THE IRRIGATION AGE. 23 



right within its own territorial limits. This would have been so upon 

 principles of international law without such reservation. States ly- 

 ing wholly within the United States belong exclusively to it, and the 

 soil within the United States is not burdened with a servitude in fav- 

 or of Mexico, in respect to any duty to so discharge the water as to 

 promote or preserve the navigability of the Rio Grande. 



2. "It is not the capacity of a stream to float a log or row a boat 

 which renders it a navigable river within the Acts of Congress (1890 

 and 1892) but whether, at regular periods of sufficient duration and in 

 its regular condition, its capacity is such as to be susceptible of bene- 

 ficial use as a public highway for commerce. The Rio Grande in 

 New Mexico is not a navigable river. 



3. "The power to control and regulate the use of waters not 

 navigable, exercised by States and Territories in the arid West, was 

 confirmed by Congress by the Act of 1866, and that power now re- 

 sides wholly in such States and Territories under the Act of 1877 and 

 subsequently, therefore the diversion of such local waters is not a vi- 

 olation of any Act of Congress even though the navigable capacity at 

 a distance below may become thereby impaired." (Vide Transcript 

 of Record No. 753 the Supreme Court of New Mexico, July term, 1897). 



The two decisions having been so decisively against the Govern- 

 ment the directors of the English Company naturally inferred that 

 the authorities would promptly desist from further needless persecu- 

 tion, and have the grace to at once indemnify the company for costs 

 incurred, etc., but they were sadly mistaken. The Attorney General 

 allowed the matter to drag on until the last moment permissable by law, 

 and then filed an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court. Urgent rep- 

 resentations, explaining the injustice of the delay were made at 

 Washington; petitions were sent in by the inhabitants of the valley 

 and every possible effort was made to induce the department to ac- 

 cept the decision of the Territorial Supreme Court as final. 



The company's representatives were at first given to understand 

 that probably the decision of the Territorial Supreme Court would be 

 so accepted, but after further vexatious loss of valuable time they 

 were told that this could not be done, though an early hearing before 

 the Supreme Court was promised. This was last autumn; subsequent- 

 ly the company's attorneys were definitely informed that the hearing 

 of the appeal would come on early in January. 1898. January passed, 

 and they were at last advised that the date of hearing had been fixed 

 for the 10th of October. 



Two years wasted, costly half finished works destroyed by floods, 

 ruinous litigation forced upon a friendly English company, the future 

 of a great public enterprise jeopardized. English investors disgusted, 

 and the farmers in the valley deprived of water for the irrigation of 

 their lands, all in the interest of General Anson Mills of the U. S. 

 Boundary Commission and the German and Mexican speculators back- 

 ing the international dam scheme. Is it at all surprising that English 

 investors have no confidence in American undertakings? 



That General Mills enjoys influential support at Washington is 



