stones," and their delegates, who come before the American Congress and so freely charge unworthy motives against others, should at least come with clean hands, yet they admit that they want the Elephant Butte syndicate to be permitted to do the very thing that they charge the supposed El Paso-Juarez syndicate with wanting to do. The Elephant Butte syndicate is already organized and is proposing to impound enough of the water of the Rio Grande River to fill their reservoir, and to sell this water to the citizens below on the river, and thus make merchandise out of the water, to which, in the language of my bill, others have a right by prior appropriation. I submit that Congress should not give this water monopoly to this Elephant Butte Company, and I do not believe it will do so, and that it will pass this bill and equitably distribute the waters of this river among the people who have a prior right to it, whether they are Mexicans or Americans. This Republic is too great and too just to do wrong to the friendly sister Republic of Mexico. I beg leave to file herewith a petition from the citizens of El Paso, together with letters and newspaper articles bearing on this subject, and to submit the whole for the information of the committee. Respectfully, JNO. H. STEPHENS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C., March 29, 1900. Hon. JOHN HAY, Washington, D. C. SIR: I have the honor to hand you herewith a letter from the Department of Justice in regard to my bill for the equitable distribution of the waters of the Rio Grande River, and which bill will be presented to you, for your consideration, by the chairman of the subcommitteeMr. Heatwole of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. I also desire to call your attention to a letter from myself to Mr. Day, your predecessor, which letter explains the object and necessity for this legislation. Also to a personal interview that Senator Culberson, of Texas, and myself had with you on this subject recently. In view of the great necessity for the relief that this bill will give the citizens of Mexico and Texas I hope that you will give it your immediate and favorable consideration. Respectfully, Hon. JOHN H. STEPHENS. JNO. H. STEPHENS, M. C., Thirteenth District, Texas. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C., January 27, 1900. MY DEAR SIR: Illness has prevented an earlier consideration of your bill. This office, of course, must abide by departmental action, and the Department's policy must be hands off as to legislation regarding this matter. It would seem not to be proper to do anything by way of urging legislation, while we are in charge of litigation for one of the parties, which would interfere with the course of the litigation. We might, therefore, better refrain from saying anything which could be so construed. On the other hand, while not urging or seeming to aid such legislation, we should not desire to influence in any manner your fighting in Congress for the interests of your constituents whose interests are threatened by litigation. We understand that is just what the Colorado people are doing on the other side of the case. I have looked the bill over carefully, and I should think it admirably adapted to compass the whole interests of your constituents if passed. I shall be glad to see you and give you any information in my power any time. at Yours, truly, M. C. BURCH. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, The SECRETARY OF STATE. SIR: On February 24 you forwarded to me draft of a bill proposed to be introduced in Congress to provide for the equitable distribution of the waters of the Rio Grande between the United States of America and the United States of Mexico, with a copy of Senate Doc. No. 229, Fifty-fifth Congress, second session, and requested me to advise you whether the bringing forward of this or a similar measure at this time would be inexpedient or likely to cause embarrassment to the Department of Justice in the prosecution of the pending litigation against the corporations who are seeking to construct a dam and reservoir at Elephant Butte. I have examined the proposed bill and see no objection to it from the point of view which you have indicated. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the material facts to be able to give you an opinion upon the general subject of the projected international dam. That enterprise involves so many questions of scientific and engineering knowledge that I do not feel competent to express an opinion upon it. I have no doubt that many persons who have heretofore used the waters of the Rio Grande at points below El Paso for irrigation purposes have been very seriously injured by the storage and diversion of the water by dams, reservoirs, and irrigating canals. I would point out to you, however, that the sole basis of jurisdiction in the Federal courts, so far as the United States Government is concerned, is interference with the navigable capacity of the stream. The use of the waters of the river for purposes of irrigation is not a use connected with the regulation of commerce, and the act under which the present suit is being maintained against the Rio Grande dam and Navigation Company is one solely for the protection of commerce. Very respectfully, JOHN W. GRIGGS, Hon. JOHN H. STEPHENS, EL PASO, TEX., April 11, 1900. ultimo, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. STEPHENS: I received your letter of the and I am sorry to note that Secretary Hay has not committed himself in favor of the international dam. You have undoubtedly read the Senate document on the dam, and as Mr. Olney was so much in favor of it for the purpose of getting the friction between this country and Mexico out of the way it should be only proper in Mr. Hay to uphold Mr. Olney and his predecessors. At present the river is absolutely dry, an occurrence which the old inhabitants of 80 and 90 years of age have not seen before. The situation is, in fact, a calamity, and every eyewitness has no other opinion about. In speaking the other day with United States Consul Kendrick, of Paso del Norte (Juarez), he told me that the Government could hardly imagine such a horrible state of affairs, and he considered it his duty to call the Department's attention to this pitiable state of affairs. He says this country is going back every day. One farmer on the Mexican side who used to employ 16 farming hands now only employs two, the other 14 having gone to Clifton, Ariz., to work in mines; and this is about a fair example of how the country has depopulated. I think United States Consul Kendrick will make his report to the Department very soon, and it might be well a few days after the receipt of this letter to call upon the Secretary of State again, and I think most likely he will give you some information. I have written to Senator Mills as per inclosure, which kindly return. You may encounter some difficulties in the House on account of the dam breaking at Austin; but this dam was never considered a safe structure, and, in fact, it burst the day before it was inaugurated. Engineering art has so far advanced that a dam can be built absolutely safe. If Mr. Hay should give his consent and the committee favorably report the bill, I would be pleased if you would write to me at once. Ì inclose you a clipping from the Times which shows that the drought is worse than ever before this year, and all the farming population is relying upon you for the relief of their embarrassing situation. Yours, very truly, MAX WEBER. THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY-A REPORT ON IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE FROM CONSUL KINDRICK. Charles W. Kindrick, consul at Ciudad Juarez, writes the State Department as follows: "For the past two years the farmers in the Rio Grande Valley below El Paso, Tex., and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, have had no water with which to irrigate their lands, and there is no promise of a current in the Rio Grande River during the present year-that is, with the exception of the extra seasonal water that comes down for a brief period, principally during the month of May. This flood water serves no practical purpose, unless it could be held in reserve. Agriculture depending upon irrigation derives but slight benefit from water obtainable for about one month in twelve. It may be stated, therefore, that this valley is now in the third year of a drought, and the consequences are patent to the most casual observer. Agriculture has languished, and dwindling population and diminished business testify to the apparently hopeless condition due to the lack of sufficient water to irrigate the soil. Fruit trees have withered and died, alfalfa farms have burned and perished, and vineyards once producing an abundance of grapes have ceased to yield. People have been compelled in many instances to seek a livelihood elsewhere and in other pursuits than the cultivation of the soil. Formerly there were in Juarez and the valley below this city about 20,000 people; now there are less than 8,000. 'Spreading southeast of Ciudad Juarez are more than 100,000 acres of land as fertile, when irrigated, as the bottoms of the Nile. Mr. Weber, a representative business man of this place, who has a thorough knowledge of existing conditions and latent resources, says the valley below and about El Paso and Juarez is capable, with sufficient water, of producing more than $2,000,000 annually in grain, grass, and fruits. Without irrigation it is a dry waste of alluvial deposit upon which nothing will grow but cotton trees and useless bosk. "From the fact that the soil is naturally so fertile it may be reasonably concluded that more water than formerly has been drawn from the river in Colorado and New Mexico. There population has rapidly increased and agriculture has been extended to the limit of the river's capacity to supply irrigation. The consequence is the river ceases to be a river at all before it reaches El Paso, Tex., and Ciudad Juarez. According to the census of 1890, 4,000 persons were engaged in the cultivation of 100,000 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. The number of persons engaged in agriculture and the number of acres added to those already cultivated, it is estimated, have more than doubled. As the amount of water drawn from the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico can not be diminished, the outlook for the farming and dependent interests in the valley about and below El Paso and Ciudad Juarez is unpromising. "Each year, with the melting of the snow in Colorado, there is a flood in the Rio Grande. Sometimes the river becomes a wide, raging torrent of large volume. The water dashes by for a brief period and then the river becomes dry again. In 1897 the flood came in such volume as to endanger property along its course. In 1898 it was almost as high. In 1899 there was a brief flow, which was quickly spent. The outlook for a large volume of water this spring appears to be unpromising. "This valley will never again prosper unless something is done to provide water for the purposes of irrigation. And whatever may be the law supporting or opposing the claims of the people of Mexico against the United States for the loss occasioned by the diversion of the water, the construction of a dam by Government to impound the flood waters of the Rio Grande would constitute an act of comity which would restore prosperity to a languishing valley and benefit the inhabitants of western Texas and southern New Mexico, as well as the citizens of Mexico residing on the south side of the Rio Grande.' [El Paso Daily Times, Tuesday, April 10, 1900.] DISMAL OUTLOOK FOR THE FARMERS THE RIO GRANDE WILL RUN DRY EARLY THIS YEAR-GLOOMY PREDICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE "SNOW BULLETIN -LITTLE SNOW IN THE RIO GRANDE WATER SHED-FARMERS SHOULD PUT IN PUMPS-MR. RUSSELL DISCUSSES THE SITUATION. F. H. Brandenburg, director of the Colorado section of the United States bureau's climate and crop service, has issued, under date of April 7, a special "snowfall bulletin," which is of prime interest to the people of the Rio Grande Valley. This bulletin gives a gloomy forecast for water during the present season. The paragraph of the general outlook is as follows: "There was a deficiency of snowfall in nearly all parts of the mountain region during March. Correspondents comment upon the absence of heavy storms, and state that under the influence of the prevailing high temperatures the light falls disappeared quickly. At the close of the month the valleys and southern slopes were practically bare, and melting had begun in sheltered localities-three or four weeks earlier than usual. At great altitudes the snow is still solid, especially that which fell during October, November, and December. The consensus of opinion is that, as compared with last year, the flow will be of less volume and cease much earlier." The reports from the various observers in the Rio Grande watershed are summarized in the bulletin as follows: "Rio Grande watershed: Carson, granulated; with normal weather melting will be rapid and flow will cease by July 1. Creede, no storms during March; outlook bad. Lost Trail Creek, south hillsides are bare; depth about 2 feet in timber. Wagon Wheel Gap, southern slopes bare. Alder, will go rapidly with warm weather. Villa Grove, flow will be less than usual. Ósier, about one-third as much as a year ago; toll road open for wagons-earliest in twenty years.' Commenting on the above report, Secretary Russell, of the Chamber of Commerce, said: "It is best that the farmers and fruit growers of the valley should be told just what they may expect. It will be remembered that last year the observer at Del Norte, Colo., on the Rio Grande, above the San Louis Valley, reported the flow of the river at that point was but 50 per cent of the normal. The outlook this year is for a flow no greater, if as great. Everyone needing water for irrigation should therefore plan to make the most of what does come down. It is possible, of course, that the How will not be as scant as now appears probable. "I want to repeat again what I have said many times before during the past two years in the Times. No one can safely undertake to raise farm products, fruit, or vegetables in the Messilla or El Paso or Juarez valleys without a pumping plant to supplement the river supply. In such seasons as that of 1899, and presumably the present season, the flood waters of the Rio Grande, even if all stored by a great reservoir at El Paso or Elephant Butte, will not suffice for profitable agriculture. The farmer, orchardist, and gardener will use what water he can get from the river, but he must not rely on that source of supply to make his crop.” Statement of the losses of the citizens of El Paso County, Tex., because of lack of water for irrigation, caused by the unlawful appropriation of the waters of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico and Colorado during the four years next past. Hon. JOHN H. STEPHENS, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Being thoroughly familiar with the facts, we, the undersigned, do hereby certify: That the population of the Rio Grande Valley below El Paso within the last ten years has decreased at least one-third. That the number of acres of land cultivated by actual settlers has been reduced at the lowest estimate to little more than one-half what it was in 1890. That the market value of the lands has been reduced from $25 to $5 per acre, and is hardly salable at any price. And that the aggregate losses to the property owners in said valley, at an extremely low estimate, would be $4,000,000. For a more definite statement of the losses suffered see tabulated statement hereto attached: STATEMENT. Total number of acres of land in the El Paso Valley subject to irrigation. Number of acres of land under cultivation annually from 1895 to the present time. In 1895, there being very little water, the crops on the lands then under cultivation amounted to about one-sixth of the ordinary yield, or...... Losses for the year 1895 on lands not under cultivation, $10 per acre40,800 acres. 76, 800 36,000 $120,000 Losses on uncultivated lands for 1899 In 1899 but little water up to May 15, and then the river entirely dry; losses full.. Loss on uncultivated lands for 1898, which would have been in cultivation had we received waters due us in past years... In 1898 full crop on cultivated lands, accounted for by heavy and unusual rains. In 1897 ditches impaired by severe floods, hence only half crop; loss of.. In 1896 but little water up to June, then river entirely dry; result, loss of Total amount of losses 3,960, 000 The above statement is a very limited statement of the losses sustained by the landowners of this valley for the reason that a yield of $40 to $50 per acre, where plenty of water can be had, is not at all unusual. EL PAS- -3 |