We take the liberty of inclosing a notice of the agent of the United States Weather Bureau at El Paso, Tex., by which you will see that the moisture here is almost nothing, and that it has rained only once from the 15th of August of last year to the same date of this year. It is well known that this district has not the tropical nor the periodical rains of other parts of the country, our district being in the center of the arid region; and if we can not rely upon the river water for agriculture, our ruin will be consummated. We need not go far to prove this, as the towns of Ciudad Juarez, Zaragoza, Tres Jacales, Guadalupe, and San Ignacio, which up to the year 1875 had a joint population of more than 20,000 inhabitants, have not the half to-day. This year, owing to the want of river and other water, the farmers have made neither Indian corn, vegetables, nor grapes, and, to make matters worse, the fruit trees are withering away; so that our lands, which are among the best in the world, are now worth only $5 to $10 an acre, in Mexican silver money, while those of Colorado and New Mexico, which are being irrigated with water which rightfully belongs to ours, are selling as high as $500 an acre in American money. This immense depreciation, due solely to the want of water, is felt by all classes of society; and no one has been able to produce on his land, leaving prosperity out of the question, even enough for the absolute necessities of subsistence, so that many have been compelled to mortgage their farms, and others to emigrate.

And what is required to improve our situation? Ciudad Juarez, the oldest town on the Rio Bravo, together with the towns under its jurisdiction, requires only about 20 cubic yards of water a second, which is less than a quarter of what the river ought to furnish, and of what it did furnish formerly, even in times of the severest drought. We inclose some newspaper clippings.1 One of them states that the Engineer John D. Hatchett and C. J. Miller are petitioning the United States for the grant of a dam on the Rio Grande; another, that an Albuquerque company proposes to invest $600,000 in the construction of a canal to irrigate 100,000 acres of land, that is to say, twenty-two cattle ranches. Also, some articles entitled: "An Unsolved Western Problem ""The Division of the Waters Ownership”—and an opinion of Mr. C. P. Huntington on the investment of capital in irrigation.

It appears to us needless to say that all these enterprises on the Rio Grande above us will be another stab to the already dying body of this district; and as the right and use of the water by Ciudad Juarez, whose existence for more than 300 years is well attested, can not be easily disputed by anyone, it is very distressing that it should

[These newspaper clippings were not enclosed with this document.-Agent's note.] 37973-23- -13

be ignored. Up to this date there has been no convention or settlement between the various bordering States as to the use of the water, and they have followed the established custom that those higher up the river take all the water that they want and allow only the excess to pass; to effect which they go so far as to use armed force, and it may be said that there is not a more anarchical state of things in any part of the world. No suits have been brought on the part of the towns nor by the individuals who have their rights thoroughly proved by documents issued by the President of the Republic; because it would be necessary to have recourse to the courts of the respective States of the United States, and no local jury would render a verdict in favor of a Mexican town or person when it is a question of the damages which the jury's own locality will have to pay. The worst conditions exist from Ciudad Juarez (which is 3 miles south of the monument on the dividing line) for about 50 miles down the river, to which distance the few Mexican towns are dependent upon the river.

The foregoing is merely a short statement of the unfortunate condition and terrible misery awaiting this district; and, as to the efficacious remedy for saving it, we would be very presumptuous in attempting to point it out to you, who, with your great intelligence, will know what steps to take to attain it. We will only take the liberty of saying that, in our opinion, it is of vital importance that the acts which are being committed in Colorado and New Mexico should be stopped with as little delay as possible, and it occurs to us as the means of attaining this:

1st. That the Federal Government of the United States appoint special commissioners to investigate and decide the portion of water which each State may take, and that the federation give to the said commissioners the authority and jurisdiction necessary to make their decisions respected, without interference on the part of the authorities of the respective States and their local authorities.

2d. That no canal be opened on the Rio Grande or its tributaries without a previous special grant from the Federal Government, as is done in Mexico.

3d. That the commissioners respect the privileged rights of Mexico, and cause them to be respected.

As to the international dam of which so much has been said and written, we would say that such a work would involve an immense expense, and unless several railroads on a large extent of country are moved it would have to be made some 80 or 100 miles above El Paso, on American territory; and several experts in that department think that it would not give any advantageous result for the Mexican towns, as only a very small quantity of water would reach them.

The damages suffered by the Mexican towns during the last 15 years may be estimated at $150,000 a year; as to those of the future, it would be impossible to calculate them.

We are, Mr. Minister, your obedient servants,

M. H. Cuaran; Jesus Nâjera; E. Provencio; Kethelsen & Degetau; Inocente O. Aosta; J. N. Gándara; J. E. Islas; José E. Salinas; Pánfilo J. Barasorda; Luis Acosta; G. Salas; Jacobo Ugarte; Alberto Escobar; Carlos Vallejo; Ramon Ortiz; N. A. Herrera; Felix Anguiano; Rafael Rocha; J. Lozano y Vivanco; S. Vargas; Alb. M. Bauche; Max. Naumann. A true copy: Washington, September 10, 1894.

EDMUNDO J. PLAZA.

[Enclosure 2.]

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, WEATHER BUREAU, OFFICE OF THE OBSERVER, Station, El Paso, Tex., August 24, 1894.

Total rainfall at this station from August 15, 1893, to August 14, 1894, inclusive, four and ninety-seven hundredths (4.97) inches.

(firmado)

Ex copia: Washington, Septiembre 10 de 1894.

N. D. LAM,

Observer.

EDMUNDO J. PLAZA.

The Mexican Minister to the Secretary of State.

[Translation.]

MEXICAN LEGATION, Washington, October 12, 1894. Mr. SECRETARY: I have the honor to transmit to you, referring to our previous correspondence on the subject, a copy of a communication from the consul of Mexico at El Paso, Tex., bearing date of the 4th instant, which shows the urgent necessity that exists for a decision of the question relative to the taking of water from the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande) del Norte in the State of Colorado and the Territory of New Mexico, which has so seriously affected the existence of the frontier communities for several miles below Paso del Norte, above the confluence of the tributary rivers with the Rio Grande, and points out the danger lest otherwise those communities may be annihilated.

My object in sending you the inclosed copy is to solicit-very specially an examination and decision of this grave question by the

Department of State in order that the evils referred to by the Mexican consul at El Paso, Tex., may be remedied.

Be pleased to accept, Mr. Secretary, the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.

M. ROMERO. Inclosure: Copy of a communication from the consul of Mexico at El Paso, Tex.

[Enclosure.]

CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF MEXICO AT EL PASO, TEX.

[No. 2.-Use of the water of the Rio Grande on the frontier.]

EL PASO, TEX., October 4, 1894.

For some time past, as you are aware, the difficult question of the right of both peoples to make use of the water of the Rio Grande has been agitated by the inhabitants of the frontier towns of Paso del Norte and El Paso, Tex. This question is an element that is destined to decide with regard to the existence or the disappearance of the frontier towns. Thus has been estimated, with good reason, in my opinion, the importance of this most serious question.

As you are likewise aware, our Government has never abandoned its claim to that right, and no one doubts that the matter will be settled in a manner favorable to the interests of both countries; but that which now renders it imperatively necessary that some step be taken, even if it be merely of a temporary character, is that the alternative" to be or not to be" is daily drawing nearer, an alternative which has so long been feared by persons who know the needs which press so hard upon Ciudad Juarez. The nearness of that danger is what compels me to address this report to you, the depopulation of our aforesaid city staring me, so to speak, in the face.

Of course it is not my purpose here to touch upon the points of public law which the question involves, since that does not come within my province, nor would I ever presume thus to elucidate it; I must simply confine myself to a statement of what is actually taking place to the detriment of the interests of Paso del Norte, leaving it to you to infer what the results will probably be.

Agriculture, which is already impoverished on this entire frontier, is threatened with total destruction within perhaps two years if the scarcity of the river water continues during that short period; and the destruction of agriculture will inevitably entail the ruin of the infant industries which are now kept in existence with so much difficulty.

Almost all articles of prime necessity are brought from places situated at a distance of from 500 or 1,000 miles, because they can not

be produced here, and this circumstance occasions a condition of things that is well-nigh unbearable, since, owing to it, the prices of commodities are not proportionate to the limited means of the majority of the inhabitants.

It is already impossible for employers to pay the wages of their employees with their accustomed liberality or regularity; large numbers of the laboring class are absolutely unable to find employment and leave the country. As this class of persons forms the majority of the inhabitants, it is evident that, if this state of things continues, the city must go to decay and ruin.

There are no other means to which recourse can be had for the purpose of maintaining tranquillity pending the settlement of the main question, which settlement in our favor, so that we can have a fair share of the river water, is the only remedy for the evils that afflict us.

There is a scarcity of that water here, not because the supply in the river has been naturally exhausted, in which case there would, of course, be no ground for complaint, but because of the numberless drains which have been made by the farmers of Colorado and New Mexico, who have settled the pending question by appropriating the water of the Rio Grande to their own exclusive use.

Companies, moreover, are still being organized, and plans are being formed, more or less seriously, for the purpose of monopolizing on the American side the small amount of water brought down by the river in those months when it is so abundant that it can not be exhausted by the drains in New Mexico and Colorado. A meeting of stockholders has just been held at Denver for the purpose of removing the political and material difficulties which have hitherto stood in the way of the accomplishment of their plans for irrigation, and I am informed that it is attempted to create the impression that these plans involve certain concessions in favor of Ciudad Juarez, such as selling it the water which it requires, when Ciudad Juarez has quite as much right as they have to use the water.

The plans, which have heretofore threatened our city with destruction, are not unknown to you, and it is probable that you also have knowledge of those to which I have referred as having been discussed by the meeting at Denver, but, as a supplement to this report, I have the honor to enclose four clippings1 from the Times newspaper, published in this city, which have reference to that meeting, and, as I have already remarked, I leave it to you to consider the consequences that must necessarily follow the accomplishment of those plans.

[These newspaper clippings were not enclosed with this document.-Agent's note.]