr. BACON. Very much. They are working under an awful handicap.

Mr. LITTLE. Are we to understand that by reason of this menace of the inflow of the Colorado River the farm loan banks decline to loan money to these farmers in the valley?

Mr. BACON. Yes, sir.

Mr. LITTLE. How long has that been the case?

Mr. BACON. That was brought out at the hearing held before this committee about two years ago.

Mr. LITTLE. It was brought out then, but how long has it been the case?

Mr. BACON. I know it has been the case for two years; how much longer I do not know.

Mr. RAKER. That would practically apply to private individuals loaning on ranches, too, would it not?

Mr. BACON. Yes; of course, when a bank refuses to loan, the private individual with little capital does not consider he is safe in loaning.

Mr. RAKER. So you are handicapped in getting money enough to keep improvements going, and you are handicapped with this danger always before you that this might destroy all you have?

Mr. BACON. Yes, sir; they are handicapped decidedly. Here is another peculiar phase of the situation: You have down here in Mexico land colonized by Japanese

Mr. RAKER (interposing). Where?

Mr. BACON. Below the line in Mexico. You have this area in here in California [indicating] populated by the American farmer.

Mr. RAKER. That is in California?

Mr. BACON. In California. Now the California American citizens are being assessed to-day about half a million dollars a year through their irrigation project. This money is sent down into Mexico and spent on levees which protect this Mexican land that is raising produce to compete with the American farmer on the American side of the line. You are penalizing the American farmer about $500,000 a year, which helps out this man in Mexico.

Mr. RAKER. Then in addition to that, on the Mexican side just below Mexicali, you maintain a Monte Carlo to take the rest of his money.

Mr. BACON. I would not say that was maintained for the American farmer.

Mr. RAKER. I did not say the American farmer; I said there is maintained. Mr. BACON. There is, I believe. I am not advised on that.

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Mr. RAKER. I did not make such an assertation as to the American farmer. Mr. BARBOUR. I understood your question to Mayor Bacon to be that you maintained"?

Mr. RAKER. Did I say "you"? I should have said "There is maintained." Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Where is the produce that is raised in Mexican territory marketed?

Mr. BACON. In the United States largely. I would not be surprised if some of the cantaloupes that you have been eating here in the last week have come from Mexican territory.

Mr. LEATHERWOOD. Does the emergency tariff now in force have any effect upon that?

Mr. BACON. I do not know. It certainly is not prohibitive, because I know I have seen great quantities of Mexican produce coming into American territory, and they evidently can stand the tariff and still sell their goods in this country.

Mr. LITTLE. Are there any more questions to ask of Mr. Bacon?

Mr. BARBOUR. I was just going to ask unanimous consent, or to suggest, that the resolutions that Mayor Bacon has be incorporated in the record. Mr. LITTLE. If there is no objection, that will be done.

(The papers referred to follow :)

COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION OF PUBLIC LANDS,

WASHINGTON, D. C., June 22, 1922.

House of Representatives.

GENTLEMEN: In submitting the accompanying resolutions of various municipal, civic, and other organizations for your information, it would seem to be appropriate for me as president of the League of Southern California Municipalities and chairman of called conventions of this and associated organizations to acquaint you with what I believe to be the unanimous sentiment of the people in southern California regarding the present bill known as H. R. 11449, together with a brief historical survey of the public movements leading up to such 'conclusions.

HISTORICAL.

Immediately after the publication of the Preliminary Report on the Problems of the Imperial Valley and Vicinity, the Director of the Reclamation Service, as required by act of Congress approved May 18, 1920, entitled, “An act to provide for the examination and report on conditions and possibilities of irrigation development of the Imperial Valley in California," attention of the people of southern California became riveted upon the possibilities of a practical solution of the problem of the flood peril, which threatens the complete and permanent destruction of a large section of this State.

The pressing necessity for additional electric power resources for the use of the Southwest by reason of its industrial, commercial, and agricultural growth immediately suggested to the people of southern California a possibility of practical financial cooperation on its part with other public agencies, such as a Federal Government and the States of Arizona and Nevada, in arriving at a solution of a problem otherwise locally impossible and nationally difficult of accomplishment.

This

Somewhat spontaneously, therefore, a convention of the cities and districts of southern California was held at Pasadena, Calif., on July 22, 1921. first meeting effected a permanent organization, known as the League of Southern California Municipalities. Members in attendance, representatives of all of the larger and most of the smaller communities, thereupon adopted resolutions urging action by Congress and the Federal Power Commission which would exclude private interests in the development of Boulder Canyon project and permit its immediate construction and control by the Federal Government. Other conventions were subsequently held, namely, at Ontario, Alhambra, and Santa Ana, and delegations presented the collective sentiment of the people of southern California to the convention of the League of the Southwest at Riverside and the official hearing called at San Diego by the honorable Secretary of the Interior, A. B. Fall, December last.

Official representatives were present at Phoenix, Ariz., in March on the occasion of the hearing of the Colorado River Commission, Secretary of Commerce, Hon. Herbert Hoover presiding.

On no occasion has there been anything but a unanimous and insistent demand for the principles expressed in H. R. 11449, bill now before the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands.

H. R. 11449 INDORSED.

After the introduction of the bill providing for the protection and development of the lower Colorado River Basin (H. R. 11449) a meeting of the League of Southern California Municipalities, in conjunction with irrigation and farm districts, was called by its president, John L. Bacon, mayor of Santa Diego, to consider the measure. At this meeting held at Santa Ana, Calif., on May 4, 1922, the aforesaid bill was carefully considered and unanimously indorsed by resolution attached hereto. A committee was appointed to take proper steps to apprise Congress of the sentiment in southern California in way of its speedy passage.

Subsequently a large number of cities, districts, and other bodies indorsed this or passed appropriate resolutions, a number of which are likewise attached.

STATEMENT OF LEAGUE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MUNICIPALITIES.

Southern California, as represented by this organization, now desires to make the following statement of its position and understanding of H. R. 11449, authorizing the construction of the Boulder Canyon project.

We understand that it is proposed that the Federal Government construct a dam on the lower reaches of the Colorado River, in Boulder Canyon, and develop, regulate, and control the flow of the river and prevent disastrous flood conditions as a part of the project.

It is proposed to construct certain irrigation canals which will permit of the irrigation of large tracts of arid land as an incident to the construction of the dam. There will be created power rights. The cost of the dam project will be charged against these power rights which are to be fairly allocated to the States and districts.

The cost of irrigation canals and works is to be charged against the land to be brought under irrigation.

COLORADO RIVER LONG A PROBLEM.

The Colorado River, with its tremendous watershed, has long been a terrifying agent of destruction. The melting snow from the mountains through which it runs creates flood conditions of unmanageable proportions. At the same time its great flow of water and its rapid fall makes it a great potentiality for irrigation and power development.

Being an interstate and international stream, no State and no private interest can be in a position either to control its floods or utilize its power and irrigation.

It presents, therefore, a national problem solvable only by Federal initiative.

WHY SOLUTION IS NOW POSSIBLE.

Two circumstances have brought the matter of control and usage of the Colorado River to the front for action, and likewise permits a practical solution.

The gradual deposit of silt along the lower reaches of the river continuing through years has served to increase the flood menace. If, while in flood, the river breaks its banks, the entire Imperial Valley, which is below sea level, will be flooded and destroyed. When the waters once find their way into the valley nothing but the evaporation by the heat of the sun through centuries of time can remove the water. While the Imperial Valley and various interests there have done everything in their power against floods, such measures are only temporary and may fail and result in disaster to Imperial Valley any year. The only thing we can do for this territory is the control of the flow of the river by storage, and this is possible only by Federal action.

While this flood peril has been thus growing more acute, the Southwest has been rapidly increasing in population and its resources-commercial, industrial, and agricultural. The demand for power exceeds the available supply. Thus there has been created a market for the power which will be produced by a dam at Boulder Canyon, so that the financing of the project can be made feasible.

The territory

In brief, the Imperial Valley needs protection from floods. around the lower reaches of the Colorado River needs the power which will be created by the agencies which protect the valley from flood.

Furthermore, as an incident to the protection of the Imperial Valley from flood, water will be available for irrigation, and it will be possible to open thousands of acres of the public domain which are now arid and useless. H. R. 11449 gives to the ex-service men preferential right to this land.

PLAN CAREFULLY WORKED OUT.

Southern California appreciates that the plan of the Boulder Canyon project, as expressed in concrete form in the bill now before Congress, has been worked out by the Secretary of the Interior and the Reclamation Service after extensive investigation and as a result of many years and long discussions; that it is a carefully balanced scheme; that its consummation will not affect the rights or claims of those interested in the upper reaches of the river; that the project will, within a reasonable time, finance itself; that the plan recognizes in a fair and reasonable way the powerful sentiment in the Nation against permitting this, perhaps the Nation's greatest resource in hydroelectric power, to pass into private hands; that public agencies are given a preferential right to the power to be developed; and that any power passing into private hands is subject to recapture within a reasonable time, the latter two provisions being an established national policy written into the Federal water power act.

STRONG SUPPORT TO PROJECT.

Southern California believes that so carefully has the honorable Secretary of the Interior and the Reclamation Service worked out its plan for this project, and so accurately has the public sentiment been gauged, that there is a feeling that the plan is sound in all its fundamental features. City after city in the Southwest as well as large agricultural organizations have indorsed it. Chambers of commerce and other civic bodies have expressed their approval. At least, as far as southern California is concerned, sentiment is unanimous. Respectfully submitted.

JOHN L. BACON,
Mayor San Diego, Calif.,
President League Southern California Municipalities.

RESOLUTION No. 27690.

Be it resolved, By the common council of the city of San Diego, Calif., as follows: That the following resolution adopted at Santa Ana, Calif., May 4, 1922, at a called convention of representatives of the southern section of the League of California Municipalities, of the farm bureaus and farm centers of southern California and of the Imperial irrigation districts, be, and the same is hereby, adopted as an expression of opinion of the common council of said city:

"Whereas it is apparent to all persons acquainted with the facts that the great Imperial Valley in California is annually in imminent danger of being overflowed and flooded by the Colorado River; that the menace of this river is increasing with the years; that its bed is filling and rising about 1 foot a year; that its bottom is now several feet higher than it was when it broke into the valley several years ago and formed the Salton Sea; that its levees must be built higher each year; that the only available dirt for levee construction is very poor material for the purpose; that should the Colorado River break through the levees again its destruction would be immeasurable; and that the havoc of its deluge would be great and appalling, because it would not only be immediately destructive but its evil effects would be permanent for the reason that its waters would not run off or subside, as in floods most everywhere else, but would gather in the basin of the valley, which is below sea level, as in the formation of the Salton Sea, and remain until the river again turns to another outlet and until the sunshine of centuries again lifts these waters by evaporation; and

"Whereas relief can be had from this portending catastrophe and the 50,000 people and the millions of dollars' worth of land and other property in this

valley can be made safe by the construction of flood-control dams in the river basin, and hundreds of thousands of acres of additional lands can be irrigated and immense amounts of hydroelectric power can be developed; and

"Whereas House of Representatives bill No. 11449, 'To provide for the protection and development of the lower Colorado River Basin,' introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Phil Swing and in the Senate by Senator Hiram W. Johnson, is a measure looking to the early accomplishment of these purposes in the best and most practical manner: Now, therefore, be it

"Resolved, By the joint convention of the representatives of the southern section of the League of California Municipalities, of the farm bureaus and farm centers of southern California and of the Imperial irrigation districts, duly assembled in the city of Santa Ana, Calif., on Thursday, the 4th day of May, 1922, pursuant to call and notice regularly made and given, that House of Representatives bill No. 11449, 'To provide for the protection and development of the lower Colorado River Basin,' be approved and indorsed; that we urge upon the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands and upon the Congress the imperative necessity of an early report and passage of this bill, that the relief therein proposed may soon be given; that we request the Senators and Congressmen from California to give their special attention to this measure and press its adoption."

And be it further resolved, That this common council urges that all possible means be taken to expedite the passage of the bill mentioned in the above resolution; and

Be it further resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded by the city clerk to each of the Representatives and Senators from the State of California.

I hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of resolution No. 27690 of the common council of the city of San Diego, as adopted by said council May 15, 1922. [SEAL.]

ALLEN H. WRIGHT,
City Clerk of the City of San Diego, Calif.

LOS ANGELES, CALIF., June 7, 1922.

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R. L. CRISWELL,

Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C.:

At a meeting of the city council held this day the following resolution was adopted:

"Be it resolved, That the council of the city of Los Angeles strongly urges the passage of the companion bills pending in Congress, being Senate bill 3511 and House bill 11449, providing for the construction of the Boulder Canyon project on the Colorado River and of the all-American canal, connecting Imperial and Coachella Valleys with Laguna Dam; that the council regards these great projects as of vital importance to the welfare and development of the whole Southwest, and requests the Senators and Representatives from California in the National Congress to employ their utmost efforts to bring about the adoption of such legislation; that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to Secretary Fall and Secretary Hoover and to our Senators and Members of Congress."

RESOLUTION.

ROBERT DOMINGUEZ, City Clerk.

Whereas it is apparent to all persons acquainted with the facts that the great Imperial Valley in California is annually in imminent danger of being overflowed and flooded by the Colorado River; that the menace of this river is increasing with the years; that its bed is filling and rising about 1 foot a year; that its bottom is now several feet higher than it was when it broke into the valley several years ago and formed the Salton Sea; that its levees must be built higher each year; that the only available dirt for levee construction is very poor material for the purpose; that should the Colorado River break through the levees again its destruction would be immeasurable; and that the havoc of its deluge would be great and appalling because it would not only be immediately destructive, but its evil effects would be permanent for the reason

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