Whereas the Hon. William Kettner has introduced a bill in the House of Repre sentatives, which, when passed, will enable the Imperial irrigation district to finance the said building of said all-American canal under the terms of said contract: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That this board of directors of Imperial Water Co. No. 2 indorse said bill, H. R. 6044, and most heartily urge its passage; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, certified by the secretary of this company, be sent to the heads of departments at Washington and the Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. As secretary of the board of directors of Imperial Water Co. No. 2, I hereby 'certify that the foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of a resolution adopted by said board, convened in regular session this 12th day of July, 1919. [SEAL.] H. B. KLABER, Secretary. RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL OF H. R. 6044. At the regular monthly meeting of the directors of the Imperial Southside Water Co., held in the offices of the company, in the city of Holtville, Calif., on the 8th day of July, 1919, the following resolution was introduced by Director S. M. Smyser, who moved its adoption. Whereas a bill known as H. R. 6044 has been introduced in the House of Representatives by the Hon. William Kettner, which, when passed, will enable the Imperial irrigation district to finance the building of an all-American canal, entirely on American soil, to divert water from the Colorado River, to be used for the irrigation of lands in the State of California; and Whereas a contract has been entered into by and between the United States of America, through the honorable secretary of the Interior and the Imperial irrigation district, for the construction of the said all-American canal; and Whereas the Imperial Southside Water Co., a mutual water company, distributes water for the irrigation of 20,000 acres of land in the Imperial Valley, Calif., and is entirely dependent for its supply of water from the Colorado River, upon the present system of canals, which carry the water through the Republic of Mexico; and Whereas the water in passing through the Mexican territory is appropriated for use in irrigating Mexican lands, to the detriment of the lands in the United States, thereby causing a decided loss to American agricultural interests; and Whereas the construction of the said all-American canal will provide an adequate water supply for the development of 400,000 additional acres of United States Government lands, as well as a perpetual supply for the irrigation of the present cultivated area: Therefore be it Resolved, That the board of directors of the Imperial Southside Water Co. heartily indorses and urges the passage of said bill, H. R. 6044; and Be it further resolved, That a copy of this resolution, certified to by the secretary of this company, be sent to the heads of departments at Washington, and to the Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. The motion of adoption was seconded by Director W. R. Waldrop, duly voted upon and unanimusly carried. The undersigned, as secretary of the Imperial Southside Water Co., hereby certifies that the foregoing is a full, correct, and true copy of a resolution adopted by the board of directors of the Imperial Southside Water Co., appearing on the minutes of the meeting of July 8, 1919. JAMES T. COYLE, Secretary. RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL OF H. R. 6044. Whereas Imperial Water Co. No. 7 is a mutual water company, furnishing water for the irrigation of 20,500 acres of land within the exterior boundaries of the Imperial irrigation district,and is dependent entirely for its supply of water from the Colorado River, at the present time carried from the Colorado River in the United States, thence conveyed through the Republic of Mexico; thence back into the United States and delivered to land dependent entirely on said supply of water delivered by Imperial Water Co. No. 7, and other mutual water companies in the United States; and Whereas while in transit in Mexico the waters are being appropriated for use of lands in Mexico to such an extent that the lands in the United States will soon be deprived of the present supply of waters needed, and the present irrigated land and new land subject to irrigation will be deprived of a water supply; and Whereas to prevent such an occurrence and to enable the development of 400,000 additional acres of United States Government land, a contract has been entered into by and between the honorable Secretary of the Interior, acting for and on behalf of the United States of America, and the Imperial irrigation district for the construction of an all-American canal, entirely on American soil and under the control of the laws of the State of California; and Whereas the Hon. William Kettner has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives which when passed will enable the Imperial irrigation district to finance the said building of said all-American canal, under the terms of said contract: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, certified by the secretary of the bill H. R. 6044, and most heartily urge its passage; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, certified by the secretary of the company, be sent the heads of departments at Washington and the Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. As secretary of the board of directors of Imperial Water Co. No. 7, I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of a resolution adopted by said board, convened in regular session this 10th day of July, 1919. [SEAL.] C. M. BERRY, Secretary. RESOLUTION. Resolution adopted by the board of directors of the Anaheim Board of Trade, Anaheim, Calif., July 28, 1919. Whereas the Imperial Valley is one of the greatest assets of the Nation as a food producing section and vitally important to the welfare of the Nation; and Whereas millions of dollars have been spent in the Imperial Valley to subdue the desert and bring hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile lands under cultivation, making this one of the garden spots and wealth-producing sections of the world; and Whereas through almost infinite work and sacrifice the present achievements have been obtained and over a million and a half acres of soil available for agricultural purposes; and Whereas this great valley, its irrigation works, its productions, its growth, its people, and its safety are vital to the United States: it is hereby Resolved, That the protection of this valley from flood danger, shortage of water, and international complications is properly the function of the National Government; and it is further Resolved, That the Board of Trade of Anaheim, Calif., indorses the passage by the Government of the United States, at the earliest possible time, the House of Representatives bill 6044, a bill to assist in increasing the productive agricultural area of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys, Calif., and for other purposes; it is also Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to our Representatives in Congress, urging immediate action supporting this very necessary measure. Attest: This is an exact copy of a resolution passed by the Anaheim Board of Trade, July 28, 1919. J. H. WHITAKER, Secretary. RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL. Whereas the city of Holtville, Calif., is a municipal corporation, situated within the Imperial irrigation district, and for a number of years has furnished water to its inhabitants for domestic and irrigation purposes, and is dependent entirely for its supply of water from the the Colorado River, which said supply of water is being furnished to said city by the said irrigation district; and Whereas the said Imperial irrigation district, under existing conditions, is forced to convey its said water through the Republic of Mexico by virtue of a contract with Lower California, a State of the aforesaid Republic; and Whereas by the terms of the aforesaid contract, the lands situate in said State of Lower California are entitled to priority in the use of said waters; and Whereas all of the expense incident to the upkeep and maintenance of the entire project has been, now is, and will continue to be a charge against the property of the inhabitants of Imperial irrigation district, so long as present conditions are permitted to exist; and Whereas the people of said Imperial irrigation district have declared by their votes that they desire to connect an all-American canal with the Laguna Dam on the said Colorado River, and thereby obtain, establish, and hold a prior right to the use of the said waters of the said river, for the use of American farmers, in American territory; and Whereas the honorable William Kettner has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives which, when passed, will enable the said Imperial irrigation district to finance the construction of said all-American canal, under the terms of the contract heretofore entered into between the United States of America, acting through the Secretary of the Interior, and said irrigation district: Now therefore be it Resolved by the board of trustees of the City of Holtville, That said bill, H. R. 6044, be and the same is, hereby heartily indorsed, and that we most earnestly urge its immediate passage; be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, certified by the city clerk, be sent to our Senators, Representative, and the irrigation district special committee at Washington, D. C. I, Ida B. Robinson, do hereby certify the foregoing resolution was regularly introduced and passed at a regular meeting of the board of trustees of the city of Holtville, held on June 16, 1919. IDA B. ROBINSON, 185833-20- -17 ALL-AMERICAN CANAL IN IMPERIAL AND COACHELLA VAL LEYS, CALIF. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION OF ARID LANDS, Friday, September 19, 1919. The committee met at 10.20 o'clock a. m., Hon. M. P. Kinkaid (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. Mr. BARBOUR. Mr. Chairman, I think we ought to take up the Imperial Valley matter. The condition is getting very serious out there, and these people have been down here for a long time. The CHAIRMAN. There has been a suggestion made by Dr. Mead, Dr. Elwood Mead, a well-known authority on these reclamation matters (see appendix, "Exhibit E"), and Mr. Davis, the Director of the Reclamation Service, is here this morning, also Mr. Hamele, of the legal department. Mr. Davis, I wish you would just make a brief statement to the committee. STATEMENT OF MR. ARTHUR P. DAVIS, DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES RECLAMATION SERVICE. Mr. DAVIS. I think, Mr. Chairman, the best way to get that would be to put this right into the record. It is brief and expresses it better than I could. Shall I read it? Mr. LITTLE. I wouldn't read it, Mr. Davis. The House meets at 11 o'clock to-day. I think it is time we took some action on this thing. Mr. DAVIS. Briefly it is just as they state in this telegram. They take the position that if these lands are sold in advance they can not be sold to homemakers, because they can't be made habitable until the water supply is available, and if sold before the works are constructed it will be a good many years before they can be settled, and it means that they will get into the hands of speculators instead of homemakers. Mr. BARBOUR. Isn't there a limitation in the bill as to the amount of land which shall go to any one person? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. One hundred and sixty acres isn't it? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. Mr. BARBOUR. I think we can tie that up. Mr. DAVIS. It isn't tied up in the bill. I presume it could be tied up in such a way as to prevent alienation, but I think that would probably meet with as much opposition from those that |