reimbursement bill. Whether the members of the House were lacking in
a sense of justice; whether they were indifferent to the bill because
there was “nothing in it for them;” or whether they were afraid, in
an election campaign, to face the charge that they had “given the
people’s money,” as “a pure gratuity” to one of Mr. Harriman’s railroad
corporations, it is impossible to say. Certain it is that no action was
ever taken on the bill, although it had been favorably reported by the
Committee on Claims; had been repeatedly recommended by two Presidents,
and had been unanimously supported, regardless of party lines, by the
people of the Imperial Valley and by the whole State of California.
There are certain events which may seem inexplicable, but upon which it
is not necessary to comment. The barest recital of facts is eloquent
enough.
Shortly before his death, Mr. Harriman made a trip through the Imperial
Valley and over the reconstructed levee which kept the Colorado River
within bounds. Upon his return to Imperial Junction, he was met by a
representative of the Los Angeles Examiner who, in conversation about
the work, said:
“Mr. Harriman, the Government hasn’t paid you that money, and your
work here does not seem to be duly appreciated; do you not, under the
circumstances, regret having made this large expenditure?”
“No,” replied Mr. Harriman. “This valley was worth saving, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” said the reporter.
“Then we have the satisfaction of knowing that we saved it, haven’t we?”
It is unfortunate that so fine an achievement as the controlling of
the Colorado River and the saving of the Imperial Valley should have
been clouded by national ingratitude or indifference; but if Mr.
Harriman were living today, he would doubtless find compensation and
satisfaction enough in the results of his work as they now appear.
The Salton Sea, which once threatened to submerge and destroy the
artificially created oasis in the desert, ceased to rise in 1907 and is
now slowly drying up. The great Laguna dam above Yuma is done, and is
furnishing water to tens of thousands of acres in southern California
and Arizona. The territory along the Colorado River below the Grand
Cañon, whose prospective value President Roosevelt estimated at “from
$350,000,000 to $700,000,000” is safe. The Imperial Valley, which was
yielding only $1,200,000 to its cultivators ten years ago, is now
producing cotton, barley, alfalfa, cantaloupes, grapes, vegetables
and live stock worth more than ten times that amount. According to an
estimate made by the Imperial Valley Press in June, 1916, the farmers
of the Valley will earn this year a sum equivalent to the interest on
$500,000,000. And all of this actual and potential wealth, as well
as the land that has produced or will produce it, was threatened
with total destruction in 1906, and was saved for the nation by the
constructive genius and the invincible resolution of the “Master
Builder.”
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