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 following resolution was adopted by the State convention of the American Legion, Department of California, held at Eureka, Calif., in 1923:

Whereas there has been recommended to Congress a project which calls for the construction of a 600-foot dam at or near Boulder Canyon in the Colorado River and an all-American canal to be constructed entirely upon lands of the United States, which canal will irrigate vast areas of fertile lands now idle; and

Whereas the above-mentioned dam will offer flood protection for thousands of American citizens in the territory known as the lower Colorado River Basin and adequate storage for both the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River; and

Whereas the above-mentioned canal will irrigate vast areas of land of the public domain now idle and will bring them into productivity; and

Whereas under said project the ex-service men and women of the United States will receive a preference right of 90 days to file on said lands, which are now withdrawn from entry: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the American Legion, Department of California, in annual convention assembled at Eureka, Calif., does hereby call upon the Congress of the United States upon the assembling of same immediately to take up and act favorably upon the measures pending in Congress or measures covering all the features of the present Swing-Johnson bill which may be introduced; and be it further

Resolved, That said convention hereby indorses the aforementioned project and instructs its delegates to the national convention of the American Legion, to be held in San Francisco, Calif., in the month of October, 1923, to secure the passage of a resolution directing the national legislative committee of the American Legion to use its every endeavor to secure the passage of such legislation and placing that organization on record as indorsing the project.

The idea of land settlement for the soldiers returning from France began to take definite shape early in the year 1919. During the year 1919 Congress set aside $110,000 to the Interior Department, which money was to be used for the purpose of making a complete survey of all lands in the United States available for soldier-settlement purposes. Such a report was made by the department. The report shows that in the New England States and the States in the Mississippi Valley there was practically no land available for soldier settlement. It also showed that in the South there was some swamp land available for soldier settlement and in the West there were large areas of desert land available for that purpose. The swamp lands would of necessity have to be drained before they would be suitable for settlement purposes, and irrigation water and storage would have to be provided before the desert lands of the West could be made available for soldier settlement. Aside from this, the Government has done practically nothing in the way of supplying lands for soldier settlement with the exception of opening certain reclamation projects to settlement by ex-service men. The question arises as to whether or not there is any demand by ex-service men for lands. A careful study of the records of the Reclamation Service and the Interior Department discloses some interesting facts and information in regard to this question.

Speaking from the standpoint of an ex-service man I can state that the matter of land settlement was a subject of considerable discussion and interest to the men themselves long prior to the time.

they were discharged and while they were still in France, and I can remember very distinctly that considerable literature and propaganda was circulated amongst the men, while still in the service in France, relative to the possibility of obtaining land after their return to the States. The records will show that in 1920 the Reclamation Service opened up what was commonly known as the Platte project in Nebraska and Wyoming. In that project there were 80 farm units, comprising 5,078 acres. There were 3,298 applications made by the ex-service men for these 80 farm units. The men were required to make a cash deposit to cover the initial construction cost of the irrigation system which had been constructed for the purpose of supplying these 80 units with water in accordance with the terms of the reclamation act; and the 3,298 ex-service applicants deposited with the Reclamation Service the sum of $1,192,000 in cash to cover these charges.

Since that time the United States has opened up two other small reclamation projects, and I was unable to get the figures in regard to those two projects, the exact number of farm units opened. They apparently were not available. But I was assured by the Reclamation Bureau that the figures were about the same. There were a large number of applicants and very little land for them. All of these projects were smaller than the Platte project. And in every instance there were a greater number of applicants than there were farm units available.

A study of the records of the Department of the Interior discloses also that between the discharge of the soldiers in 1919, and up to March 1, 1924, there had been filed with the department 204,541 applications by ex-service men for land upon which to settle, and Doctor Brown, of the Reclamation Service, informed me that the applications were still coming in at approximately the rate of 1,000 a month. That these applications are bona fide and made with the avowed intention of procuring land, if there is any land, is very well demonstrated by the interest exhibited in the NebraskaWyoming project and the other projects mentioned.

In further substantiation of my statement that there is a great demand by ex-service men for land and farms upon which to settle I call the committee's attention to the California veteran legislation, by which all veterans who enlisted in the State of California and were bona fide residents of that State at the time of their enlistment are entitled to receive State aid in procuring homes and farms. Up to the present time, 24,000 ex-service men have been placed upon homes and farms under the State veterans' legislation in the State of California, and there are some 124,000 applications on file for additional homes and farms.

As I have stated before, there is no land available for soldier settlement, other than the swamp lands of the South and the desert lands of the West. The Colorado River Basin offers one of the finest bodies of unclaimed desert land still belonging to the United States Government. The Boulder Canyon Dam and the all-American canal will make possible the reclamation of approximately 1,200,000 acres of public domain in the lower basin of the Colorado River. The largest single tract of Government land in this basin

is what is commonly known as the east side mesa, located on the eastern rim of Imperial Valley. This tract contains about 200,000 acres. You will notice on the map that it is designated "East side mesa," that land in dark coloring. It is a tract of land unsurpassed in soil, climate, and location. It can only be irrigated by means of the all-American canal, as under the present system the land is too high to be irrigated. It is some 100 feet higher than the canal, and could only be irrigated, of course, by a pump lift, but from the all-American canal it can be irrigated by a gravity flow, and that land will be available under the terms of this legislation for soldier settlement.

I would also call the committee's attention to the fact that in the Coachella Valley, which you will notice designated on the map there on the northwestern end of the Salton Sea, there is also a large tract of Government land available which can only be irrigated through the all-American canal. All of this development is possible only after storage has been provided and the all-American canal is available.

Under the terms of the Johnson-Swing legislation, this land will be available for soldier settlement, and the 210,000 ex-service men who now have their applications on file for farms and land upon which to settle, will have an opportunity to settle upon this land.

Soldier settlement in the lower basin of the Colorado River has been demonstrated to be a success by the United States Government itself, as the Federal Veterans' Welfare Bureau now has in the Imperial Valley some one hundred and odd trainees-somewheres around one hundred; I don't know the exact number-who have been almost completely rehabilitated and who are living on farms which they have been able to purchase with the aid of the Veterans' Bureau, and have proven themselves to be successful farmers.

The method under which the soldiers will settle upon these lands will be governed entirely by the present reclamation act, with which act the members of the committee are already very familiar. The terms under which the veterans will pay for the land are extremely liberal, and it has been demonstrated on practically every reclamation project that ex-service men have been eminently successful under this system. The legion, therefore, is vitally interested in this legislation, and especially urges this committee to give this matter earnest and careful consideration with the object in view to enacting this bill into law without further delay.

The CHAIRMAN. We are obliged to you, Mr. Heald.
Senator JOHNSON of California. Colonel Fly.

STATEMENT OF COL. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FLY, REPRESENTING THE YUMA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, YUMA, ARIZ., AND OTHER BODIES

Senator JOHNSON of California. Will you please state, Colonel, your name, your residence, and your occupation, and then your interest in this project and your views concerning it.

Colonel FLY. My name is Benjamin Franklin Fly. I live in Yuma, Ariz. I am the personal representative of the Yuma Chamber of Commerce, composed of every business interest in Yuma; the Yuma Water Users Association, consisting of the owners of every

irrigable acre of land; the Yuma project, and in addition to that I am the president and the representative of the Yuma Mesa Unit Holders Association, consisting of about 450 landowners, who purchased land from the Government on the Yuma Mesa at the Government auction on December 10, 1919. I am here as the personal representative of those organizations, and have been their representative here for 8 or 10 years at every session of Congress.

The CHAIRMAN. You appeared before the House committee? Colonel FLY. Yes, sir. Our direct interest in this legislation, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, is that we want Boulder Canyon dam built, or some like dam, to save our property and our lives.

The Colorado River running wild as it does now, overflowing every year, compels the people of Yuma project to pay about $100,000 a year to maintain its levee system. That is one of the reasons why we are in favor of this bill.

Another is that we want the all-American canal built, which will do away with the present intake of the Imperial Valley irrigation system, which is a constant and an ever-increasing menace to Yuma project, having, as we claim, caused the overflow of Yuma Valley on one or two occasions in very recent years at a very tremendous loss to our farmers.

In order to get the water in the Imperial Valley canal, Imperial Valley obtained a permit to construct a temporary dam or weir. That weir is at a point about 6 or 7 miles below Yuma. That weir raises the water from 5 to 6 feet, which keeps it against that 6 miles of our drainage, creating seepage that runs then down the entire valley, which has compelled us to put in an entire and complete system of drainage canals, which is maintained at very great expense. That will be largely done away with if we can do away with the Hanlon heading. Of course we want to see the Imperial Valley progress, because as that great country progresses so will Yuma. We are practically just across the river from them. Their county adjoins ours. We are separated from them only by the Colorado River.

Another reason why we want this legislation enacted, or legislation along similar lines, is purely a selfish one on the part of Yuma. As has been said here by previous witnesses, Imperial Valley has entered into a binding contract with the United States Government, acting for Yuma, to connect with the Laguna Dam, from which point it proposes to construct the all-American Canal. I was a party to that contract that was entered into here in 1918 with Secretary Lane. That provides for the payment of $1,600,000 under the terms of the general reclamation law-2 per cent for the first 4 years, 4 per cent for the next 2 years, and then 6 per cent for the remaining 14 years. Imperial Valley up to the present time has made those payments. Our next payment, something like $68,000, I think, is due, I believe, the 31st day of this month, which, when they pay that, they will have paid into the general reclamation fund about $268,000 or $270,000. It was understood when we were entering into that contract that that money would go direct to Yuma project to reduce its cost of construction, but under a decision of the Attorney General's office here it was held that that money had to go into the general reclamation fund, and the Yuma project credited with nothing,

notwithstanding we are paying the $2,150,000 of the dam; that they come and take possession of five-sixths of it.

But this last session of Congress was good enough to pass a law which will automatically give Yuma this $1,600,000 if and when the all-American canal is completed. That is our direct personal interest. But the flood control is first, the conservation of the waters for irrigation purposes is second, and the generation of electric power third.

If you build the Boulder Canyon dam, of course it will be the greatest structure of its kind ever conceived by man. The water impounded behind that dam would cover this District of Columbia 100 feet higher than your great Washington Monument. It would cover nine of your Eastern States over 1 foot deep in water. It will generate enough electric power to turn every wheel of industry within a radius of 600 miles of the generating plant. It will permit the Santa Fe Railroad, the Southern Pacific Railroad, that runs right through Yuma, and that whole country, to have electricity enough to serve its purposes. At Yuma, on our high lands that can not be reached by gravity, and up the Gila River it will bring in a million acres of as good land as there is anywhere on earth if you will give us this cheap electric power to pump the water out of the ground.

We are intensely interested in this. Every organization in Yuma and Yuma County has joined the Boulder Dam Association and advocates the construction of the Boulder Canyon dam and the allAmerican canal.

We made it a political issue in Yuma County in the last election, and we did not nominate anybody that was not in favor of it, either. A rock-ribbed Democratic county-and I am and old rock-ribbed Democrat-the first time in my life I ever flew off the handle.

Senator JONES of Washington. Did the Democrats take a position against it?

Colonel FLY. The Democrats were in favor of it, except Governor Hunt. And we carried that county for the Republican nominee for governor and for President Coolidge; and I led it, and I am a Democrat.

Senator JONES of Washington. I don't understand your political statements with reference to it. That situation seems involved to me.

a little Senator SHORTRIDGE. The Republican Party took a firm stand in favor of the enterprise.

Colonel FLY. The Republicans were in favor of it and many of our Democrats were against it and those who were defeated.

Senator ASHURST. The Colonel knows my record is straight. Colonel FLY. I want to say to my distinguished friend, Senator Ashurst, that he knew how we stood, and he didn't come down.

Now, gentlemen, I want to say that we are intensely interested in this question. We sincerely hope that you will pass this bill. Of course, there are several amendments that I would suggest to Senator Ashurst that I know will be acceptable.

That is all I have to say, unless there are some questions the committee want to ask.