Show WATERS OF THE RIO GRANDE governor thornton Thorn tun of now new mexico has bag called a muses convention of reel dents of new mexico arizona west ern era texas and the state of Chi chihuahua bubus old meet to in doming N M on tuesday Novem bei jtb to consider some gome important questions of irrigation one Is IB in regard to the construction of reservoirs to store the waste waters ol of the river the other is thus stated by bj the governor go vernoi in his bis proclamation whereas large quantities of the water of said river which have for many years been appropriated and used by the citizens residing in the valley thereof south of for the purposes of irrigation and upon the continual use of which depends the life and prosperity of the community has been wrongfully appropriated aw an diverted to other uses by the residents near dear the headwaters of said stream in colorado thus causing a water famine in the lower valley which from year to year grows greater until the agricultural interests inter ats are imminent danger of destruction unless such diversion be checked the main question before the convention say the denver rows will be that of interstate water rights and it may be added international water rights as well since the residents of old mexico in the rio grande valley use the waters of that stream for irrigation purposes it is in a si historical fact which cannot be denied that the waters ol of the rio bio grande were used for irrigation by residents resident of new mexico from to years before colorado was settled or became a territory new mexicans must be acknowledged to be the original appropriators of the waters of that river their claim is that the use of the water by residents of san ban luis vaney in this state to is destroying their rights right the news is not disposed to admit this proposition it is true that there are thousands of acres irrigated Irrigate dirom irom the bio grande and it tributaries tributa ries in the san ban luis valley but every inch of water aeed in chodan the ban luis valley save ave that lost by evaporation fluda its way back into the river and flows sut hward through the Esp analo anale canyon to be used again in the lower va valley the difference in the volume of water in the river is not due to tion in the ban luis liuis valley but to quite another cause and that is the cutting off of timber about the head waters of that stream it Is ia a fact that the volume of water in all the rocky mountain streams has baa been reduced and it Is i especially true of the platte the arkansas Arkan saB and the rio blo grande and their tributary streams they are lower in the dry months and subject to greater floods in spring time but the general flow of the year is less the cause to la plain the snowbanks which formerly lay on the mountains until august ares area now gone early in july they melt away quickly in stead of gradually as was the case came when heavy timber covered the moun tsing if every dicob in the ban luis liuia valley were abut oft off the news loews does not believe there would be any difference in the volume of the rio grande at albuquerque lias las cruces or el pass paso the real trouble la Is with the original source of supply not with the ditches of the ban luis liuia valley |