LANE URGES ACTION. [Copy of letter from Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, to Hon. Oscar W. Underwood, MY DEAR MR. UNDERWOOD: I have been in receipt for some time of communications from San Francisco respecting their water situation. The newspapers and others are keeping it as quiet as possible, but the situation is one of emergency and of actual distress. As you doubtless know there has been pending here for some 10 years or more an application before this department for rights of way which will permit the use of the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a reservoir for San Francisco's water supply. When I was city attorney of San Francisco I made an argument before Secretary Hitchcock in this matter and have been interested in it ever since. Secretary Fisher just before he went out of office said that the matter was one that should be dealt with by Congress. I was appealed to to revoke this decision, but said that owing to the fact that I had been a constant advocate of such a permit and was one of the attorneys of record in the matter I felt it would be improper for me to act further than to express to Congress my opinion that this was a matter almost vital to San Francisco's growth as well as her present needs. I am advised to-day that the matter of securing the necessary legislation under which the Tuolumne waters may be used for a municipal water supply can be taken up by Congress as an emergency matter if you will say the word. San Francisco's need is so great that I think such action would be entirely justifiable. There is absolutely no politics in the matter. The president of the Spring Valley Water Co., which now supplies the city, in describing the water supply in that city recently said, "It is doing the city more harm than the earthquake ever did." I quite realize the pressure that is brought to bear upon you with respect to legislation that Members desire to push at this session. This fact, however, is not to be lost sight of, that a delay as to the Hetch Hetchy water supply now means the postponement for at least a year of securing the relief for San Francisco. There is sufficient data already had for the Land Committee to act upon and there is no question of policy involved affecting anything other than this one proposition. I hope from these considerations that you will find it practicable to make the exception and permit this proposition to be considered during this session of Congress. Respectfully, yours, Hon. OSCAR W. UNDERWOOD, FRANKLIN K. LANE. House of Representatives. LANE TESTIFIES AT HEARING. [Extracts from statement of Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, to the Public Lands Committee, House of Representatives, June 25, 1913.] San Francisco needs a new and adequate water supply. The water supply that she has now has been developed from time to time during the last 50 years, and the city has outgrown it. The situation in San Francisco now is that there are many homes where sufficient water can not be had for a bath; where it is necessary in the new and growing portions of the city to leave a spigot turned on at night in order to get sufficient water for the morning breakfast. More than that, you know the situation that developed immediately after the earthquake. San Francisco attempted to supplement her fresh-water supply with a salt-water supply drawn from the ocean-an emergency supply in case of fire. There is every kind of reason why San Francisco should have a larger supply of water than she has. At the present time they are advertising in the papers that people must stop washing down their steps, washing off the sidewalks, and watering their lawns, because the water is not to be had. * * * The Hetch Hetchy Valley is distant from the Yosemite Valley and in no way touches that beautiful scenic valley. The Hetch Hetchy Valley I have never seen; but it is a valley in a canyon which is partly submerged during a part of the year, which, as I learned 10 years or more ago, was for the greater part even of the summer season an impossibility for camping purposes because of the mosquitoes there, there being so much swamp. Great cliffs arise around it. * I think that I have as much appreciation of natural beauty as anyone, and as much of a desire to conserve the * * natural beauties of my own home State as anyone, and my conclusion, after thinking of this thing a long while, has been that to turn that valley into a lake would add to the beauty of the whole thing rather than to detract from it in any way. * * * Both the private engineers and the War engineers have reached the conclusion that this dam site must eventually be used. California needs water for other than municipal purposes, for irrigation purposes, and she needs this water that comes down from these high mountains for power, because she has no coal, so that it is probably a matter of but a few years, even if this application were denied, and if this bill should fail to pass, it would be only a very few years before you would find yourselves pressed by the State of California or by private parties with large public influence behind them to set aside this identical site as a dam site for the holding back of the flood waters which run to waste, so that those waters might be used for irrigation purposes and for power purposes, if not for municipal purposes; and it has seemed to me, in looking over the whole situation, that San Francisco's demand or request made to the Secretary of the Interior in times past was a perfectly reasonable one. My concern as Secretary of the Interior has been to see that the interests of the Government were protected. I have looked over this bill, and in the very brief time I have had it seems to meet a great many of the objections that have been heretofore raised to such bills. * * * My judgment is unequivocally in favor of the use of the floor of the valley. If San Francisco does not get it, some one else must; it is too precious a reservoir site to remain unused. In building this dam San Francisco will necessarily build roads which will make the high sierra accessible-will make that whole portion of the park accessible to hundreds of thousands of people who never will have any chance to go in there if it remains as at present. Therefore it seems to me that as a park proposition alone this thing is worth while. * * * I think, as one having charge of the park, that it will be beneficial, and that anyone who really knows the country and appreciates the advantages that will come by the opening up of it and making it accessible and putting it to use must indorse this proposition as against some rather doubtful esthetic consideration. San Francisco has absolutely needed an additional water supply for years. I am advised by the irrigation people themselves that they are satisfied that this (bill) protects their rights, and I think it becomes quite evident when you consider that the city puts up a great dam which will hold back flood waters that run idly by their land, that it must work out for their benefit if they have any right whatever to the use of the waters. The general principle of the bill is that these lands belong to the Federal Government and that we have control of them. The water originates in them, the water flows through them, and we have control over the dam site, and if we are to allow these lands to be submerged we have got the right to make certain conditions. Certainly no one can come in and use lands in a national park without our consent, and if you give consent you have got the right to make conditions. I think the rights of the irrigation districts are very well protected here, and that they have the right to call upon the city for additional water. I think that it is very proper that the Federal Government should use whatever power it has over the public lands, over the parks, and over the forests, to compel the fullest use of these waters, and indirectly to require through its power to make conditions, the lowest possible rate for consumers. In my judgment, the permission desired by San Francisco to secure water from the Yosemite National Park for municipal purposes, etc., should be accorded. The communities on San Francisco Bay constitute the largest center of population on the Pacific coast and are urgently in need of an adequate supply of pure, wholesome water for domestic consumption and for fire protection. This project would insure the development of a dependable supply of water for the use of the adjacent irrigation district, and it would also provide for the development of power now going to waste. The city of San Francisco has evidenced its good faith in this matter by providing a large bond issue looking to securing money to effectuate the grant if accorded. The bill under consideration fully protects the interests of the United States in the park and elsewhere. Under the project as proposed by the city, the floor of the Hetch Hetchy Valley, now difficult of access and frequently unhealthy, will be converted into a lake of great beauty and be provided with suitable approaches. Under the provisions of this bill the revenues derived by the Government, which in time will grow into a very considerable sum, are to be used for the maintenance and improvement of the Yosemite National Park, and the city of San Francisco has undertaken to construct and maintain roads, trails, and bridges which will practically result in a great enlargement of the park areas of the high Sierra by making them more safely and easily accessible. HOUSTON APPROVES. [Extracts from statement of Hon. David F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture, before the Public Lands Committee, House of Representatives, June 25, 1913.] I have examined this proposed bill, and I am in hearty accord with what the Secretary of the Interior says as to the general features. So far as the Department of Agriculture is concerned, I think that all of the interests of the Government are safeguarded in the bill. It is unnecessary for me to repeat anything that has been said about the need of the city of San Francisco for water. There is no doubt, from the representations made, that they have a great and growing need for this water supply. It is a prerequisite to the development of a great city. Now, I am also informed that this has been determined as the best way to secure the additional water required. It seems to me that we can not afford to stand in the way of that. * * * I have carefully examined the bill, and I can see no reason why it should not go through. The CHAIRMAN. In your opinion the development of roads and trails might mean an additional protection to the forest, might it not? Secretary HOUSTON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Have you considered the matter from the point of view of the people who may think it is a great wrong to put this water to beneficial use because of the possible injury to the natural beauties of the valley or because of the destruction of scenic values? Secretary HOUSTON. In the first place, if I am correctly informed, it will add to the beauty rather than injure the appearance of the forest and the park. So that answers the question from that point of view. But I think there is a great deal of beauty in San Franci co to be conserved, and I think that the thousands of people there have some ciaims upon the Government. * * * PINCHOT INDORSES BILL. [Extracts from statement of Hon. Gifford Pinchot, former Chief Forester, before Public Lands Committer, House of Representatives, June 25, 1913.] We come now face to face with the perfectly clean question of what is the best use to which this water that flows out of the Sierras can be put. As we all know, there is no use of water that is higher than the domestic use. Then, if there is, as the engineers tell us, no other source of supply that is anything like so reasonably available as this one, if this is the best and within reasonable limits of cost, the only means of supplying San Francisco with water, we come straight to the question of whether the advantage of leaving this valley in a state of nature is greater than the advantage of using it for the benefit of the city of San Francisco. Now, the fundamental principle of the whole conservation policy is that of use— to take every part of the land and its resources and put it to that use in which it will best serve the most people and I think there can be no question at all but that in this case we have an instance in which all weighty considerations demand the passage of the bill. * * * The construction of roads, trails, and telephone systems which will follow the passage of this bill will be a very important help in the park and forest reserves. The national forest telephone system and the roads and trails to which this bill will lead will form an important additional help in fighting fire in the forest reserves. As has already been set forth by the two Secretaries, the presence of these additional means of communication will mean that the national forest and the national park will be visited by very large numbers of people who can not visit them now. think that the men who assert that it is better to leave a piece of natural scenery in its natural condition have rather the better of the argument, and I believe that if we had nothing else to consider then the delight of the few men and women who would I yearly go into the Hetch Hetchy Valley, then it should be left in its natural condition. But the considerations on the other side of the question, to my mind, are simply overwhelming, and so much so that I have never been able to see that there was any reasonable argument against the use of this water supply by the city of San Francisco, provided the bill was a reasonable bill. The (sanitary) regulations which are required are substantially what ought to be followed by any well-intentioned * * * * In a colloquy with Hon. John E. Raker, member of Public Lands Committee, Mr. Pinchot discussed the effect of the construction of roads and dam site in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. He agreed with Mr. Raker that this work would make the valley more accessible and that the use of the park would be enormously increased. Mr. Pinchot, in reply to a question by Mr. Raker, said he had never been able to agree with John Muir in the latter's attitude toward the Sierras. Mr. Pinchot unequivocally indorsed the bill, and said there was no reason to delay its passage, as every possible phase of the subject had been investigated and discussed for 10 or 12 years. He said: I am thoroughly and heartily in favor of it. I am in favor of reporting the bill now before the committee and passing it at this session. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHIEF FAVORS BILL. [Extracts from statement of Dr. George Otis Smith, Director of U. S. Geological Survey, before Commit. tee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives, June 25, 1913.] * * * The Hetch Hetchy Valley must eventually be made into a reservoir. Now, I believe that the sooner that dam site is actually used, the sooner that reservoir is utilized, the better. There are three parties, it seems to me, to this proposition. San Francisco, by reason of its claim for the highest use of the water; the Turlock-Modesto irrigation districts, by reason of their prior use and their actual dependence upon the Tuolumne watershed for their water; and, thirdly, the general public, which is interested in the full utilization of our water resources here, as elsewhere, and also interested by reason of special rights which they have in the national parks. I believe that the citizens of San Francisco and the other bay cities will receive pure water from the cheapest source, and they will also receive municipal power at a lower price. The irrigation interests, with their prior rights, are assured under the terms of this bill of a larger supply than they at present have upon what seems to me to be absolutely equitable terms. The third party to this contract, in the form of legislation, is the general public. The visitors to the park, if this plan is carried out, will have the northern part of the Yosemite National Park made more accessible, if not indeed also more attractive. And right there I would say that in my opinion natural beauty has little value unless there is the human eye to see it. The sanitary restrictions in the bill are not a bit more than should be placed upon any users of a national park, this and other national parks, whether San Francisco is to get the water from the park or not. In addition, this is necessary in order to protect the campers from themselves. * * * To sum up, the proposed legislation appears to me to serve present needs without in the least compromising future needs. If we look ahead, there is also in this project some future possibilities of general benefit to the public, and not the least of these benefits will be the increased degree in which these national playgrounds of the high Sierra will be made more attractive to the general public because they will be more accessible. I base my opinions on actual observation of the Hetch Hetchy Valley itself. I do not think that anyone else (than San Francisco) is liable to develop the Hetch Hetchy dam site, unless there is a reasonable hope that the irrigation use can be connected with the municipal and power use. No extensive argument is needed to show that the full utilization of the Tuolumne River is not only desirable but absolutely essential. CHIEF FORESTER O. K'S PLAN. [Substance of statement of Hon. Henry S. Graves, chief forester, before Public Lands Committee, House of Representatives, June 25, 1913.] Mr. Graves analyzed the bill before the Committee on the Public Lands so far as it relates to the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. He approved the provisions and said that the telephones, trails, roads, etc., would materially assist in the proper conduct of the Stanislaus National Forest, and would result in good for all concerned. As to the bill itself, Mr. Graves said he had assisted in the preparation of Secretary Lane's report, which represented the agreed policy of the department, including the Forest Service. NEWELL WANTS DAM BUILT. [Extracts from statement of Hon. F. H. Newell, chairman United States Reclamation Commission, before Public Lands Committee, House of Representatives, June 25, 1913.] I agree fully with what has been stated by the representatives of the departments in this particular case. I made a study of the water supply of the higher Sierras 18 years ago. I made this study in the Hetch Hetchy Valley as well as in the surrounding area. It was found then that the irrigation development of the valley (San Joaquin) would require the building of a reservoir in that place. At that time we did not anticipate the needs of the city of San Francisco, and in fact gave that no consideration; but we are now fully aware that the ultimate development of the city of San Francisco will require the use of this reservoir site. Now, touching the question of the destruction of the natural beauty of the valley, I will say that, having been concerned with the building of many large reservoirs, I have naturally come to believe that there is nothing more beautiful than a well-built dam with a reservoir behind it. * * * Those of us who have been handling this water-supply question feel that the municipal or domestic use is so far superior to any other use that it does not enter my mind that there can be any competition. * * * You can supply, perhaps, one hundred times as many people with water for domestic use in a city as could be supplied for irrigation purposes. Mr. Newell discussed at great length with the members of the committee the cost of water for irrigation and the reasonable investment that should be made by landowners. He stated that in his opinion no encouragement could be held out to irrigationists that the Government would build a reservoir at Hetch Hetchy, the water to be used for irrigation purposes. In his opinion the construction by San Francisco of the Hetch Hetchy Dam would materially benefit the irrigationists and promote conservation. He approved the passage of the bill. ARMY BOARD TELLS COMMITTEE BILL SHOULD PASS. [Extracts from statement of Col. John Bi dle, chairma of the Board of Army Engineers which investigated and reported upon the San Francisco vapi blem, before the Public Lands Committee, House of Representatives, June 26, 1913.] Responding to Chairman Ferris, Col. Biddle stated that he was stationed in San Francisco from 1907 to 1911 and was in general charge of the rivers of California, and in that way became familiar, to a certain extent, with them, and also with the water situation in California. He further stated that the Army board was appointed in 1910 while he was stationed in California, and the other members of the board went out there. In 1911 the board went over several of the important sources of supply, and in 1912 the board again. went out there and went over a number of these sources. In addition, Col. Biddle said that he had personally seen most of the sources in question. |