Full text of "Frank Adams, University of California, on irrigation, reclamation and water administration : transcript, 1958"

BANCROFT
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

University of California General Library /Berkeley
Regional Cultural History Project

Frank Adams

FRANK ADAMS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
ON IRRIGATION, RECLAMATION, AND WATER ADMINISTRATION

An Interview Conducted By
Willa Klug Baum

Berkeley
1959

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<

PRANK ADAMS,

UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA,
ON IRRIGATION, RECLAMATION,
AND WATER ADMINISTRATION

t *i ir :o TTT u

t ' . *KAJC5T t
MO:

PRANK ADAMS

(About 19lj-0, by Henry Washburn.
Farm Advisor of Santa Cruz Co.)

All uses of this manuscript are covered
by an agreement between the Regents of the
University of California and Prank Adams, dated
June 22, 1959. The manuscript Is thereby made
available for research purposes. All literary
rights In the manuscript, including the right
to publish, are reserved to the General Library
of the University of California at Berkeley.
No part of the manuscript may be quoted for
publication without the written permission of
the Librarian of the University of California
at Berkeley.

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Introduction

California's land is fertile, its climate ideal for

agriculture, but in most areas irrigation is a necessity.
Irrigation on the giant scale demanded brings with it many
problems: legal questions of the equitable division of
the waters available; engineering problems of the storage
and transportation of waters from areas of abundance to
areas of scarcity, sometimes requiring canals hundreds of
miles in length; agricultural problems of the skillful
application of water to the land and then necessary
drainage; political problems of the organization of public
districts for the purpose of building, financing, and
administering irrigation works. Water has always been
and continues to be one of the major problems in Gal ifornia
and the rest of the West,

In order to preserve some of the details of the

development of water-use institutions and facilities in
California, several interviews with men intimately connected
with these developments have been conducted by the Regional

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Cultural History Project of the General Library of the
University of California at Berkeley. One of these men

Is Prank Adams, whose Bulletin 21. Irrigation Districts

r n i ' '

in California, although published in 1929, is still the

standard source book for irrigation district history.

Adams entered irrigation work in 1900 and, with only a
brief interlude In the business world, was engaged in

public work on irrigation problems until long after his

>,
retirement In 19l*5> His life covers half a century of

significant developments In Irrigation and reclamation in
California and the West, and his memories go back even
further to the 1880s and 1890s when his father, Edward
P. Adams, organized one of the earliest fruit exchanges
in California.

It was Dr. Elwood Mead, then head of the Division of
Irrigation Investigations, later commissioner of the
Bureau of Reclamation, who in 1900 first persuaded young
Prank Adams, Stanford student, to try his hand at measuring
water flow. This experience, and his strong attachment
for Dr, Mead, led Adams to give up his planned career as
an agricultural journalist and make a career of irrigation

in the Division of Irrigation Investigations, United States

Department of Agriculture, the California office of which
he later headed. Prom 1916 until his retirement in

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he was professor of irrigation at the University of

LI vision

California, serving as head of the Department of Irrigation
from 1916 to 1936, as veil as irrigation economist for
the Agricultural Experiment Station and for Giannini
Foundation. His work included consulting with the Bureau
of Reclamation, the California State Division of Water
Resources, and numerous other public bodies, some of which
was done after his official retirement from active service.
While much of his work involved the gathering of technical
data upon which the construction of irrigation projects
was based, he Is probably best known for his achievements
In the field of water administration and of the political
organization of water-use districts.

The following series of interviews was tape recorded

by Willa Baum during the winter and spring of 1958 in the

-
living room of the Adams home at 1831 San Juan Avenue,

Berkeley. The room was austerely furnished, cool, shaded
by the gnarled live oaks outside the windows. Toys and
hobby collections in view bespoke the nearby presence of
the Adams grandchildren, and the landscape paintings on
the walls evidenced their owner's familiarity with and
love for the land. The most Impressive item there was a
large grandfather clock with elaborate dials and various
chimes, a gift from the Commonwealth Club to its founder,

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Mr. Adams' father. In this setting, seated near the piano,
in front of a card table which served as his home office,
Mr. Adams related the story of his life and achievements
to the interviewer and the spinning tape recorder, Inter
rupted only by the entrance of Mrs. Adams brir&ng coffee
and cookies.

Adams, a slender man of medium height, was eighty-
three years old at the time of the interviews. Difficulties
of speech, hearing, and vision had slowed down his
prodigious output of technical writings, but he still
continued to gather information and to write at his home
and at his office In Grlannlnl Hall, He spoke slowly and
deliberately, first carefully thinking out what he wanted
to say. The clearness of his thought is evidenced in
the finished manuscript. Some of his humor comes through
also, though this was most evident when the tape recorder

was not running. Adams impressed the interviewer as an

, -

la-ied

old-school gentleman, with his high button shoes, his
quiet sense of humor, his unwillingness to depreciate
anyone, his sense of integrity, and his friendly and help
ful manner. He would probably be considered a conservative
In most of his political views; the reader may judge for
himself where Adams stands on water matters.

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After the tapes were transcribed, Mr. Adams twice went
over the manuscript in great detail, checking on all the
information he was able to, revising the wording, and
perhaps with excessive modesty modifying his own role in
the projects in which he was involved. The preparation,
editing, and other effort he so cooperatively spent on
this undertaking was great. He also gathered together
and donated for inclusion In the manuscript photographs
of some of the key figures he mentioned.

Mr. Adams over the years has collected a large body
of materials pertaining to irrigation and reclamation
and sundry other matters. Many of these have been donated
to Bancroft Library, some are available in the Library at
Davis, some are now In the Water Resources Archives of
the University, and some still remain in Mr. Adams'
possession.

This series of interviews was part of a larger series
undertaken by the Regional Cultural History Project to
record for posterity eyewitness accoxuits of significant
phases of California's history during the 20th century.

Villa Klug Baum

Regional Cultural History Project

University of California General Library, Berkeley

July 30, 1959

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*Deene

by the

AMERICAN SOCIETY

AGRICULTURAL
ENGINEERS

PHILADELPHIA, PA.
June 25, 1947

TABLE OP CONTENTS

FAMILY AND EARLY YEARS 1

ANCESTORS 1

FATHER - EDWARD FRANCIS ADAMS 2

Youth and Young Manhood 2

Early Business Career 1|

Move to California; Pacific Coast Agent

for Schoolbooks 5>

Farming in the Santa Cruz Mountains 9

Organizing Cooperative Fruit Exchanges 11

Summer School of_ Economics and Hu shandy 13

Author of The Modern Farmer 17

Editorial Writer for the Chronicle 21

MOTHER - DELIA COOPER ADAMS 2k

BROTHERS AND SISTERS 26

FRANK ADAMS - EARLY EDUCATION AND

VOCATIONAL INTEREST 30

Alfred Holman and the Rural Press 32

STANFORD UNIVERSITY 35

Financing a College Education 35

Courses and Professors 36

Student Life 4l

Participation in Student Activities 49

TABLE OP CONTENTS

FAMILY AND EARLY YEARS 1

ANCESTORS 1

FATHER - EDWARD FRANCIS ADAMS 2

Youth and Young Manhood 2

Early Business Career 4.

Move to California; Pacific Coast Agent

for Schoolbooks 5>

Farming in the Santa Cruz Mountains 9

Organizing Cooperative Fruit Exchanges 11

Summer School of_ Economics and Husbandy 13

Author of The Modern Farmer 17

Editorial Writer for the Chronicle 21

MOTHER - DELIA COOPER ADAMS 2k

BROTHERS AND SISTERS 26

FRANK ADAMS - EARLY EDUCATION AND

VOCATIONAL INTEREST 30

Alfred Holman and the Rural Press 32

STANFORD UNIVERSITY 35

Financing a College Education 35

Courses and Professors 36

Student Life 4l

Participation in Student Activities 49

8TH3THOO TO 3J8AT

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14 oiiJ

CONTENTS

_ f P_ax Exemption on University Property 51

Dismissal of Dr. Ross 52

Master's Degree a_t the University of

Nebraska 55

EARLY WORK WITH DR. ELWOOD MEAD 57

First Meeting with Dr. Mead 57

Another Opportunity to Go Into Newspaper

Work with AlfredHolman " 6l

Cache Creek Investigations 6I|

Work In the Washington Office of the Office
of Experiment Stations, 1901 - 1902 ' 70

Washington. D. C. 72

Lobbying Duties 75

RECLAMATION ACT OP 1902 AND DR. ELWOOD MEAD

Pressures for the Reclamation Act 80

Dr. Mead * s Background In Western

""Irrigation"" 85

Irrigation Laws of Colorado 85

Irrigation Laws of Wyoming 87

Roosevelt's Message _to Congress. 1901 91

Controversy Between Mr. Newell and

Dr. Mead 98

Comments on the Reclamation Act 103

IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF

EXPERIMENT STATIONS , 1902T T9"o6 112

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CONTENTS

UTAH INVESTIGATION 112

The Virgin River 113

The Sevier River 122

INVESTIGATIONS OP INTERSTATE WATER RIGHTS

ON THE PLATTE RIVER - 1903 12l|

Salaries and Expenses 130

INVESTIGATION OP MODESTO AND TURLOCK

IRRIGATION DISTRICTS - 1901; 131

Early History of Modesto and Turlock

Districts 132

Keeping Records 13i|-

Applying Water to. the Land 135

District Operation 137

OTHER WORK - 190l| - 190$ - 1906

Professor (Major) 0. V. P. Stout
FAMILY

IN THE LIGHTING FIXTURE BUSINESS, 1906 -1910 llj-5
WIPE AND CHILDREN litf

ADMINISTRATION OP CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION
"T NVESTIGATTO'NS AND DIVISION OF IRRIGATION.
UNIVERSITY OF GAlTPORNIA llj-9

Early Years of the Department of

Irrigation, University of California llj.9

Cooperative Relationship Between

Irrigation Investigations, the State.

and the "University 153

Conducting the Irrigation Census 160

SIX

OoX

I HATU
eriT

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CONTENTS

Kuhn Project 163

Solano Irrigated Farms 166

Work of the Cooperative Investigations 170

Irrigation Practices 173

Duty of Water 173

Burning of Brush in Range Areas 176

Initiation of Studies 178

Cooperation with Other Specialists 182

Personnel 183

Comments on Agri cultural Extension 187

WORK WITH THE STATE CONSERVATION COMMISSION 192

Members of the Commission 192

Irrigation Resources Study and Map 200

Background of the 1913 Legislation 203

Defeat of the 1903 Works Bill 203

Commonwealth Club Study of Water

Rights, 1901]. - 1905 205

Commonwealth Club Section on

Conservation 206

1913 Water Commission Act 209

Other Recommendations of the State

Conservation Commission 216

Licensing Power Sites 216

Riparian Rights 218

2TH3T:

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eetfIS

CONTENTS

Forest Fire Protection 220

WORK WITH IRRIGATION DISTRICTS 223

Preparation of Bulletin No. 2 in 191$ 223

Irrigation District Legislation 225

Bridgeford Act of 1897 226

Improving the Market for Bonds 228

Bond Certification Commission Act of

1913 234

Increasing State Supervision Over

Organization 236

Withholding of Water from Appropriation
Pending Formation of a Proposed
District 214.0

Making Formation of a District Easier 2l|2

Other Legislation 2l^

Helping to Organize Districts 2i|.9

Irrigation Districts Compared to Other
Districts

Kern River Water Storage District
Large Farms vs. Small Farms 25>8

Difficulties in Developing Irrigation

Districts 261

Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation
District

WORLD WAR I. 273

Increasing Food Production in California 273

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"sD n! riold-sr/bo'tg |u-c^ &r

CONTENTS

Work vith the Army Educational Corps In

France After World VarT" 2??

LAND SETTLEMENT IN CALIFORNIA 283

Background of the Land Settlement Act 283

Durham and Delhi Settlements 28?

COMMONWEALTH CLUB STUDIES

State Investigation of Water Resources;

""The Marshall flan " 295

State Water and Power Act 309

Changes in the Commonwealth Club 3 111-

WORK WITH VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 318

U. S. Chamber of Commerce, 1926 318

California State Chamber of Commerce 321

California Economic Research Council 323

Publication of. Bulletin 21. Irrigation

Districts in California. 1929 328

Irrigation Districts Association 331

California Water Council 335
American Society of Agricultural Engineers 336
State Farm Bureau and the State Grange
Institute of_ Irrigation Agriculture

"Winning of_ the West Conference" 3k7

SURVEY IN PALESTINE 35l

WORK ON INTERNATIONAL AND INTERSTATE WATER

"RIGHTS 362

8THST;

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HSTAV 3TAT8HgTKI QMA JAHOI '! WO

CONTENTS

Attempted Compact Between the United States
and Mexico. 1928 - 1930 " 362

Rio Grande JojLnt Investigations . 1935 -

193ET 36?

1 f

COMMENTS ON CALIFORNIA STATE ENGINEERS AND OTHER
LEADERS IDENTIFIED~lTT^ALIFORUIA IRRIGATION
AND WATER DEVELOPMENT 3?1|.

"
State Engineers

Outstanding Engineers 378

i
Wells A. Hut chins 383

SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS 386

CONSULTING VTORK

' ______

CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT

Water Charges Study. 1938 395

Solano Unit Studies. 19L8 i|.00

Somments on the Central Valley Project lj.02
OTHER WORK

Tri-Counties Project in Nebraska . 1935 1|.06

Brush-burning Studies. 19U7

American River Studies. 19k7

Other Studies U13

CONCLUSION Ul6

APPENDIX 14-23

Copy of Memorandum of Plan to Utilize and
Reclaim the Arid' "Public Domain, by George
H. Maxwell

Copy of Substitute for Memorandum of Plan
to Utilize and Reclaim the Arid Public
Domain 1425

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CONTENTS

Copy of Draft of Letter Prepared by Elwood
Mead for Mr,~]I. G. Burt, President of
Union Pacific Railroad . to be Submitted
to Board of_ Directors

Copy of Letter f rom Elwood Mead to M r H.
G. Burt Regarding George Maxwell's Plans,

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Letter from Prank Adams to Edward P. Adams
Regarding Ap propr lat Ions for IrrTgation
Investigations. December lit. 1901

Publications of Prank Adams (and Co-
Authors)"

TJnpubllshed Reports and Papers of

Frank Adams l|.6l

Commonwealth Club Activities and Reports
re Irrigation and other Water Legislation
and Policy ~\62

INDEX

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LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS

Prank Adams, about 1940.. frontispiece

Dr. Edward A* Ross 58a

Dr. Elwood Mead 91a

Dr. Samuel Portier 131a

An Article and Photographs by Prank Adams

Appearing in Sunset, June- July, 1906 141a

Major 0. V. P. Stout 144a

Dean Thomas P. Hunt 155a

Professor F. J. Veihmeyer 181a

State Engineer Wilbur P. McClure 374a

Professor Martin R. Huberty .417a

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FAMILY AND EARLY YEARS
ANCESTORS

Adams: My father, Edward Francis Adams, was the son of
Reverend Thomas Adams and Catherine Swan Adams.
My mother was the daughter of Aaron B. Cooper and
Levinia Whipple Cooper. Father's paternal and
maternal ancestors emigrated from England to
Massachusetts in the early 1600's. We have no

information about Grandfather Cooper's ancestors,

Ke.neln
but Grandmother Cooper descended from Kelemn

Winslow, who came to Massachusetts from England

kenelr-)

early in the l600's. Ke-letaa was the brother of
Winslow.

Grandfather Adams was born in what is now
North Brookfield, Massachusetts, and brought up on
the farm of his father there under the strict
religious conditions of 18th Century New England.
He attended Dartmouth College, graduating in iSlij.,
and following several years devoted to a study of
theology and the classics, he entered the ministry.
After something over half a century of dedicated
service in the ministry and relat ed a ctivities as
a Congregational missionary in the District of Maine

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Adams: (before Maine was a state), pastor of several

churches in Kennebec Valley of Maine, an ardent
worker in the cause of temperance in Maine, pastor
of several Congregational churches in Geauga County,
Ohio, and agent for the Congregational branch of
publications in northern Ohio, he returned to
Kennebec Valley and died there in 1881, two days
before his 89th birthday.

FATHER- -EDWARD FRANCIS ADAMS
Youth and Young Manhood

Adams: Father was born in Augusta, Maine, December 30,

1839, while his father was editing temperance papers
in Augusta. Father's younger days were spent in
Augusta and nearby Portland and on an uncle's farm
in North Brookfield on land that had been in the
family for nearly two hundred years. When Father
was about seven, Grandfather Adams took up his
ministry in Ohio in Geauga County and it was there
that Father grew into young manhood.

After a thorough classical preparation nec
essary in those days for entrance into college,
Father went to Western Reserve University. He

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Adams: was able to stay there only until about the middle
of his sophomore year, owing to lack of financial
support. Then he returned to his old neighborhood
in Ohio and worked for a time on the farm of a
cons in near Hambden. Hoping to become a lawyer, he
studied with the leading lawyer in the neighboring
county seat. After about a year of this he decided
to go into farming and was a farmer on his own a
few miles south of Chardon, Ohio. He served for
about six months in the Civil War, but was invalided
home with the scourge of the Civil War, dysentery.
Several years after returning to the farm he was
induced by an uncle to heed the western fever and
move out to Missouri, where he purchased some land
and anticipated being a farmer there. As an aid in
establishing himself in Missouri he became land
agent for a railroad which had lands out there and
traveled over the country rather widely.

He had married when he began farming south of
Chardon and took his wife and two young children
to Missouri, but his wife and little daughter
succumbed to typhoid. Completely broken, Father
returned to Ohio with his little son Ned. He didn't
know what to do for quite awhile. He worked on a
farm, but soon decided to become a teacher. He became

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Adams: proprietor and principal of an academy and super
intendent of schools in a suburb of Cleveland. To sup
plement his income he became agent for school maps
and books, in which he had become greatly interested.
Deciding to give his full time to that work he resigned
his superintendency of schools and moved into Michigan,
where he and my mother married Christmas Eve, 1868.

Early Business Career

Adams: For the next ten years he was agent for various
school publications and a magazine and finally
became associated in Chicago with what was then the
largest manufacturer of office, school, bank, and
church furniture, A. K. Andrews. He was in charge
of their agencies over the country.

Baum: It sounds like your father moved around quite a
bit, took different jobs. Why did he do that?

Adams: He was in some branch of school supplies continuously
from the time he began to be an agent of these maps
and books as a side issue while he was teaching and
superintendent of schools. He used his summers in
that way. He gave up his superintendency of schools
to go definitely into that same business. As con
ditions changed he moved over into another branch of
that same industry, finally coming into the firm that

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was manufacturing school, office, and church furniture.
He was a born salesman in those days. He was just
getting a new start after his marriage to Mother.

Move tp_ California;
Pacific Coast Agent for Schoolbooks

During those ten years from 1868, when he was
married, to 1878, he was traveling so much that he
became completely worn out. Fearing that he was
going to be permanently ill, he took the family to
California and went to the home of my Grandmother
and Grandfather Cooper, who in the middle '70's
had gone to California and begun farming on the
Mendocino County coast near Kibesillah about twelve
miles north of what is now Port Bragg. This was,
of course, pioneer country.
So your mother's family were pioneers also.
Yes.

How many children were there in your family by the
tirre your father took you to California?
When the family moved to California, my older
brother Ned went to Maine to be with Grandfather
Adams and he stayed there until Grandfather's
death in 1881. There were five children who
accompanied Mother and Father to California, ranging

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Adams: in age from three to eleven. There were my three
sisters, Evangeline, Katharine, and Marion, and
my brother Will. I was the youngest, having been
born in Chicago^ September 19, 13?.

After about a year on Grandfather Cooper's
farm near Kibesillah, working in the open and
spending a good deal of time fishing off the bluffs
in the ocean, Father regained his health and went
back to work. He was very well-known among schoolbook
publishers and had several opportunities and he chose
the Pacific Coast agency for A. S. Barnes & Co. ,
publishers of schoolbooks. They later merged with
other schoolbook firms into the American Book Company.
The family moved to San Francisco in the summer of
'79 and Father began what turned out to be about
twelve years as agent on the Pacific Coast, the Rocky
Mountain states, and Hawaii for these schoolbooks.

He had a very hard life in that work because
he again was constantly traveling. His old trouble,
which was largely dyspepsia due to irregularity of
life, kept coming back to him. In Oregon, for
instance, he was sometimes away from home as much as
six months, traveling over the state and over into
Idaho and Utah, in good and bad weather, by team and
sometimes by horseback, seeing to it that the members

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Adams: of boards of education in these various counties
were on his side. That was his job.

He had to deal with legislators, he had to
help draft school legislation because the laws
were very crude at that time in Oregon where he
worked primarily, and also in California. In '79
or '80 he went over to the home of the state
superintendent of schools In Oakland and drafted a
school law for California. He had become thoroughly
versed in that field by dealing with legislators
and school authorities in Ohio and Michigan.

Baum: What means did he use to do that? How did he persuade
them? I suppose there were competing book agencies.

Adams: Oh yes, competition was very severe in those days.
Well, he always said that he liked a fight and he
was always a fighter, so he kept at it. He became
acquainted with the right men. In his early days in
Ohio he had to make the rounds of the school boards,
going from member to member, to get his books adopted,
so his experience dated back many years.

Baum: Did he do it by his own personality, or by the
excellence of his books?

Adams: By his personality, his persistence, and his ability
to make friends, by helping legislators and school
authorities in drafting legislation. I remember he

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Adams: said In a little autobiography he wrote that in
his work In Ohio and Michigan the scboolbooks he
handled had a distinctive quality and reflected a
great improvement in educational methods, but the
books he handled on the Pacific Coast were no better
than those of his competitors. It was just a matter
of who could get his line adopted. He was very
vigorous, very much alive in his work. He made many
friends and knew the best people. He learned how
politics were worked. Around legislatures there
was a lot he didn't like, and he was constantly
writing home that at his first opportunity he was
going to get out of that business and stay out of it.
Father was referring here to his experiences with

the American Book Company and not to those with A. S.
Barnes & Co. before the merger with the various book
firms into what was known then as the "schoolbook
trust. He always said that his experiences with the
Barnes firm were some of the happiest business exper-

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lences of his life.

He was very lonesome on these trips and his
correspondence shows that if he didn't get a letter
from home every day at a certain time he was very
unhappy. That situation extended over 12 years. Of
course, he wasn't far away all of the time because

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Adams: his headquarters were in San Francisco. The

family remained in San Francisco for about three
years.

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Farming in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Adams: After quite a search for a place for the family
to grow up, Father had purchased a farm down in
Santa Cruz County, in the Santa Cruz mountains, in
1881. We moved there in 1882. We still have that
farm, by the way, in the family. That's where we
were until the older children finished at the dis
trict school. We had the joy of attending the one-
room district school up there. I wouldn't have
missed it for the world. Then we moved back to San
Francisco in 1889 where my three sisters and my brother
Will entered Cogswell Polytechnical College, and I
entered my last two years in grammar school. Cogswell,
a privately endowed school of secondary grade, was
then being operated by the board of education of San
Francisco. It was an unusually fine high school with
an unusually fine faculty, some of whom later became
distinguished teachers elsewhere.

Early in 1892 Father left the w ork which had
been so unsatisfactory after the merger of the
schoolbook enterprises. The family went back to the

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Adams: farm. That was just at the time of the depression,
Father hoped to get into some new business, but the
time was not ripe for that. For several years he
stayed on the farm and w ent back to "dirt farming,"
but he wap very active in community affairs.

Baum: What kind of crops did you have on your farm?

Adams: With the exception of about 25> acres, the farm was
composed of various types of forest growth. These
25 acres of open land and five or ten acres which
we cleared were planted to prunes, pears, apples,
apricots, peaches, and grapes. It was a mountain
farm on the top of the Skyland Ridge and a lovely
place to live. It was a wonderful community with
fine neighbors. Many of the people up there had
come from the city after retirement from their
activities there. There could never be a finer
community to live in and for children to grow up in
than that Skyland area.

Baum: What town were you near?

Adams: No town. Our nearest railroad station was Wrights.
It was on the railroad that formerly ran through
the mountains to Santa Cruz. There was a general
store and a post office there. It was about four
miles from the farm. The farm was on the crest of
the Santa Cruz mountains, about ten miles back from

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the coast, where we could look out over Santa Cruz,
Capitola, across the bay to Monterey, and back
through the gap above Los Gatos to Mt. Tamalpais.
So it is beautiful country.

When you were away from the farm I suppose you had

somebody to take care of the trees.

Of yes, a chum of my older brother back in Maine,
who had come out to join us, took charge while we
were in San Francisco attending Cogswell School.
My brother Ned and this chum of his, Will Chamberlain,
had been in school together there.

Organizing Cooperative Fruit Exchanges

It was not long after we returned to the farm in
1892 that Father became interested in a movement
among farmers to establish their own marketing
agency to dispose of their dried fruit. He attended
a meeting in San Jose and was the only man who went
prepared with a plan of organization. He was elected
to the board of directors and made manager and was
given the task of going about among the growers in
Santa Clara Valley and raising funds to establish
what was known as the Santa Clara County "^ruit
Exchange. The canvass for subscriptions to the stock
of the exchange was successful, a building was erected,

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and the exchange began operations, I believe, the
following year. There were a number of local ex
changes around the valley and others were organized.
The Santa Clara County Fruit Exchange was to be the
central agency for marketing the product from the
local exchanges. Colonel Phflo Hersey, a very prom
inent fruit grower in Santa Clara Valley, was pres
ident of the exchange.

After the work of organization was completed,
Father turned to the organization of what was known
as the California Fruit Exchange. This was a state
exchange and was primarily intended to g ather infor
mation as to markets and prices so that the local
exchanges would have some information as to what
their fruit was worth and not be at the mercy of
the dealers. That venture did not last very long
because of the hard times. It was very difficult.
Father had both the task of raising money to keep
it going and of gathering the data and issuing
bulletins about markets and so forth all ove^ the
world. The president of the State Fruit Exchange
was a very prominent grower at Yuba City, Mr. B. F.
Walton.

The California Fruit Exchange didn't sell anything
though?
No. It arranged for selling to some extent the first

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disposed of their products through the Santa Clara
County Fruit Exchange.

I remember during the early days of the Santa
Clara Pruit Exchange the packers were fighting the
growers' movements very bitterly. One day, while
Father and I were sacking the year's crop of prunes
for shipment to the exchange, a gentleman drove up
in a very smart rig with a view to getting Father
to abandon the exchange and buy f ruit for packers.
That was the kind of competition the farmers had.
I remember how proud I w as of Father when he flatly
refused, although he very much needed the money
that he would have received because he had no income
except from the farm, and farm prices were very
low at that time.

Baum: He got no income as manager of the exchange?

Adams: Oh, some nominal figure. I think it was $3> a day

when he was occupied. He was manager of the entire
County Fruit Exchange only during the organization
period.

Summer School of_ Economics and Husbandry

Adams: Back in the early days in Ohio while my Father was
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Adams: studying law, he was very active in all community
affairs. That was characteristic throughout his
life. The same thing happened in our mountain farm
country. We organized first a Farmers Alliance
during the Populist movement, then a grange. Father
was anxious that our grange should really do something.
He therefore proposed, and the grange sponsored,
and he organized, the first summer school of agricul
ture in California. It was known as the Summer
School of Economics and Husbandry. It was sponsored
originally by the State Grange, although we received
no help from that organization. It was handled
entirely by our Highland Grange, of which I happened
to be secretary, thus I kept familiar with what
was going on.

The summer school was held on our farm there
in the mountains in the grove near a sulphur
springs. That was in 1395. It continued through
'96 and '97, although the last two years it operated
on a reduced scale. We had lectures on agriculture
in the morning and on economics in the afternoon.
The lectures on agriculture were given by the members
of the staff of the College of Agriculture of the
University of California. All the members of the
College of Agriculture staff, Dr. Hilgard, Professors

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Adams: Wlckson, Ja'fa, Loughridge, Woodworth, and assistants
Hayne and Bioletti, participated. In the afternoon
the lectures on economics were given by Professor
E. A. Ross of Stanford.

Baum: How were these men all paid?

Adams: They were not paid. We supplied their accommodations
while they were in the mountains and they all came,
volunteered. That was a normal thing for the College
of Agriculture because the College of Agriculture
staff always gave such service without pay except
from the University. They were very glad to come.
For Dr. and Mrs. Ross this was a vacation. I had
the opportunity to pret acquainted with all members
of the staff of the College of Agriculture. Of course
I got acquainted with Dr. Ross. He and Mrs. Ross
stayed with us on the farm each year the school was
held.

Baum: How much did the people who attended these lectures

pfiLV"?

Adams: There was a slight charge of $2 per family. for the
entire course. Whatever expenses arose were borne
by Highland Grange or local contributors, but they
were nominal. We all pitched in and did the work.
Our Highland Grange became known all over the state.
The whole plan of that school was to have authoritative

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Adams: instruction and discussion of issues relating to
agriculture, cultivation questions, and economic
questions affecting agriculture. The whole purpose
was to find out the facts regarding these matters
and to discuss them in an open-minded and fair way,
without any idea of influencing anybody except as
the facts would influence them.

We didn't have a large attendance at any of the

schools. I suppose the maximum must have been forty
or fifty, made up largely of the neighbors, but we
had a number of very prominent men from the outside,
including Mr. John Swett and his son Prank, who
were very well known. John Swett was a great educator
who, I think, had been largely responsible in the
early days for establishing the public school system

in California. At one time he was Superintendent
of schools in San Francisco and another time was
State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The
Swetts lived on a berry vineyard in Alhambra Valley
back of Martinez, where Prank Swett still lives.

I remember we had one or two men interested in
social welfare generally. We had probably the best-
known shipper of fruits to Europe, Mr. A. Block.
There were some prominent people in our neighborhood
who came. It was very successful.

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How long did the sessions last?

The first year it was two weeks. I believe it was

three weeks one year, but I'm not sure about that.

Immaterial,,

Author of the Modern Farmer

Let me show you this book my father wrote,
(reading from book). Edward P. Adams, The Modern
Farmer in his Business Relations, published in
1899 by N. J. Stone Company of San Francisco.
The initial inspiration for this book, I think,
came from the first session of our Summer School
of Economics and Husbandry. He was a student of
economics and he read extensively on all phases of
public life, government, and the economic situation
of the country. At the conclusion of the first
session of the summer school he wrote the opening
chapters of this book. They were a summary, really,
of Dr. Ross's first lecture, because Father had
passed through the period in agriculture in Ohio
that Professor Ross had described. Then he proceeded
to write this book, mostly while he was traveling.
He could sit in the smoking car of the train, smoke
his cigar, and write. Nothing bothered him at all.
So he wrote it practically out of his head without

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It proved to be a book of very great value.
His idea all through was an objective statement
regarding the economic issues of the day as they
affected the farmer. Let me just indicate here
some of the chapter headings: The Old Farmer, The
New Farmer, The Evolution of the Farmer, The Hope
of the Farmer, The Scientific Farmer, The Agricultural
College, The Experiment Station, Special Schools of
Farming, Agriculture in Common Schools, The ^tudy of
the Farm, The Further Study of the Farm. Those
were all introductory chapters.

Then he took up the farmer's relationships
with his family, his fellows, his competitors,
his creditors, politicians, and finally the current
discontent of the farmer. Then he discussed the
farmer as a businessman dealing with the banker,
with the commission merchant, with the railroads,
with the speculator, with the tradesman, and with
the tax-gatherer. Then the farmer as a co opera tor,
and he described the various phases of farmer
cooperation with which he had been identified so
closely in the Santa Clara and State Fruit Exchanges.
Then the farmer and questions of the day.

I don't know where you can find as objective a

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Adams: statement of the arguments on those questions as
you can find here. He didn't express his own
opinions in any case. His mind was objective in
dealing with those things because he thought the
great need of the time was for farmers to understand
the facts regarding public questions rather than to
be swayed by sentiment and emotion. He very clearly

outlined the issues of the day, the tariff, the
export bounties, the single tax, currency, labor
questions, trusts, referendum, and socialism. His
final chapter dealt entirely with California fruit
marketing associations.

Baum: How did this book sell at that time?

Adams: That's a very interesting question. It didn't sell.
I think only a few hundred copies were disposed of.
It was published as a subscription book and it had
hardly come from the press when the publisher went
broke. The plans that the publisher had for canvassing
It were very much curtailed. Father once said that
he knew of no book that had ever received such high
praise and so few subscribers.

It was very generously received all over the
country. Presidents of universities, the Assistant
Secretary of Agriculture, deans of colleges of
agriculture, all wrote very high praises. I remember

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the statement of Dean Henry of Wisconsin. He said,
"The book has too much good sense to be salable."
It was very well received, a very thoughtful book.

In later years when Dr. Mead came to the
University, back in 1915? or 1916, he wanted Father
to revise it, bring it up to date. Father did it
for the fun of it, not expecting that anyone would
publish it, and no one did. I have his revised
manuscript.

You have written this typescript biography of your
father. What are you planning to do with it?
I am going to try and finish it. I did it primarily
for the family. I want to get enough cooies made
to distribute around to members of the family and
put one in Bancroft Library.

You wrote the Early History of the^ Irrigation
Division, College of Agriculture, University of
California. (With some Side-Lights ). Where will
that typescript history be available?
There's a copy at Davis, a copy at Los Angeles,
and I have a copy and you have a copy. Archives in
the Library can have your copy when you are finished
with it.
All right. I'll deposit it there.

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Adams

Editorial Writer for the Chronicle

How did your father come to be a newspaper man and

a writer for the Chronicle?

Father had become quite well known through his
connection with the organization of fruit exchanges
and the summer school held on our farm. Shortly
after the conclusion of the summer school, Father
was asked by the San Francisco Call, which was then

a morning paper, to write a series of articles

entitled "Plain Talks With Farmers." He prepared
those articles during a period of six or eight
months. I think it was while the articles in the
Call were still running that he was asked unexpectedly
by the Chronicle to become its agricultural editor
and to prepare the agricultural portion of the weekly
Chronicle. All the San Frand sco papers published
weekly editions in those days, largely for sale out
in the rural areas. Father continued as agricultural
editor of the weekly Chron i cl e as long as the w eekly
was published, which was, I think, for four or five
years.

In 1898 the principal editorial writer of the
Chronicle left to become war correspondent in the
Spanish-American War and Father became principal

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Adams: editorial writer on the Chronicle , and continued

in that capacity until a few years before his death,
nearly 30 years later. Also he was a frequent contri
butor of special signed articles in the fields of public
affairs, finance, economics, and agriculture.

Baum: During the time he was agricultural editor on the
Chronicle, was he able to stay on the farm in the
Santa Cruz mountains?

Adams: Initially he remained on the farm and did most of

his work there, but spent two days of every week in
San Francisco with his material. When he became
principal editorial writer he had to be there contin
uously so he and Mother moved back to San Francisco.
Our permanent home in San Francisco wasn't established
until about 1903.

Baum: I would like to ask you about your father's political
opinions.

Adams: Father was a Republican. He grew up in the days of
Lincoln and lived through the Civil War period. He
was always a Republican, but not an extreme one. He
often referred to himself as a stand-patter, which
he really wasn't. I know of no one who could better
indicate his point of view than Herbert Hoover.
Father was a strong supporter of Mr. Hoover and men
of that type.

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Adams
Baum:

Adams

Baum: Was he a Theodore Roosevelt supporter?

Adams: Oh yes.

Baum: In 1912, did he vote for Roosevelt or Taft?

Adams: Taft, by all means. Taft had been nominated and
Roosevelt came In with a third party. I'm very
sure he supported Taft.
He stuck with the party?
Yes

What did he think of LaPollette? LaPollette split
from the party in 192i|..

Well, everyone had a high regard for LaPollette, and
I know Pather did, but I'm sure that Father did not
vote for him.

Baum: Then he always stuck with the party.

Adams: I am not warranted in saying that he voted the

straight Republican ticket. I do not remember that
he ever told us how he voted. I doubt if he ever
voted for a Democratic president. He probably
always voted for a Republican governor, although
in one case I know he didn't. He voted for Pranklin
K. Lane, who was defeated and later became Secretary
of Interior. Lane was one of his close friends.
When it came to the lesser offices I'm sure he voted
for the man he thought was the better man for the job,
In the late '70's and early '80's he was very

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Adams: active in the Republican Party. I know he attended
at least one Republican State convention and also
participated in the convention that drafted the
new constitution of 18?9 and had some part in
drafting platforms. In the late '80's he ran for
assemblyman from Santa Cruz County, but was defeated

by a few votes. Above all he was opposed to graft
and buncombe in whatever party it appeared. He had
one rather peculiar idea as to politics. That was,
as he expressed it to me, that everyone should vote
according to his own interests and thereby the interests
of the majority would prevail.

MOTHER- -DELIA COOPER ADAMS

Baum: You haven't yet told us about your mother.

Adams: Mother was born in Warrensville Ohio, a small rural
community outside Cleveland. Unfortunately, we
have very little information about her early life.
She taught school in Warrensville. I know this,
because on visiting Warrensville in 1915 I met a
lady who had gone to school and who spoke very affec
tionately of Mother as a teacher. Mother also taught
in Nevburg, south of Cleveland, where Father was
superintendent of schools. She and father met in a
boarding house there. Her last teaching was in

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Adams: Hillsdale, Michigan, which was then the home of
her parents.

The burden of rearing five children fell largely
on Mother, owing to Father's frequent absence from
home both before and after the family moved to Calif
ornia. When Father moved from Kibesillah to San
Francisco in the early summer of '79, beginning his
work as Pacific Coast agent for the Barnes' School
Books, he left the responsibility on Mother for
directing the harvest and marketing the crops on
the portion of Grandfather's land which Father had
planted. During the early years in San Francisco
when my father was away in Portland and other places
traveling on his school book business Mother took on
the responsibility of making frequent visits to his
office and taking care of his correspondence.

After moving to the farm in 1882 the responsibility
of directing the farm work fell largely on Mother.
Each morning our faithful Chinese farm worker would
corne to the kitchen door and ask for directions for
the day. When the orchard and vineyard began to
bear she joined the others in packing or processing
fruit for market. She carried her full share in
neighborhood activities. Feeding and clothing the
children, keeping them well and happy, guiding them

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Adams :

and keeping them properly disciplined -was not her
only responsibility. I have often felt It was
Mother's watchful care of Father which enabled him
to accomplish so much. After a long illness, she
left us in 1918. No mother ever gave herself more
devotedly to her family, or was more loved by her

family and friends.

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BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Did all of your sisters and brothers go t o college?
You will recall that my sisters and brother Will
went to Cogswell School in San Francisco In the
late '80's and early '90's. My two older sisters,
Evangeline and Katharine, finished there in '91.
My sister Marlon left Cogswell School about the middle
of her last year to become supervisor of drawing in
the public schools In Stockton, sxtcceeding my older
brother Ned, who had been there in that position
and who had entered Stanford when Stanford opened
in '91. She had been a very fine student at Cogswell
and I am sure later received her diploma of graduation
there.

Ned came out to California when he was about
21 years old and was with us on the farm for several
years. He then went off on his own on various

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Adams: enterprises, finally ending up about 1890 as supervisor
of drawing in the public schools at Stockton. When
Stanford opened he had made up his mind he wanted to
go to college and study mechanical engineering. He
had been married and had one child and had to have
a position if he went to college. So he want to
Stanford on the third of October, 1891, two days
after it opened. I went down with him as a kid in
high school in San Francisco. He called on Dr.
Jordan. Before he left that day he was offered
three positions and chose one with Professor Charles
D. Marx, head of Civil engineering. So he became
a member of the first faculty there as an instructor
in drawing. There he stayed until the celebrated
suit against the Stanford estate made it necessary
for all in the faculty below the rank of full
professor to leave. He had senior standing when
the time came for him to leave. He rustled around
for three months and got backing and went to Cornell,

where he finished his engineering course. He was
for a short time an instructor there and then went
into engineering and had a very wide and successful
experience as an engineer.

While still in Cogswell, my sister Evangeline
studied singing and after the family returned to the

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Adams: farm in early 1392, she spent a few months continuing
her work in singing at Mills College. In 1896, the
year I entered Stanford, she came down to College
Terrace, where we lived, and kept a cooperative
house for my other two sisters and myself and several
friends. She was invited to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil,
to teach music to children in an American school and

spent about two years there. Later she graduated
from San Francisco Normal School and taught for
several years in the San Francisco schools. She
had attended some classes at Stanford while keeping
house for us, but did not register. Later she got
her degree at the University of California and then
taught in the San Francisco State Teachers College,
being in charge of teacher training. She stayed
there until her age of retirement.

Evangeline was married to Dr. Arturo Spozio,
editor of an Italian daily paper in San Francisco.
Dr. Spozio was a reserve officer in the Italian
army and was called at the beginning of World War
I and was killed in one of the early battles,

My sister Katharine, after graduating from
Cogswell, attended and graduated f rom San Jose
State Normal School and for several years taught in
various places, beginning in our Skyline district

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Adams: school. She was with us in our cooperative home

in College Terrace from 1896 to 1897, but was teaching
in the Mayfield High School. Later she graduated
from Stanford and became a teacher in the state
normal school at Tempe, Arizona. After several
years there she was married to John Hicks, a cattleman
of New Mexico, and lived there a number of years
until her death.

My sister Marion graduated f rom Stanford in
1898 and for a number of years was a history teacher.
She went first to Santa Barbara as supervisor of
history in the schools at Santa Barbara and then to
the Lick School in San Francisco, which was headed
by one of her old instructors at Cogswell School.
After 12 years at Lick School she became head
worker of the People's Place, a community settlement
in the North Beach area of San Francisco. When
World War I broke out, she and my sister Evangeline
went to Italy as Red Cross workers. On returning
from Italy, Marion took charge of the Americanization
work administered by the public schools at San Jose
and carried through to their examination for citizenship
a large number of foreign-born residents of the San
Jose area.

My brother Will didn't finish Cogswell. He got

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Adams: a .job in business and was in business of one form

or another until he went back to the farm, oh, along a-
bout 1921 or 1922, and s tayed there until his death
several years ago.

That's a rather disjointed account of the
family history. There's much more to be told,
but too much detail has been told already.

PRANK ADAMS--EARLY EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL INTEREST

Baum:
Adams :

Did you attend Cogswell High School also?
When the family moved from San Francisco back to
the ranch in 1892 I was in the middle of my first
year in Cogswell. I was able, with the help of
my sister Marion family finances were very low
after Father left his work to finish that first
year in Cogswell. Then I went back to the farm
where I pitched in and did farm work. I had learned
earlier to work on the farm and was very fond of the
farm. I remained there for about a year and a half,
when Father obtained a scholarship for me at Belmont
Preparatory School, a boys' school of which Mr.
William T. Reid, a former president of the University
of California, was headmaster. Iw as able to attend
Belmont for a spring term, either in '93 or '9i|, and
then had to return to the farm where I took over and

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Adams: looked after things until I entered college in the
fall of '96.

When I entered college I had had only a dis
connected year and a half in high school. Under
the regulations at Stanford then, I could enter as
a special student because I was almost 21, with the
provision that I make up my deficiencies, either by
examination or by extra work in college.

In the early days of Father's work in marketing
and in connection with the Summer School of Economics
and Husbandry, I had become acquainted with Mr. Alfred
Holman, who was then editor of the Pacific Rural
Press. I was looking forward to working with him
because I was very much attached to him. He visited
the farm on several occasions. During the summer
school of agriculture I also had become tremendously
interested in Dr. Ross and the field of economics.
I had previously found among Father's books the first
Outlines of Economics by Dr. Richard T. Ely, who was
the pioneer teacher in that field in this country.
So when I entered college I was not quite sure what
I was going to do, whether I was going into the field
of agricultural economics or into newspaper work with
the Rural Pr e s s . I had had a little experience in
newspaper work reporting for the San Francisco Call

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the meetings of the summer school of agriculture
back in l895>. Also some previous experience as

our community correspondent for one of our Santa
Cruz papers,

Alfred Holman and the Rural Press

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Could you give me more details on Mr. Holman 1 s

career?

I didn't know too much about Mr. Holman in the

early days. He came up to our farm one weekend in
the first session of the School of Economics and
Husbandry. I was very much taken by his personality
and he was extremely friendly toward me. Later,
after- a heavy storm all over the state, he wired
me up on the farm requesting that I let him know
how all the fruit in our community had gone through
the storm. That was a very important fruit-producing
section at the time. I was very flattered by the
telegram. I was about 19 years old then.

We took the Rural_ Pr e s 3 , of course, and I read
it very religiously because I was interested in all
phases of farming, especially fruit growing. It
seemed to me that it would be fine to work with Mr.
Holman on the Rural Press. Mr. Holman and a Mr. A.

H. Halloran had acquired the Rural Press and the
Mining and Scientific Press, I think sometime in

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Adams: the early '90's. Mr. Halloran edited the Mining and
Scientific Press.

Baum: Was Mr. Holman connected with any other papers?

Adams: At that time he wasnot. I will tell you about his
other papers later. For many years he had been
associated with the Portland Qregonian. edited
and, I think, at least later owned by Mr. Harvey
W. Scott. Mr. Scott was recognized as one of the
very strong editors in this country and the Oregonian
was generally looked upon as one of the strongest
papers in the West, if not the strongest. Mr,
Holman 's grandparents moved to the Oregon country
in the 'ij-O's and '5>0's and Mr. Holman had grown up
there and entered the newspaper business with Mr.
Scott, first as a cub reporter and finally as managing
editor. He was a very great admirer of Mr. Scott,
very closely associated with him. He once described
Mr. Scott as "the parent of his mind." Mr. Scott
once publicly referred to Mr. Holman as "the beloved
son of his professional life," That shows their
very close relationship. I found these things out
later, of course. I didn't know them at the time.
All I knew about him was from my brief contact with
him.

Baum: What was his subsequent career?

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Adams: Sometime in the middle ' 90 ' s he had sold his interest
in the Rural Press and returned to the Portland
Oregon Ian. As I understood it at the time, he was
taking charge of Mr. Scott's interest there. Perhaps
Mr. Scott was traveling, as he frequently did. When
Mr. Holman returned to the Oregon! an I gave up my
interest in going with the Rural Press because my

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interest in the Rural Press was largely my interest
in Mr. Holman.

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STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Financing A College Education

Baum:
Adams:

Then you decided to go t o Stanford?
Yes. When I told Father I wanted to major in
economics at Stanford with Dr. Ross, he asked me
how I was going to sell my education. That was a
good practical question. I frankly didn't know, but
I thought I would find a way and I went ahead.

Father, being on the Chronicle, had suggested
my name as a possible correspondent for the Chronicle
at Stanford. I was given the position and for four
years I had that position at Stanford and w as able

in that way to earn my way as I went.

Did you earn your full way by that one job?

I was a couple of hundred dollars in debt when I got

out, which I paid with my first earnings after that*

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Adams: I had worked one summer vacation as a canvasser
for the Rural Press and for the Chronicle in
Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties. I earned
enough to get started that fall. Otherwise I worked
on the farm during the summers because there was
plenty of work to do there.

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Courses and Professors

Adams: I entered Stanford in the fall of 1896, five years
after the university opened. It was still a very
young institution. I remember that you couldn't
fail to sense the atmosphere of freedom there.
A German line was often quoted, "Die Luft der
Preiheit webt", "The winds of freedom roll." I
remember in Dr. Jordan's talks, it was one of the
things he said.

Stanford in those days was substantially
elective. Certain courses were required in engineering,
but in other fields you merely had to satisfy your
major professor that you had a well-rounded selection.
I began pouring through the catalogue and picking
out courses centering on economics. I took it to
Dr. Ross, who was to be my major orofessor. He
said, "I think you ought to have some science." I
said, "I've had a little science in high school. I

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need that. I think I should go ahead in economics."
"No," he said. "You go down and see the Zoology
department and talk it over." Well, as a result I
took in my freshman year a basic course in zoology.
It was one of the most beneficial courses I took.

I also took a course in physics with Professor
Rogers, one In algebra with Dr. R. L. Green, a year
of entomology with Dr. Vernon L. Kellogg, and
courses in botany with Professors William R. Dudley
and Douglas H. Campbell. They tied in with
agriculture and with the things I had become interested
in while on the farm.

Dr. Ross also wanted me to take some foreign
languages, so over the period of my work there I
got in both German and French. The first year of
German was very hard for me because, owing to the
interruptions in my earlier schooling, I had
forgotten what I had learned about grammar. My
instructor was Miss Margaret Wickham. I took other
courses In German. In fact, I took a course from
each of the other members of the German faculty
including Dr. Goebel, Dr. Griffin, Dr. Rendtorff and
Mr. Schmidt. The courses covered German literature,
both prose and poetry, and scientific German. These

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Adams: courses were very enjoyable.

I also took a course in French with Professor
Prlen.

Of course, being a major in economics and
sociology I took many courses in that field, in
fact, more than were required. My recollection is
that the head of the department when I started was
Dr. Amos G. Warner, a very well-known man in the
field of charities. He was not well and died
shortly after I went there and Dr. Ross became
head of the department. Dr. Ross was a great
teacher and undoubtedly the, or one of the,
outstanding men in sociology at that time. He was
a stimulating lecturer and a great favorite of his
students. His presentations were always thorough
and if controversial questions came up he was
always free from bias, although whenever right and
wrong was at issue, he was always sure to be on the
side of what he thought right. An example was his
attitude during the 1896 political campaign on the
money question. He espoused the Free Silver cause,
because he believed the demonetization of silver
had worked a great injustice. That was not a popular
side to take on the Stanford campus at that time,
but that made no difference to Dr. Ross. It was

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Dr. Edward A. Ross

Adams: typical of his independence of thought.

I took a number of courses from Dr. Ross and
at least one course from each of the other members
of the economics and sociology Departments. One
of these was Professor Harry H. P o wers, a brilliant
lecturer. He left some time in ray second year and
was succeeded by Dr. Prank A. Fetter, a wonderful
teacher and man who later became head of economics
at Princeton. Dr. E. Dana Durand came while I was
there. He WPS subsequently in a responsible position
with the United States Industrial Commission, and
also director of the United States Census in 1910.
Dr. Morton A. Aldrich came while I w as there. He
subsequently was dean of the School of Business
at Tulane University. Lincoln Hutchinson was an
instructor, and there was Mrs, Mary Roberts Smith,
wife of the head of the department of mechanical
engineering. Later, as Mrs. Dane Coolidge, she
was professor of economics or sociology, or both, in
Mills College. She and Professor Smith were divorced
and she had married Dane Coolidge, who was a student
in the college while I w as there, much younger than
she was. Finally, there was Dr. Burt Estes Howard,
a very brilliant man who had made a great reputation
as a speaker on social problems and as a minister.

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Adams: He was there during my last year in college.

I took other courses outside of economics and
sociology aside from those previously mentioned.
One was in psychology with Dr. Prank Angell. There
were two courses in English compostion with Professor
H. 3. Lathrop; a course in English literature with
Dr. A. G. Newcomer and finally a general introductory
course In law given jointly by the head of the
department Dr. Nathan Abbott, and the remaining
members of his faculty, Professor Hall, Professor
Clark B. .Ihittier, Professor Lewers, and Professor
Jackson Reynolds.

I took a course in American history that was
taught by George Elliott Howard, who was looked on
by Dr. Jordan as one of the g reat teachers of the
country. Dr. Howard left in about my third year
and his course was completed by Dr. Clyde A. Duniwauy,
who subsequently became president of several western
universities.

I finished Stanford with the Class of 1901,
having been out one-half year on the Cache Creek
investigations which will be mentioned later.

Baum: Did you take any engineering courses?

Adams: No. There were many v ery able and distinguished

men at Stanford. They were especially outstanding

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Baum:

Adams :

Baum:

because the university was young and was charting
a new course in education out here. Dr. Jordan
had a wide acquaintance with educators in the East.
He selected the faculty very largely from Cornell
and middle western institutions. They s tood out
as very distinguished men, very impressive to the
young student.

I could go on for a long time talking about
those professors. I knew them to speak to, all of
them. I got to know some of them quite well.
Was this in part because of your contact through
the newspaper?

Partly, yes. Very largely. I found it desirable
to know people, both faculty and students.
Were faculty salaries particularly high that they
could attract such fine scholars?
No salaries were particularly high in those days,
compared with salaries today. Dr. Jordan stated in
his little book, Days of a Man, that the early s alaries
were from $2,000 to $3,600, but for a few of the
higher places as much as sp?000.

Student Life

When you were in college, how many of the freshmen
had already chosen their life careers?

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Adams

Many of the students at Stanford when I w as there
were more mature than students now.
Were they older?

I was twenty-one. That was not any older than lots
of others. There were others older than I. We had
some just out of high school, of course, but you
remember that the '90's were a period of depression.
They hadn't recovered from the extreme panic of '93
A larger proportion than normal, I think, earned
their living while they were in college. I remember
making that the subject of one of my newspaper
stories. It was a noticeable feature of the life
there. They waited on table, some were agents for
the laundries, there were some who did personal
service here and there, several of us earned our
living on newsnapers. One student had a shoe repair
shop; another a bicycle shop in a little annex to
the Men's Gymnasium. Ernest Wilson opened a candy
store in one of the buildings back of the main
quadrangle and from that went on to establish a
candy manufacturing business which opened s tores in
several cities and still manufactures the "candy
with a college education." It was evident that a
large number were making their own way.

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Adams: There was very close association between the

faculty and the students. Dr. Jordan always addressed
the freshman class. I remember one of the things he
used to say was, "You will have made a mistake if,
when you leave here, you don't know many members of
the faculty well and your major professors intimately."

There were the faculty at-homes. The Daily Palo
Alto , the college paper, carried a column of these
at-homes. Any student was welcome. I think students
would go more to the homes of their major professors
than to others, but I remember going t o at-homes of
a number with whom I had no other contact. I remember
especially Dr. Melville Best Anderson's home at Menlo
Park. He was the head of English, a great Shakespearean
scholar. The Anderson at-homes were always in the
afternoon on Sunday.

Dr. Jordan had at-homes frequently. He would
sit in a big chair and the students would gather
around him and he would tell stories of his experiences.
I frequently went there.

Baum: Did many of the students take advantage of these at-
homes?

Adams: Many did. There was always a nice group present.
I went most frequently, of course, to Dr. Ross's
home. Faculty wives entered into those at-homes

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Adams: very heartily.

At Dr. Ross's he would talk to us or some of
the students would be good storytellers. Dr. Ross
was a good storyteller. I remember one of the
Stanford women who frequently entertained us , an
economics major, her name was Agnes Morley. She
had grown up on a cattle ranch in New Mexico and
had remarkable experiences as a young girl. A few
years ago she wrote a book, which became a best
seller, on her early life there, No Life for a_ Lady.
She was then Mrs. Newton Cleaveland. Newton
Cleaveland was a close friend of mine in college.
Mrs. Cleaveland died only recently.

Dr. Ross used to be a great storyteller in
his classes. He had this theory, that there always
was a certain number who were inclined to go to
sleep. When the rest of the class would laugh
heartily, the sleepers would wake up and wish they
had listened more carefully.

The student body was not large then, probably
1,000 or 1,200. I remember it reached 1,^00 while
I was there. The university opened in '91 with
something between ij.00 and 00, which was a great
surprise to Dr. Jordan. He had not expected so many.
The University of California, believe it or not,

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Adams: then had a student body of only about ijOO. In his
Days of a. Man Dr. Jordan spoke of a reception given
for the Stanford faculty by the University of California
facult.y just after the opening of Stanford. A speaker
from the University of California deplored the opening
of Stanford. He felt that the University of California
had only about l|00 students and that Stanford was
going to divide the available students between the
two universities. That was Dr. Bernard Moses, a very
noted member of the faculty at the University of
California.

There was a good deal of activity among the
students in organizations. Being a small institution,
the students became more easily acquainted than in
a larger institution. There were a great many
student organizations for a university less than
ten years old. These covered almost every phase of
university activity literary, athletic, music, as
well as various departments such as zoology, botany,
economics and engineering. Of course, there were the
usual parties among the students.

I lived in Encina Hall a couple of years, the
only dormitory for men. The women's dormitory was
Roble Hall. Other students lived in Palo Alto,
Mayfield, Menlo. Some commuted from San Jose or up
the Peninsula toward San Mateo.

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Adams: One thing about the student body, they came

from a wide area. Some from many different countries.
That was really an unusual feature at that time. The
university started in that way because many students
followed their professors from eastern colleges to
Stanford. The beginning of a new university out in
the west was something that attracted the entire
country. With an endowment of $20,000,000, it was
then the richest university in this country. I
remember students from the Middle West, Montana,
Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado. So it was
a cross section of a wide part of the country rather
than mainly students that w ere attracted to the state
University of California.

I was looking through one of my old Stanford
picture albums and it brought to mind our life in
Encina Hall. We paid only $5 a month for our rooms.
I suppose blankets were supplied to us and we had
a table and a couple of chairs and two iron beds
and mattresses. Everything else we supnlied ourselves,
our table covers, our bookcases, any extra equipment
we wanted.

(Look at pictures in album). Here is a picture
of my room in Encina Hall, and Herman Grunsky,
brother of C. E. G-runsky. He was then myroorrmate.

Uriels' "

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Adams: Here are some of my classmates. We always wore

white shirts with the high stiff collars, ray Father
used t o call them "dude collars". There were some
less conventional attires but ordinarily we dressed
this way. e had class hats. A junior hat was a
gray plug. Senior hats were stetsons. Here's ray
old junior plug still have it after fifty-odd years.
All battered up.

I spoke of the atmosphere of freedom down there.
No rules and regulations regarding students whatever.
No prohibitions. The University was interested only
in good work and good order. If from time to time
someone overstepped the bounds, why, he went away.
The saying in those days was that he was taken to
the edge of the campus and dropped off.

I remember one notable instance of that. One
of the most popular students in the University, who
was a leader in all the deviltry and escapades,
finally was dismissed. Word got around that he was
to leave on the train. I went down there to cover
the story. I think 90$ of the student body was there.
On my way back to the campus on my bicycle I fell in
with Dr. Jordan. He was also on his big, high bicycle.
Most of the faculty in those days had bicycles to get

around on. Dr. Jordan said to me he felt very, very

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Adams: sorry they had to dismiss Will Irwin. He was a very
able and very fine man, but they just couldn't stand
him any more. Too much deviltry. Later that man
was forgiven, he came back and got his degree. He
became a very distinguished man in journalism and
was one of the very best of war correspondents during
World War I. That was Will Irwin. Will began his
journalism in San Francisco, then went to New York.
His brother, Wallace Irwin, became very well-known
as a writer, primarily as a satirist. He wrote
poetry mainly at Stanford.

I feel sure Will Irwin and Chris Bradley and
Billy Erb were largely responsible for first bringing
out the old Stanford Axe originating the "Give them
the Axe" yell. The axe was brought out first at a
rally the evening preceding one of the games in San
Francisco with California. I was there. It was at
that game that it was stolen. After that, and in
this I'm sure Will Irwin had a part, as a matter of
reprisal, a group sneaked up to the Berkeley campus
at night and stole the Senior Fence and put it on
their wagon and started home. Early in the morning
of the following day word came around that they were
being pursued by a f^roup of Berkeley students and
wanted help. So we got together, oh, perhaps forty

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Adams: or fifty of us, got In buses and went down through
Mayfield and finally met them near Mountain View.
We accompanied them triumphantly back to the campus
and went on to the Inner Quad and everybody turned
out. Instead of this being a reprisal, it was really
a dud because the California students said they didn't
care anything about the Senior Pence and they got
away with that.

Participation in Student Activities

Baum: Did you take part in student activities?

Adams: Being interested in newspaper work I naturally

worked on the college daily, the Daily Palo Alto ,
first as assistant editor and finally for a short
period during my fourth year as managing editor. I
resigned the managing editorship to give more time
to my other work. I was on the board of editors
of the 1901 Stanford Quad.

About 1900 the first Stanford alumni magazine,
the Stanford Alumnus , was started, I think entirely
as a private venture, by Charles E. Schwartz and
Helen Swett, both of whom had graduated. I think
they published it for three or four years and it was
then taken over by the alumni association and has gone
through several names. It is now the Stanford Review.

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Adams: Debating was an important student activity.

There were three or four student debating societies.
I belonged to one of them, Euphornia. I was never
a good debater but for some reason I was made chairman
of the intercollegiate debating committee. This was
the committee that arranged the intercollegiate debates
in conference with a similar committee from California.
The principal job of this committee was to select
the judges for the intercollegiate debates, working
with Joe O'Connor, who represented California. We
took the matter of selecting of judges very s eriously,
and I had to inquire into the backgrounds and general
aptitudes of those proposed by Joe O'Connor or whom
I myself suggested. I did this work for about two
years. Another job I had while I was chairman was
to help work out an agreement with the California
committee as to rules governing the judging. In
alternate years a member of the Stanford and a member
of the California faculty presided at the intercollegiate
debates. Our debaters were not satisfied with the
instructions given to the judges by the facutly
member from California when he presided. So we
negotiated an agreement that the presiding officer
should give no instructions whatever t o the judges.
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Adams: I took part.

I remember one that seemed to me to be Important
at the time. It was a bit of proselyting among the
high schools of the state. The president of the
associated students appointed me chairman of the
publication ciommittee, and we arranged to have the
college daily, The. Daily Palo Alto, sent to high
schools in the state. I presume this activity didn't
last very long.

Tax Exemption on University Property

Adams: I'd like to go into another historical matter.

Stanford was paying taxes on all its property. A
movement was started to have the university exempted
from taxes on all property involved in the educational
work. Largely through the activity of George E.
Crothers, who was a '95 graduate and who was then
practicing law with his brother, Thomas G. Crothers,
what was called an Anti-Tax Committee was a ppointed.
That was soon chanp-ed to Tax Exemption Committee. An
executive committee was named to direct the campaign.
George Crothers was chairman. He asked the three
correspondents of the San Francisco papers to be on
that committee and I was one of them.

I left in 1900 I was out the fall term of

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Adams: 1900--before the work was completed, so I resigned

from the committee. Vie had undertaken to raise money
to pay the costs of the campaign. When I resigned I
felt obligated to send in a small contribution, which
to me in those days was quite a contribution. I
think it amounted to $5. I sent that to George
Grothers. Many years afterwards I was riding with
George between Baltimore and Harrisburg on the
Pennsylvania Railroad and he told me that I was the
only one who put in a nickel on that campaign except
his brother and himself. They paid the entire cost
of it. George drafted the constitutional amendment
and it was subsequently adopted. Fortunately, George
and Thomas Crothers were able to carry the financial
load which must have been substantial. George was
attorney for Mrs. Stanford and very close to her and
her affairs throughout the remainder of her life.
Senator Stanford had, of course, died by then and
she was the sole trustee under the original grant.
The board of trustees had been named, but, I believe,
they didn't begin to function until after her death.

Dismissal of Dr. Ross

Adams: An unfortunate occurrence took place during my

period there, what was known as the "Ross affair."

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Adams: Dr. Ross was dismissed, reportedly at the insistence
of Mrs. Stanford, for what she considered unwarranted
attacks on the early railroad activities to which
Leland Stanford was a party. There were, or course,
in those early days great manipulations. Mrs. Stanford
took offense. I won't go into the details of that..
I cannot be sure of the facts after so many years.
Dr. Ross's dismissal was looked into exhaustively
by, I think, the American Economics Association, and
the university was very severely condemned for what
was considered a breach of academic freedom.

Baum: Because Dr. Jordan permitted Dr. Ross to be dismissed?

Adams: Yes. That was my understanding.

Another unfortunate aftermath was that through
indignation at Dr. Ross's dismissal, Dr. George
Elliott Howard, the great history teacher, spoke out
bitterly against the dismissal and was also dismissed.
That created further furor in educational circles.

Prior to events leading up the dismissal of Dr.
Ross and Dr. Howard, Stanford had planned to create
a historical research center to be housed in the old
Hopkins home on California Street, the site of the
present Mark Hopkins Hotel. Dr. Howard was to be
head of this institute. Plans were rather elaborate.
I remember this because I covered the plan for a

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Adams: newspaper story. Whether It was due to Dr. Howard
leaving I don't know, but the project was never
carried out.

Baum: Did you come into contact with Dr. Jordan while
you were at Stanford?

Adams: I had daily contact with Dr. Jordan's office as
correspondent for the Chronicle. His office was
always open to the boys who were doing the newspaper
work. He was very cordial, generous, frankly told
us about things not yet ready to be announced, knowing
that we wouldn't abuse his confidence. So I knew
him very well. It was a great burden for me, having
such an affection for Dr. Ross and Dr. Howard, to
reconcile Dr. Jordan's taking the part he did in the
dismissal of Dr. Ross and Dr. Howard.

Time healed my feeling somewhat and I saw Dr,
Jordan throughout most of the rest of his life. Dr.
Jordan once told me he wanted me to raise a million
dollars for Stanford to go into work in agriculture,
which previously had been planned but discontinued
because of lack of funds. He said, "When you get
that money I want you to come here and help us spend
it. "

Baum: Did you raise that money for Stanford?

Adams: No. I was puzzled. I was then in the College of

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Adams: Agriculture. I went to Dean Hunt and told him of
Dr. Jordan's idea. Dean Hunt had no objections to
my considering the matter at all. I wrote Dr. Jordan
outlining what I a ssumed he had in mind for Stanford
to do in agriculture, which was not to go into
agriculture in all its branches as the University
of California College of Agriculture, but to specialize
in certain fields like entomology, plant physiology,
soil chemistry, w ith a view to training teachers in
the field. He wrote back t hat that was exactly
what he had in mind. But I w as not in a position
to raise the money and never did. It did not seem to
me proper that I should undertake this project for
Stanford while on the faculty of the University of
California. It was just an incident in my e^p erience.

Baum: When was that?

Adams: Oh, I suppose about 1915 or 1916. Perhaps earlier.

Master's Degree at the University of Nebraska

Baum: When did you finish your M. A. thesis?

Adams: Dr. Ross had gone to the University of Nebraska. I

was working out of Cheyenne, Wyoming at the time. It
was possible in those days to register and study in
absentia for a master's degree. So I arranged that

with Dr. Ross. In 1906 I finished my thesis, which

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Adams: was my work in Utah on the Virgin and Sevier Rivers,

supplemented by some discussion I gave on the economics
of irrigation. I don't have a copy of my thesis.
I had it bound up and sent to Nebraska and it was
accepted.

In the spring of 1906 I went to the University
of Nebraska and spent six weeks there. They wanted
me to get acquainted with their economics faculty
and they with me. I did my principal work there in
economic history with Mrs. Langworthy Taylor, wife
of the head of the economics department. Then I went
before the entire staff for a two-hour oral examination.

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EARLY WORK WITH DR. ELWOOD MEAD
First Meeting with Dr. Mead

Adams: Having given up my ideas of working for the

Rural Press when I was still in college, I had
definitely made up my mind I wanted to work in
one of the agricultural colleges. So when in 1899
the American Association of Agricultural Colleges
and Experiment Stations met in San Francisco, I
attended and went to all the sessions and met quite
a lot of the people. I was at that time correspondent
at Stanford for the Chronicle and I got them to send
me on a week's excursion, which was arranged for the
delegates of this convention, over the central and
northern portions of the state. A committee composed
of Professor Jaffa of the University of California
College of Agriculture, Professor Emery Smith, then
assistant professor of horticulture at Stanford, and
ray father raised something over $3000 to pay the
expenses of t his excursion. Mr. James Horsburgh,
general passenger agent. of the Southern Pacific
Railroad, furnished the Pullman train with a diner
at a nominal charge and an entire week was spent
on this excursion. About 125 of the delegates to
the convention went on the trip.

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Adams: We went first up Russian River Valley as far
as Ukiah to show them the northern coastal areas.
We returned to San Rafael for a banquet that night
at the Hotel Rafael, then a big hotel. Next day
was a river steamer trip over the Delta, visiting a
number of the large farms there. During the night
we were carried down to Fresno and spent the next
day going over the vineyards and out to the Kearney
farm. Then we returned to San Francisco, The following
day we went down to Stanford, then to the Santa Clara
Valley where we had lunch at one of the large olive
farms. We went on to the Hotel Del Monte for the
night, where they had their final banquet. The next
day the delegates took the 17-Mile-Drive. Leaving
Monterey, we stopped at Salinas where the Spreckles
sugar plant had just been opened. It was the largest
beet sugar factory in the country. Then we stopped
near Morgan Hill at the Morse Seed gardens. We were
entertained there by the Chinese help at the seed
gardens, who put on a marvelous display. Then we
returned to San Francisco. That was the end of the
excursion.

As correspondent for the Chronicle I had to
file a story every night so I circulated very freely
among the delegates. I talked with all of them, briefly

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Adams: or at length, and came to know some of them very
well during that brief period. That experience
furthered my interest in agricultural college work.

One of the men I met on that trip was Dr. Mead.
He was then known as Professor Mead because when
he went to the Department of Agriculture a few years
previously, the director of the Office of Experiment
Stations, Dr. True, thought he should have a title
to help him in his work in conjunction with the
agricultural experiment stations. (The honorary
degree of doctor of engineering was not received from
Purdue until 19014- . ) He had, before being state engineer
of Wyoming, been a professor or assistant professor
of irrigation at Colorado Agricultural College at
Fort Collins.

Dr. Mead was just completing arrangements then
for an irrigation investigation in California covering
nine areas or streams, Honey Lake Valley up in Lassen

County, San Joaquin River, Kings River, Yuba River,
Salinas River, Los Angeles River, with a special
report on the storage rivers and torrential streams
in Southern California, typified by the San Jacinto
and the Sweetwater. The investigation was to be
made the following year. Dr. Mead told me the reports
of the investigations would be coming in and he

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Baum :

Adams

wondered if I would care to come with him and help
put those reports into shape for publication. Well,
that was an attractive offer for a kid in college
and I showed a great deal of interest in it. He
may have been inclined somewhat toward me at that
time because Father had helped him very materially
in arranging for this investigation and for part of

the financing by California interests. So he knew

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who I was when I interviewed him and I can' t explain

otherwise why he offered me that position.

You were to be an editorial worker, not an investigator

of water?

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Yes, that was the idea. He suggested that in

preparation for that work I make my last thesis at
Stanford a study of riparian rights in California
and I agreed to do that and did. In connection with
that thesis on riparian rights I had occasion to see
Mr. C. E. Grunsky in San Francisco, then city engineer.
I wanted to find out from him about a report that the
first state engineer, William Ham Hall, had written,
which I could not find. Mr. Grunsky told me that
Mr. Hall had submitted this report to Governor

Waterman and that the governor had thrown it into

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betv.'een Mr. Hall and Governor Waterman regarding

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Baum:
Adams

Adams ;

hydraulic mining on the streams above the Sacramento,
As a result of this controversy the office of state
engineer was abolished and not reestablished until

1907.

Did you know William Ham Hall?

I met him once or twice and had some correspondence
with him. I had read his reports and had seen him
in the Commonwealth Club. He had figured very
prominently in the engineering reports on early
irrigation districts organized under the Wright Act.
I went back to college in the fall of '99 with
this work with Dr. Mead in mind. I still, however,
had my eyes on agricultural college vcork because
the early interest had persisted, I was still in
touch with the farm, and during the summer school
of agriculture I had become well acquainted with
and very nuch attracted to the entire faculty of
the University of California College of Agriculture.
So I had this in mind, economics and agriculture in
some form, but rather hazy,

Another Opportunity to Go Into
Newspaper Work with Alfred Hoi man

While all that was going through my mind, Mr. Holman
came back into the picture. Prom then on I was in a

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Adams: quandary, should I go with Mr. Holman or should I
continue ray plans v:ith Dr. Mead?

Baum: What did Mr. Holman have to offer?

Adams: He then owned a controlling interest and was editor
of the San Jose Mercury. He offered tot ake me on
immediately, even before I was finished with college,
at $100 a month. I had gone down to see him because
he had asked my father to suggest that I go down to
see him. This was along in November of 1399, in my
fourth year in college. So the remainder of that
year I had these things in mind: should I look toward
journalism with Mr* Holman or go with Dr. Mead? I might
say here that this was not my last opportunity to go
with Mr. Holman. After I had decided to go with Dr.
Mead and been in the work for a year or two I met
Mr. Holman on the train going from San Francisco to
Sacramento. He had disposed of his interest in The
San Jose Mercury and acquired an interest in and was
editing the Sacramento Union. He invited me to s top
off and spend the day with him in Sacramento which I
did. I met and visited with his two editorial writers-
Franklin Hichborn and Wells Drury. Franklin Hichborn
of course became very prominent in the Progressive
movement that culminated in the Hiram Johnson administra
tion. Wells Drury gave California two very fine

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Adams: citizens and conservationists in Aubrey Drury and

Newton B. Drury, the former as secretary of the Save
the Railroads League, and the latter currently
director of the State Park Service in California
after having served for a period as director of the
National Park Service.

When late in the evening I left to resume my
return to Cheyenne Mr. Holman said to me, "Whenever
you bring your grip and say you're ready to go to
work with me I still have a place for you." Of
course, I was then established in the irrigation
work with Dr. Mead and had no thought of changing
at that time. Subsequently, Mr. Holman became
editor of the Argonaut , and so far as I know his
last newspaper activity was as editor for a brief
period of the Oakland Tribune. It is ray recollection

that on the death of a member of the family that
controlled the Tribune Mr. Holman thought he could
obtain a controlling interest in it and edited it
for oerhaps only a few months when Joseph P.. Knoviland
got control. My timing may be in error. It may be
that he was editor of the Argonaut after his brief
time with the Tribune.

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Cache Creek Investigation

Adams: As previously explained I entered Stanford In '96,

but with partial standing. I was to make up entrance
deficiencies by examination and by taking extra units
of college work. On account of this and my newspaper

work, I couldn't take a full college load, so at the

end of my fourth year in June, 1900,1 still had a
semester to go; however, the irrigations investigation
in California was about to begin. I reported to Dr.
Mead as ready for duty, because I had definitely
decided to go with him rather than into newspaper
work with Mr. Holman. Dr. Mead had concluded that
I would first work as an assistant to Mr. J. M. Wilson
in the study of irrigation on Cache Creek up near
Woodland. He thought it desirable that I should have
some field experience because I knew nothing of
irrigat on. I had seen my first irrigation on the
excursion with the agricultural college people in the
summer of '99. Mr. Wilson had not yet arrived for
the work on Cache Creek so Dr. Mead directed me to
report to the California Water and Forest Association
in San Francisco. That had been organized a year or
two previously and had raised money to help finance
the investigation under Dr. Mead.

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Baum: This was a private organization?

Adams: Yes. They raised a fairly large sum, perhaps

$20,000 or $30,000, by private subscription and
arranged with the Office of Experiment Stations of
the Department of Agriculture and the Geological
Survey and the Division of Forestry of the Department
of Agriculture to undertake a study of water and
forest matters in California.

Baum: Who were members of this association?

Adams: The president was Mr. William Thomas, who was a very
prominent lawyer in San Francisco. I don't recall
all the members, but they were such men as Fred W.
Dohrmann, Arthur H. Briggs, who was important in
State Board of Agriculture work, and T. Gary
Friedlander who was secretary of the San Francisco
Chamber of Commerce, I believe, and very much interested
in forestry. Trying to find something to do pending
beginning the work on Cache Creek about the first of
July, I called on Mr. William Thomas, president of
that association. He suggested that while I was
waiting I look into the irrigation districts situation,
seeing that organization of irrigation districts had
been nearly a complete failure in California under
the old Wright Act. He said that Judge James A.
McG-uire , former congressman from California, had

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Adams: reorganized Turlock Irrigation District and put
it on its feet, also that the Modesto Irrigation
District was about ready to go ahead again. He
thought it would be a fine thing to look into the
history of the whole irrigation district movement.
That's where I got my first interest in irrigation
districts. This idea interested me very much, so
I began assembling information about the old districts,
first reading the Wright Act of '8?. There was no
complete list of the old districts available, so
I addressed a letter to each county clerk in the state
requesting information as to the names of districts
organized in his county. At odd times during the
summer I continued assembling information by mail
and at the end of the summer had made a fair start.
However, Mr. Wilson arrived about July 1 and most of
my time thereafter was devoted to work with him.

I spent the entire summer with Mr, Wilson on
Cache Creek. There had been a great deal of litigation
over water rights involving Cache Creek and Clear
Lake, out of which Cache Creek flows. Our job was to
look into the history of that litigation there and
how the doctrine of appropriation had worked on Cache

Creek, how the conflicts came about, what the water
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Adams: complete description of the irrigation situation on
Cache Greek.

At the end of the season the engineers who had
participated in the investigation over the state
were brought together in a conference at the University
of California campus with President Wheeler as host.
Dr. Mead had brought the two universities into the
investigation. The investigation on San Joaquin River
was made by Professor Frank Soule, head of civil
Engineering at the University of California. The
investigation on Salinas River was made by Professor
Charles D. Marx, head of civil engineering at Stanford.
He also brought into the investigation Mr. C. E.
G-runsky, who had been associated in the earlier
work of the state engineer, William Ham Hall, and
who was then city engineer of San Francisco. Mr.
Marsden Manson, who made the investigation on the
Yuba River, was another engineer who had been largely
identified with irrigation in California. For the study
of storage and irrigation on the San Jacinto River
and Sweetwater River Mr. James D. Schuyler was in
charge. He was a very well-known engineer and highly
thought of, and he was recognized as an authority
on storage o Mr. E. M. Boggs wrote the report on the
Los Angeles River The investigation o n the Susan

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Adams: River in Honey Lake Valley was made by Mr. William
E. Smythe. I can best describe him as a publicist.
He was quite a writer, an enthusiast in reclamation
matters, not an engineer. I think that he had some
early association with efforts to reclaim Honey Lake
Valley. Mr. Wilson acted as an engineer-consultant
for Mr. Smythe on the Susan River to keep him straight
in that field. At the end of that conference the
engineers drew up a statement of principles of
legislation which they considered were needed in
California to straighten out the water right situation.
I attended that and listened in on it.

President Wheeler showed great interest in
the investigations and in what was proposed in the
way of legislation. At the end of the conference
he invited Dr. Mead to come to California and organize
a department of irrigation at the University. Dr.
Mead did not desire to give up his position as expert
in charge of Irrigation Investigations in the Depart
ment of Agriculture, but he consented to organize
the department and to give about a six-week course
of lectures each year, as well as to assign one of
his assistants to act in his absence to give regular
instructions in irrigation and to take charge of

J Y eflt

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Adams :

Baum:
Adams

irrigation investigations in California in cooperation
with the University. That arrangement was carried
out and Dr. Mead gave his first course in the spring
of 1901.

On the completion of the work on Cache Creek,
I accompanied Mr. Wilson first to Reno and then to
Cheyenne to assist in preparing a report. I returned
to Stanford in January of 1901, I was therefore in
my last semester at Stanford when Dr. Mead gave his
first course of lectures at the University of California,
Dr. Mead had been out of college work for a good many
years. He felt a little nervous about the University
contacts and he thought I could help him in his work.

He asked me if I wouldn't come down. I obtained a
leave of absence of six weeks and worked with Dr.
Mead in getting material together for his lectures.
This made it tough for me to finish my work at Stan
ford, but I made it and got through in June, 1901.

It was a fine experience. Dr. Mead's lectures,
with some revision, were published about the following
year as his little book on irrigation institutions.
Can you remember your early impressions of Dr. Mead?
I was very strongly attached to him. My relationships
with him were very intimate. During those six weeks
of the lectures we had rooms at Professor Soul&'s

-11

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om i

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Adams; home on Hillegass Avenue and I was with Dr. Mead

constantly during the days and evenings on the work.

Baum: What did he look like in his younger days?

Adams: He had a rather youthful appearance. He was in his
early forties.

Work in the Washington Office of the
Office of Experiment Stations. 1901-1902

Adams: On completing my work at Stanford I reported to Dr.
Mead. He directed me to proceed to Cheyenne, which
was the field headquarters. I got there, not knowing
what he was going to have me do. Within a few days
after arrival, word came that he had been in a streetcar
accident in Washington and his right arm had been
amputated. That, of course, was a great shock to us
there in Cheyenne. About a week later a wire came
from Dr. True, director of the Office of Experiment
Stations within which the irrigation work was conducted,
directing me to proceed to Washington to be with Dr.
Mead. Dr. Mead had recently established the main
headquarters of the Irrigation Investigations in
Washington.

I went there and was with him every day in the
hospital while he was there and accompanied him to
Atlantic City where I was with him while he recuperated.

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Adams: I remained in Washington until February of 1902.

My work was principally editorial. Various reports
would come in from the irrigation men in the field,
and I did editorial work on these reports and some of
the final work on the report of the California inves
tigations which was about to be published as Bulletin
Number 100, Office of Experiment Stations, Department
of Agriculture. Dr. Mead had me prepare a rather
extensive review of this report which was transmitted

to the Chronicle^ and published under my by-line. The
purpose, of course, was to publicize this report in
California, especially the recommendations regarding
water rights legislation. The other reports on
which I worked which I candef initely r ecall were a
report on irrigation in Wisconsin by Professor P. H.
King of the University of Wisconsin, and one on the
irrigation of rice down in the southern states by
Prank Bond.

Of course I became very intimately associated
with the others in the Office of Experiment Stations.
The Office of Experiment Stations was set up to deal
with the experiment stations and agricultural colleges
in connection with their use of federal funds under
the Hatch and Morrill acts and subsequent acts.

-
-

I
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'

t
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Adams: It made annual inspections of their work and use of
federal money. I was in a large room in which five
or six, in fact, practically all the other members
of the Office of Experiment Stations were working.
There were Dr. E. V. Wilco^ Walter H. Evans, John I.
Schulte, G. B. Smith (son of the director of the
Michigan College of Agriculture, whom I'd met on
that early excursion), Dr. C. P. Langworthy, D. J.
Qf>sby and D. W. May (I think I have all of these
initials correct.) Being right there in the same
room with them every day I got to know them very well.
That's where I met my wife, although we weren't
married until five years later. She was a secretary,
did my work. After I left Washington, she worked
directly with Dr. Mead.

Years later, when I became connected withthe
College of Agriculture, several of these men came
out on the annual inspection of the experiment
station so I had a chance to renew the old association.
They were long-lasting friendships I made there in
that old office. The experience, of course, was a
very valuable one to a young man just starting out.

'
Washington, D. _C.

Baum: What was Washington like when you were there?

.
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.

.
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.

.
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.
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Adams: It was, of course, very interesting* Arriving

there during mid-summer during an unusually hot spell,
the city seemed a sleepy place to me. The population,
as I recall it, wa* only about 150,000 although it has
become way over a million now. It was not uncommon
to see shacks scattered among the residences even
in some of the better areas. The central shopping
area was confined largely to P and G Streets aid
Pennsylvania Avenue from about 12th Street to the
Treasury Building on 15th Street. The only new and
modern government building was the Congressional
Library. This was considered a marvel, and it really
was.

Most everyone you met seemed to be "in office,"
meaning working in a> me way for the government. I
guess that expression is still common there.

It was not long after I arrived that the tempo
of the city was quickened by Theodore Roosevelt
becoming President. I was in Washington when McKinley
was assassinated and Roosevelt took over. His vibrant
personality seemed to permeate the city, especially,
of course, the political life. I lived in a boarding
house on 15th Street Just across the street from tiie
little Swedenborgian church which Roosevelt attended.
He always walked up from the White House trailed by

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a^^Eraeq o* hemese ^i
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.ftc vJtnw rioi0rf flei;

a fieliBi^ eei/oli V ad^ moil qw foe^Lew e^ewX* eH

Adams: several of his sons and his younger daughter. They
seemed to have difficulty in keeping up with him.
Another event that stirred the city in that
summer was the court martial to determine whether
Admiral Samson or Commodore Schley was entitled to
credit for destroying the Spanish fleet which had
been bottled up in the harbor of Santiago, Cuba
during the Spanish American War, I spent an afternoon
listening to the proceedings which were presided
over by Admiral Dewey. I sat near enough to Admiral
Dewey and the other men to get a clear impression of
each of them. Admiral Dewey seemed to me to stand
out head and shoulders above the others.

With the coming of fall, and especially with the
opening of Congress early in December the social life
of the city took on new emphasis. Of course I had
no personal contact with this, but could not help
but be aware of it. I did have opportunity to
attend two of the President's receptions in the
White House, where I had the privilege of shaking
hands with him. Washington was then a great theater
city, and it was not uncommon for plays to come down
from New York for their premiere in Washington.
It was fascinating to watch the celebrities, especially
those of the diplomatic corps, as they arrived or

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Adams

Baum:

Adams

departed in their beautiful horse-drawn carriages.
However, what was really most striking in Washington
during that fall and winter was the dynamic personality
of President Theodore Roosevelt,

One thing that surprised me was the absence of
news from California and other western areas in the
Washington city newspapers. I had to subscribe to
the San Francisco Chronicle In order to keep posted
on what was going on in California,

Lobbying Duties

While in Washington did you have to do any lobbying

in support of your appropriation?

The only lobbying I did in Washington was very brief.

In those days some of those associated with the
movement for the Reclamation Act were opposed to
Dr. Mead's ideas on federal reclamation and were
constantly trying to cut off Dr. Mead's appropriations
in the Department of Agriculture, so Dr. Mead had
to be on the constant look out to keep his fences
built in Congress. The appropriation for our work
when I was In Washington was, I think, only about
f 50,000, but that was a great deal of money in those
days. The House almost always cut that down to a
very small figure. Dr. Mead had to call on Senator

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Adams

Baum:
Adams
Baura:
Adams ;

Francis E. Warren and Congressman Prank Mondell of
Wyoming and others of his friends in Congress to get
it restored

One day Dr. Mead asked me to see Congressman
Julius Kahn of California and Congressman Victor H.
Metcalf of California to enlist their support in our
appropriation in Congress. I called on Mr. Kahn.
He was very gracious and promised to help out. I
then called on Mr. Metcalf. He reminded me that
just a few days previously President Roosevelt had
issued an order positively forbidding any members of
department staffs to lobby for support of their
appropriations. I was through then. I had to leave.
That was the extent of my lobbying in Washington.

I have a letter here I wrote to my father in
1901 regarding our efforts to get our appropriation,
(reads letter). This Is very interesting. May I
include it in the appendix of this interview?
Yes, if you think this desirable. (See Appendix for
letter. )

Did your office always have to keep pressuring to

keep your appropriation up?

That was true for many years. Those in the field
in irrigation work had as one of their duties to

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Adams: attend conventions and get legislatures and associations
interested in irrigation and reclamation to pass
resolutions favoring our appropriations, I had a
little of this experience in lobbying years later
when temporarily in California from Cheyenne during
the illness of Mr. Wilson who was in charge there.
I remember leaving one night to go up to see
Will S. Green, who was head of the Sacramento Valley
Development Association and long known as the "father
of irrigation in the Sacramento Valley." They were
having a meeting of this association in Colusa and I
took the train, got up there after dark, registered
at a hotel, and asked where I could find Mr. Green.
I was told the board of directors of the association
were having a meeting upstairs right then. So I
went up and sat down. I was recognized by the secretary
of the board, Mr. Harry Stabler of Yuba City. He
came down and asked if there was anything he could
do for me. I explained what was wanted. I had in
pocket a resolution already prepared, of course. I
read it to him. He said, "That's all right." I
sat down. In fifteen or twenty minutes it was passed
and I left the meeting and returned to Berkeley.

Baum: Did you have many contacts with Will S. Green?

Adams: I met him first in 1900 at a meeting of the Sacramento

ear bflfl ae-ntftBlalsel 3g boa encl^nevnoo brie,'

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Adams: Valley Development Association at Colusa and saw him

frequently In later years at meetings of the association.
He was a very forceful man and very much devoted to
the cause. He was largely responsible for organizing
the old Central Irrigation District back in 1897.
I read that he superintended the construction of the
Central Canal which later became the nucleus of Glenn-
Colusa and other irrigation districts of that area.
Another example, Henry T. Gage was governor of
California in the early 1900' s. I was temporarily
in California from Cheyenne. Word came fron Dr. Mead
that I was to see Governor Gage and get him to support
a resolution in the legislature. So I went up to
Sacramento and found that he was in the Palace Hotel
In San Francisco. I returned Immediately to San
Francisco to the Palace and found that he had returned
to Sacramento. So I went back to Sacramento and was
ushered into his office and very cordially received.
He was rather a gruff and formal kind of man, but he
indicated that he would help us and I assume he did,
I don't remember, but we got our appropriation.

At that time the legislature was appropriating
a small amount to our work, the Geological Survey work,
the Forestry work, topographic surveys, and stream-
gauging. It came in the form of a biennial appropriation.

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Adams: About 1908 Mr. Clyde Seavey, secretary of the State
Board of Examiners, got the legislature to pass a
continuing appropriation so we no longer had to do
that regular lobbying.

I had a long and very friendly association with
Clyde Seavey through the years, a very fine man, one
of the ablest and most devoted public servants I ever
knew. The State Board of Examiners was changed to
the State Board of Control and Mr. Seavey became a
member. Later he became a member of the State
Railroad Commission and from that he became a member
of the Federal Power Commission, My last contact with
him was while he was chairman of the Federal Power
Commission in Washington, about 193^4-. He should have
been governor of California. He would have made a
very great governor. He was highly regarded everywhere.

Baum: I take it you disliked your public relations duties.

Adams: I hated to go after legislative support for money.
My other public relations I liked. In fact, my
whole work involved people, I never felt I learned
very much in the office. I had to learn in the field.
Whatever I was doing I thought out in the environment
of my subject, in contact with the people involved.
So that type of public service I enjoyed.

Baum: In other words, you like to give service and assistance.

Adams: Yes.

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RECLAMATION ACT .OF 1902 AND .DR. ELWOOD MEAD

* &.!

Pressures for a Reclamation Act

Baum: You were In Washington about the time the Reclamation
Act was passed.

Adams: The movement for a reclamation act was just coming

to a head at that time, 1901-1902. There were two

national organizations concerned with irrigation and
reclamation, the National Irrigation Congress and the
National Irrigation Association. The National
Irrigation Congress was widely representative of the
irrigation interests in the West. It met annually
in different cities in the West, had a large attendance
and was primarily concerned with administrative,
engineering, agricultural and other local problems.
It was, of course, much interested in obtaining federal
aid, but that was by no means its main function. The
National Irrigation Association, on the other hand,
was a purely promotional organization devoted to
campaigning for federal aid. It presumably had
prominent westerners as officers, but the real directing
power was George H. Maxwell, a San Francisco attorney
who had been employed earlier by large land owners in
the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys to fight opera
tions under the Wright Irrigation District Act.

82. 3M. SP?J 1 KQITAMAJDHH

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Adams: He was the one who carried the Wright Act to the

United States Supreme Court which finally resulted
In the act b eing declared constitutional in the
famous Pallbrook Case.

Well, Mr. Maxwell got his largest financial
support, I'm quite sure, from the western railroads
which supplied him with $30,000 a year for his pro
paganda. The interest of the railroads was, of course,
to build up the country through which their lines
passed. The states and local communities also pressed
for federal aid. In Washington the governmental
agency that was most directly concerned was the
Geological Survey, Follow irg the Investigations
of Major Powell, the Geological Survey had been
studying the lands and forests and measuring the
streams. It was the Geological Survey which was to
be the agency through which the proposed Reclamation
Act would be administered. It had probably already
been determined that P. H. Newell, head of the
hydrographic branch of Geological Survey, would be
in charge. At any rate, he was very active in the
promotion. Allied with him were the heads of several
bureaus in the Department of Agriculture, notably
Gifford Pinchot who was head of the then Division
of Forestry and Milton Whitney, chief of the Bureau

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"anoi^tr.lMsnoo beis irtle cf JOB erf* ill

. sQ tfoo-sdllB 1 ? eiromal

la .ton/: L 3 Id cfrog IJewxfiM .iK % IIaW

; rcl ,9*we e.1' 'I

ee <x ; gbjsonlJtBi erl* ^.o

Till -ilerf^ ffoirf w rfsiroixf * ytinirco er; Itird

0888'tq " Ol

Jscfn3iflnievos srl^ no^snirfeaW nl . a IBI -xol

roenlb *eo r.avj ^Bifrf ^oaegB

^rfcf 'Si Jt wo 1 1 cM . Tje v 1 D 90

"osO e,: , '^wo^ ic(.BM ^o

ed\> , ^ni^bjj^a

o.! Ioe5 erict aaw cfl . ftfe

I rioirfw rigi--' ed

vXrfBcfonq bBrf ^1 . ; )ie^8ln.tRbB ed

To b9ri ,IJew9^ . . Qb need

eo' -- t Tjav rjoloax) lo rfoaaid I ?,i? 3 oib^rf

vlctr-B Y' 19 ^ 8Bw exi t ytiR 3 . iBrlo at

.: iriri 'IIA .aci*o0ioiq

'cfscton ; to rfnati^i' -'^ nl

aoisivia nsri* eri^ lo bssd BBW orfw

tt ^c leirfo ^snctJrfW noctlJ 1 ^ bnB

Adams: of Soils*

Baum: What were Dr. Mead's ideas about federal aid? Did
he favor passage of the Reclamation Act?

Adams: Dr. Mead vas strongly in favor of federal aid, but he

did not believe the urgent need at that time was
reclamation of additional public lands. Most of the
land in the irrigated areas of the West was already
under private ownership. In some sections what was
needed was storage of spring floods to supply late
summer irrigation needs. The storage he had particularly
in mind was that in the channels of streams. He
believed this should be under public control in order
to avoid water rights controversies in the use of the
water stored. In some other sections the areas under
canals already constructed greatly exceeded the areas
Irrigated. Dr. Mead believed the aid needed in those
sections was such as would ease the burden of settlers
and hasten the settlement of the area.

He probably had more knowledge as t o the water
needs of the western states than anyone else and his
primary interest was in federal aid that w ould help
solve existing problems. Anyone interested in really
understanding the irrigation situation in the West at
that time should read the last chapter of Dr. Mead's
book, Irrigation Institutions, published by MacMillan

r -fjj SB

'Sit: iBOBloeft ari

cterfrf ^on ^r

*ic- v .

^jhB .'.

819W *BJrfW

tfpn
ii brict nl bnsl

. -.'.ftnwo acfavlnq tsfcou

W bebesn
i noranua
ni
bevelled

booll gnlnqa to eg-si
.abaen no!
efi , -".enie lo BlsDoari;-

isbiu.' '

t ni eeietsvot^noo ed'rfgJ:'!
. < ' : ': -tsricfo einor

Y^
led basM .id

ebitfc

.BOIB idi "to *nael^^ee erfrf

i^ ;1^ o 3 P.B ^sbalViOnT/ siom bar iq s

sale enoY-OB r e^B^a HT ^ lo

:aow^Brf* MB Isisbel nl BBW ;tB9ie;fni

vnA ,aei ni^aixe evloe

ni n :;is nc ill *rii ^lalfii

e 1 . o isctqjBrio ^BB! erf* bsai bltrorfa ei a*

.;e>rfelldi/q .

Adams: in 1903. I think Mr. Maxwell and those associated

with him in the Geological Survey, on the other hand,
were strongly in favor of the government itself going
into the irrigation business on a large scale.

Baum: I should think Mr. Maxwell would not have wanted

that government participation in as much as it also
meant regulations, such as the 160-acre limitation.

Adams: That 160-acre limitation was introduced into the
bill in Congress. Matters of that kind, however,
didn't come up much in the campaign for the act.

The propaganda for federal aid largely centered
in the Geological Survey and in Mr. Maxwell and those
associated with him. The knowledge of the West
possessed by the Geological Survey must have been
considerable. For many years the Geological Survey
had been measuring extremes in the West and s tudying
the public lands. They framed their ideas as to the
type of reclamation there should be in> the West on
that experience. Dr. Mead, on the other hand, had
the point of view of the irrigators primarily. He
wasn't so much concerned then with the public lands.

When President Roosevelt came to write his first
message to Congress he asked Senator Warren of
Wyoming to confer with him about how he should treat
federal aid for reclamation. Senator Warren recommended

n n

gn '
ed3

i ed
bBri t t r erf Jo

ojaX

' oi
i

t b 9ri woil

srfT . aajs

- 7;^ b*88

eld

,ari

B-xl .ebn/

e 9'ier
t baM .iG

o wir lo cTnloq

ctl3V3Roc oleet*!

be^a sri BR-; oi

irlrf rictlw icl/r

bna ! .tM jlfi/.rf^ I :sn

^^iu8

3ricf lo rroval al Y-Cs^o* 1 * 8 8 r Jw
. "floe sjaiBl 38Sfii8 r ;cf otni

oela cfi e> > tneffinnovo? tfBri^

B-06I . -'.luge"

f o^al tffiJ:! eiDB-Odl d'BriT sbA

,T . e*lM B8eT' nl Hid

.tfOI!

be- i BbaftgBqoiq erfT

' baa '{eviu'J " D 9x1 o

fcet. TO^Bci08 . .

Adams

that he call in Dr. Mead.

I might go back a little here and say that It
was Senator Warren who had been instrumental in getting
Mr. Mead to leave Colorado Agricultural College and go
to Wyoming as territorial engineer and to prepare with
Senator Warren the first irrigation act for this territory.
Senator Warren undoubtedly also had been instrumental

in getting Dr. Mead into the Department of Agriculture

to head the Irrigation Investigations there. Well,
President Roosevelt did ask Dr. Mead to confer with him
and was very much interested in what Dr. Mead suggested.
He said very emphatically, "That's what I want. Write
it out. Send It to me. n

Dr. Mead went back to the office and asked me to
sit in with him while he was preparing this letter. When
the letter was finished Dr. Mead had me take it over to
the White House.

When the message came out it had a good deal of Dr.
Mead's letter, almost verbatim or substantially verbatim,
and expressed very clearly Dr. Mead's ideas. To reinforce

myself on that I went over to the library the other day

and had this photostat Ic copy made of that part of the
message that referred to reclamation legislation.

' iBvtneinj'ictsfll need

bflB c oloC evBel

rf; otf t liotfi-iTsct BB gniino^W

.Y*t< '- - "Bglitf rfei : aW iccfaneS

;9TisW ic^BneS

Ic . ni

, . :&ftt sr> ' !^Bvr rBsiiil fft fcceri orf

ricfiw te'iiioo . tfa.;

.becfr .iG ;! b ecfeeiectn ' RJBW .f

iiW . -.* e'cf ^IlfloUBXiqjtse YI^ fc - r

h93f3-e oollt'- ' ^new DB^l .

.-.- iq RBM ari eflri*

in 11 aBw i9*^el eri*
1 e^irfW drict
.7 ./ axtt nerfW

Bcfta^ t cf^ol a'beeK

nrroT:nlei oT . ' . ' T*IOV bsesenqxe bns

xj3tdl sri^ o;J ne w I cteri* no llsc^m

J- bBri bns

Dr. Mead' s Background in Western Irrigation

- ' *
Irrigation Laws of Colorado

Baum: What was Dr. Mead's background in irrigation in the

western states?
Adams: Dr. Mead came out to Colorado in the early '80's.

For about three years, but not continuously, he was
a professor of irrigation at the Colorado Agricultural
College at Port Collins. There he was able to become
thoroughly acquainted with the Colorado system of
administering water rights.

Except for Utah, which had administered water
rights largely under regulations set up by the Mormon
Church, Colorado was the only state in the West that
had adopted a comprehensive water code. All the other
states had followed a simple procedure which had
developed in California during the early mining days.
By that procedure anyone desiring to appropriate water

would post a notice of appropriation on the bank of

the stream from which water was to be t aken and file

a copy of this notice In the office of the county clerk.
There was no check by any authorities as to whether
the appropriation was perfected by diversion and use of
the waterj there was no check as to the quantities to

s'&eeM .

lo airfiJ

' o* 3 ';! .iQ

vnJ: o f % 8iBeY

noltfaaJfiJ .RBeloiq B

snillo
1< ildiw fted'niBirpOB otorfS

.e^risii IQ^BW jinlne

if, ;i riolr.w t riri^TJ 10! ctcooxH

aomo: "lu^en 'ief>nw ^Isv :: l

B Y-fc> orict ESW obstol , ..o
a.ri;t IIA , -a

;& oJ

-;qB lo eoltfon

- : rf o^ RBW te^BW rfolrfw me s eri^

-uict Ic aol'ilo arii nl eoi^on efrf* to Y C !^ *
:tB ,-JB 8el*liori3i/a ^na ^cf -Moerfo cci BBW eieriT

hna rcfeievJtb yd bftrfoel^^q BJBW r;ci^BliqoiqqB
oi KB 3l

'rcitnoo B be

3^8
>qcls>veb

Adams: be appropriated. The county clerks' offices were

filled -with these notices of appropriation, some of
which were indefinite as to amount or not clear in
other respects. Some would call for the appropriation
of all the water in the stream. It was impossible
to tell from the county records whether appropriations
had been perfected by diversion and use. When con
troversies arose they were carried to the court and
any decision by the courts would relate only to the
relative rights of the parties to the suit. There
was no way in which all the claimants to water on a
stream could be brought into the suit, or at least
there was no procedure of that kind. The litigation
might settle the rights as between the parties to the
suit, but not as against all other approprlators on
the s tream.

The Colorado code made very distinct advances.
It set up the office of state engineer and provided
that all appropriations for water in the state should
be filed in his office. The state also established
water divisions and water districts for administering
the distribution of water. Furthermore, which was
very important, the law authorized any appropriator
to bring Into a suit all claimants to water on the
stream.

rqoiqqi
r,oqn

-nco nerfW
baa *-

lo eeoi^on eeetftt ritflw bellll
o^ ae s;tlflllebnl sisw rfolriw

lericto

atc

rj -t- M *

bxiB

B lo

ejr ^ I

tevlb ^d bed-oslieq nesd

.^lur. erf n sri^ ^o 8ct.

B r TB dolriw nl

a sri^ o^nl ^ri30cid sd bJ
.b iri* lo siirbeootq on

Bto^Blrtqc'tqqB t<

: - ;^ on let
befc^vc-iq ( ' -nl;

'SCf3 '

.
'

lodBl'tqotqqB TJ

eri*

SB d'on rfrrd

bB eboo obBit T

lo eolllo er- lee

eriT .eoHo alri al belli scf
fens Rnclelvlfc ^S^BW
"io tiielb

B! ertt

n ocfnl

Adams :

Adams:

In addition to being at the s tate agricultural
college, Dr. Mead was, for a brief time I believe,
associated with the state engineer as assistant state
engineer. At any rate, he was able to become fully
familiar with the Colorado law and to notice its
shortcomings. One was that there was no provision
for the state engineer to check on the appropriations
that were filed in his office, nor as to whether
appropriations were actually completed by diversion
and use of water, nor as to the capacities of the
ditches and canals, nor as to the amounts of water
actually put to use. Furthermore, in the absence of
any e xpert testimony regarding these matters from
the state engineer in the litigation, the courts
awarded many excess decrees. That is, they adjudicated
the rights largely as to the capacities of the ditches
rather than as to the amount of water used. When
working in Colorado in 1903 I tabulated the total
adjudications and the total diversions on one stream
and found a wide discrepancy.

Irrigation Laws of Wyoming

In 1888 Mr, Mead went to Wyoming as territorial
engineer. Between then and 1890 when Wyoming became
a state a constitution was drafted and adopted. It

ecfaJ s &d$ t j^iecf orf ncltflbbB til

. I ami* 'ieiitf a 10! ,e&wbfiK .id ,egelloo

^eJtesB as ^ne sheets ericf rf^iw

omooecf od . at ^nB cfA .ienJt

ail eol.ton otf bnfl wal ofoO erict

-.'xqci^fiB 9d^ nc l tsanlgne e^sd's oric

torfcterfw ccf ES ion .eoillo eJtrf al belli etew
noisntevlb ^cf b^ JOB iew

erfcf 1o a Ton t ttfflw tc eu bnfi

ie^w To' scJnr d^ o^ JRB ion ,Eljerto bne EorfD:

n. ! . rftfTij*! .set/ oct

offilSae* tfieq;: 9
t nc!^B^lJ-Jt! rict ni i6nis fld e^flctR

"ibtf^tt . 'AliT . ^flBJK

9ff;t ', j- oi BB Tjlegi' <.

. 3?0 IQ^B^ tnuomB d.t o;t 3B nsrict

r nl obaieloO nl
ftnie tb Ifirfot erf;t bit* s

eblw ; 1

"to

-W o* *nw foaeM .fM 8881 ni BbA

^nBoerf gnfflrcYV noriw OfGl bne nri^ .iesnign

. '-.rtqobs 3nfl be^lJ3^b ew nol^y^lctanoo B aifl^a a

Adams: included a provision that all the water i n the state
belonged to the state. This was the first instance
of such constitutional provision.

When Wyoming became a state Mr. Mead became
state engineer. The first thing necessary was to
draft a law which would provide means by which water,
now the property of the state, would be administered.
Mr. Mead is generally understood to have drafted that
law, and I am sure he did. Francis E. Warren, later
Senator Warren, had a good deal to do with it also.
Legislation is frequently the result of the ideas of
a number of people, but I am sure the basic provisions
of the Wyoming law were adapted by Mr. Mead in the
light of the knowledge he had gained while at Port
Collins, Mr. Mead's ideas and general philosophy
regarding the administration of water in the West
had been influenced by the work of Major John Wesley
Powell of the Qsological Survey, Major Powell made
a long study of the lands, waters, and forests of
the West and had written his classic report, Lands of
the Arid Region. Mr. Mead knew Major Powell and was
thoroughly familiar with his work.

Baum: What were the major provisions of the Wyoming law?

Adams: The office of state engineer was created and the
state engineer was given general administrative

orto n 1 ietf*w erfrt lie tfjerti noleivcnq B bebuloal
eooerfertl tfeiil rict BBW BlrlT . ' begnoled

aoJelvoiq lanoiikfcticignoo rioae lo
ettBoecf bjesM .iM etferfs A emsoecf snlmo^W nerfW
BPW Y^-^eeeoen %ti*ei3 jfenil eriT . ie

,T.^BW rioiriw Ycf -acuBeaj sblvoiq bli/ov a

. bl . arfd lo Y^Ttqciq sri

evsri o^ -hn0 ^-f- 6 ' 3 ^ b&^

t neTiJ3VJ .3 elonfli'i .bjb exi eina BUS I bcs t
,oelB ^1 rfrflv ob ocf Ifeb boog B b&ii ,nenXBW
lo eaobi art* 1c ' vj^fupa'5: al

ariit ^ -cf t Iqoeq lo

.tM Y^ berfqflba s? f: io

^lo 1 "! ^B 5llr{'' befilBg bsxi ,erl egbelw^ tffgil

brue 8Jebi s'bnoK ^M .pni r

cte . riflti'f- ; ARgsrc

Y ' ' - - io jl-xow erftf ^T 1 aeecf bfirf

/i IJnwo't no|.fiM Y6vr >rf* lo

Ic .BTedBM t abn*I e.; ^^^s gn

Ic ebfiBil t ; f alrl nsJSJiw ' ;IB ctes*

Jfc- . ^wo 4 ? ic^jsM wemi bseM .iM 1 . iaeg

.5I1OW 8.' V IBllllKBl

?WB! gn^nro^W erf;t lo zn'delwiq IC[,&K erict eiew

srlrf bna ba^Beio BBW lesnlfle JBrf^ lo eoillo edT
^.t

Adams: authority over the waters of the state. Anyone

desiring to appropriate water was required to file an
application with the state engineer with adequate
maps and other descriptions to indicate the place and
nature of the appropriation. The application would
then be examined by the state engineer and if he found
that water was available and that the application was
in order he would issue a permit to appropriate. The
law specified that the appropriation must be completed
within a certain period. At the end of that period
the state engineer would examine the works built by
the appropriator and the land irrigated and would
issue a license to appropriate the amount of water
specified in the license. This became a permanent
right.

Of course , before the Wyoming law had been adopted
many water appropriations had been made In the state
and it was now necessary to adjudicate these In order
to clear up the records. Instead of having the courts
adjudicate these rights, the Wyoming law provided
that they should be administratively adjudicated. A
state board of control was set up composed of the
state engineer and the superintendents of the two
or three hydrographic divisions into which the state
was divided. The adjudication began by having the

.etstfe erfef *ro sis^sw eritf tavo Y--' s :6MBf>A

as el" rrectew qoi

Bijp.b - te 8cftfe erf*

oelq ftt d^BOjbnl o^ anoi^' > isricfo bns eqMn

2Ir .nci^Bliqoiqq;? sri* Ic eii^t

i 11 bnc tQQtilpxa e 9rf* Y^ fcanJtwBxa ed

SB aollc' allsvB BJB -tsw

.e;" -SB! ftli'ow erf neb

sd ^euw '^qB erf* cferf* Jbel^t.oeq

.bo lie

fit fc reoc.ts

blu ow fcn/ 3 ! ' spuRl srf* btiB "octfiliqoiqq

oiqq o^ H ' s
SB/ieoJtl

;W erf* d 1 ) "0 10

aa j ct nf eb; ; *BW

T?-i "f^foB C^ Y* 1 * 88 090 '' /of5 8aw *

.abir

behlvotq wfil ^flimoYW fslrr esarfrf scfeolfci/t^fl

..h r^Einlmbfl d blyorfa Y.*ti3 3ed3

w 3">B BBW Ioxctf c bi*od s^flcte

>rf^lc acftiebne^fll'rftqire ri* - e^siE

-f;t rioMi* orfnJt snolelvlb olrfqetgoifcYrf eeirirf 10
nol*coJbi/f.;B srfT .befclvlb saw

Adams: superintendent of the division in which the rights

were to be adjudicated make the necessary surveys to
determine the location of ditches and of the irrigated
land. He would take testimony of users up and down
the stream as to dates of priority, as to water used
and would then post this information so that all
interested could have access to it. There w ould then
be a final hearing and, on the basis of all the
information gathered by the superintendent of the
division, the State Board of Control would adjudicate
the priorities. There was, of course, appeal to the
court on any of the decisions. As a matter of fact,
there were practically no such appeals.

As in Colorado, the main hydrographic divisions
were divided into watermaster districts, or at least
provision was made for doing this, and watermasters
were to be appointed to supervise the distribution
of water within the districts in accordance with the
priorities as established. The watermasters in each
case worked under the general supervision of the division
water superintendents.

A feature the Wyoming law sought t o eliminate was
the ownership of water by s peculators. Such speculation
had been pointed out by Major Powell in his Lands of the
Arid Region. He believed that only those who used the

** s "Jo tfflol" teraebA

sisvtjja v'- ' 3ifim < stew

noidfioc
n*ci bflB qu e*reeu "

-la^BW 0.1 a : ioxiq *io se^jeb OJ .

rifi ^. : aoq

aoifct .d

arict 1 elefld eo'i no t fcr

que e"i^

blr/ow 1( .

erirf o^ leeqqft . lo SBK . ^toiiq

,* . f lo

^ dove en ^IJ& et*

en rgoibY-^ alflm srf^ t o.caioJ'

cfs -r . ' : Te-tBW o*nl r.3blvlb eiew

w bnfi . ;ilob io*l sbBm sew nolelvc^q

o* 9^ew

a at eitoiitfaJtb o rs^aw lo

PIS;} - .bede Jrfi^ol^q

no;- ^rf^ 1> ?. Isienes rf* t*br ? aeBO

,ectfi9bn*nl

i o^ d-'lgj. i I 'snimotW ' -;9l A

ncl.-lelnc . vcf iei*w nwo e

IlswoSl lotflM t c: .jsocf barf

9eo.dcf Y^ ^ 5ri * bsvai^'d aH .n

Adams: water should have the right to it. Adopting this

principle the Wyoming law provided that there should
be no direct ownership of water, but only the right
to use water and that such right should be attached
to the land Irrigated. In other words, in principle
the water would belong to the land rather than to
an individual.

Roosevelt 1 s Message to_ Congress. 1901

Adams: Now coming to the President's ideas and to what

extent they were influenced by Dr. Mead and to what
extent they differed from Dr. Mead's, I can do best
by going through this excerpt from his message. It
is from Volume 35 of the Congressional Record beginning
on page 86, dated December 3* 1901.

President Roosevelt was familiar with the West,
but I think his knowledge was more or less limited to
his experience in the early '80's up in the Badlands
of the Dakotas, where he had invested in a cattle
ranch. That was cattle country. I've never known of
any knowledge he might have had of the irrigated
sections of the West. He had a wide knowledge of
forests and quite a lot of his message is devoted to
forestry and the effect of forests on the water supply.
When it came to reclamation, he said,

i.f jmJctqobA .tfi otf

bl'forfE 9T9rfcf ^Bif? fret vrjel gflhnoijW er(;t sJ

^: vie J0v ,tetfw tenwc rfostJib on 9d

; iq n.1 ,BbT nl . s^BglTtl bnal

" oi ns/f^t tedtfsn t cct s 00 ;<T i*^*w 9 ^

r ^ > f- i
-LA

I per ,._8c feveeoofl

bnB er,ebi E '.tneblaerrt erfct o* gnlmoo
:w ocf bnB baeK .TO ^newllni ^-te^

d-aed c I ,e'bBeM .- 1 bei6tlJtb ^erfrf Jneihce

>d bjJC '/I* It : OV xTIOll 8i

t -;:oea f . e^sq no

t ^?nw -al a*w JIsvesooH ^nsblEf

oct el 10 eioin esw eTabsIwon;-! sir! jinlrtt I *ud

irfcf ni qtr E'08' ^I-uee arfct nl erneiisqxe aid

el^.iBO B nl bs^p.evnl bsrf erf ate . BSoiBG sri^ lo

igvsn av'I .^i^rujoo sI^^BO RBW ^riT ,riont

boJ-BT,lTil erfJ lo bsri ov> ' egbelwoftif Y B

7 bBrf eH . lo cnolctoee

ei eseeBem alri Ic e^lup bnB

no aJeeiol lo d'oel'if' arf* bn
. tfiflrtlr *

Dr. Elwood Mead

Adams: The forests alone cannot, however, fully

regulate and conserve the waters of the arid
region. Great storage works are necessary to
equalize the flow of the streams and to save
the flood waters. Their construction has been
conclusively shown to be an undertaking too vast
for private effort. Nor can it be best accom
plished by the individual States acting alone.
Par-reaching interstate problems are involved;
and the resources of single States would often
be inadequate.

Then he made his argument for federal aid. What he
said In that connection was generally accepted as
sound and fully concurred in by Dr. Mead. Dr. Mead
even went so far as to believe that these federal
works in aid of irrigation should be paid for by the
government beyond the amount the farmers themselves
could afford to pay.

Baum: You mean that it shouldn't be paid for by the benefited
lands only?

Adams: I wouldn't put it quite that way. Everyone believed
the proceeds of the public lands should be devoted
to that purpose. The President, in his message,
stated that the works should be repaid for as far
as possible by those who used the water. I think Dr.
Mead would have gone a little farther than anyone
else at that time as to the extent the federal govern
ment should assume part of the cost, but I'm not sure
about that. I know he believed water from the govern
ment projects should be given free during the early

nev . rfonnao enolB artaeTol srPl' sbA

'IJB rftf V bn e^BltJast

. v-^goi

SB otf bne ercjB&t^s arf* "ir pe

. r i9^sw booll erf^

e ( n* sd oct c ->o

10!

. C.IB s^-f^OB ee.1 -^d berfailq

is zmi t-iB^

ne^lto o eeomrosert Mfcf bnB

, "syps

ojrf . rtet erf nailT

:-:ol^Ormr:cr- d'sd* nf btae
bfiaM . . . bn l

>sl seen' oct SB IB! OE dnevr nave

1 J'Bsli'il lo bis nl eit r
^nt/oinB erf* bno^sd -og

ollB '

.:e jl .tsri^ n5sm x/oY

?Y-CflO
ano^i . *uq

<I ollduq 9ffi lo ebeeoctq erf^
I ^^nebl^.Qi'I erIT . aoqiuq cffixf.t
IB" vol blaqei ed bli :j|icw arid' 3t

.T9.7BW erf.'t b= i 'leaoq

ezv I^JII a snoj:< evr(

'. erf^ rfnerfxe srfrf ocf a/? sml* .ctsricr Ja eele

vel I ad 1 en*
ed

Adams: years while settlers were being established, leaving
repayment to the future.

To quote further from the President's message:

The Government should construct and maintain these
reservoirs as it does other public works.

Now comes a very important statement, which I
am sure was a contribution by Dr. Mead because it
represents a very important point in his philosophy.

Where tbelr purpose is to regulate the flow of
streams, the water should be turned freely into
the channels in the dry season to take the same
course under the same laws as the natural flow.

Although Dr. Mead stressed the need for water s torage
in order to eliminate water shortages in periods of

low stream flow and although he felt there was no

need at that time for reclaiming further areas of

public land, I'm sure he agreed in general with the
President's statement regarding reclamation of the
public lands. Let me quote further from the President:

The reclamation of the unsettled arid public
lands presents a different problem. Here it is
not enough to regulate the flow of streams. The
object of the Government is to dispose of the
land to settlers who will build homes upon it.
To accomplish this object water must be brought
within their reach.

I believe Dr. Mead would also have approved this
statement from the message:

The pioneer settlers on the arid public domain
chose their homes along streams from which they
could themselves divert the water to reclaim

llcfstf i ellrfw et*9t

9bi89T*I 0rfcf IROtl v

orte tf-
, >'tovr ollcftrq -racfito acb tfj BJB E-I!' in

'ojrfw ,cfr rtd-'ioqin.f Y^ ft V fl fiemoo w

*- . a Y^ OW 1J

e C a : tsrfW

Y^- ' sPitfe

srfct .

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1^8 bsM .', -^rftflA

lo Rbc " al ee >, lerfew e^Bnimll* o^ Tef

or .tls- bnB ?- wol

^ns 't - ,-lrf ^Bri* *e f>e

tsnes al be- 'rf eiue tn'I t bnsl ollcfuq

tbijnssrr ;hiem9.tB.ts ' ' feet?

^nr rci'i lertoiul o. .BfinsI olfr

-"s bel (J 7o nc-i :tj9mBlo*r

Jaeis^Ub B 8^neR9-T:q abaal
.

eri.- :1 JnsmmevoO sri '.do

1-,'orf b ! iw or(w 8191*^68 e;t bnI

- IBW ^oet^o Wrf jrfRiJqmcooB oT

. B61 ".

fca? 6vxf oelB bltrow bs^M .iff

moil

nlr its erf^ no etel^^fle -T^snolq sriT

sencfe gnolB r. ' ~io

eT JBW ertt iievJtb Bevlsaraerfcf bluoo

Adams: their holdings. Such opportunities are practically
gone. There remain, however, vast areas of public

land which can be made available for homestead
settlement, but only by reservoirs and main-line
canals impracticable for private enterprise.
These irrigation works should be built by the
National Government. The lands reclaimed by them
should be reserved by the Government for actual
settlers, and the cost of Construction should be
as far as possible repaid by the land reclaimed.

Now I will read some sections of the President's
message w hi ch most fully express Dr. Mead's ideas as
to federal reclamation. I'm sure that in substance,
and in part verbatim, they were taken from Dr. Mead's
letter *

The policy of the National Government should be
to aid Irrigation in the several States and
Territories in such manner as will enable the
people in the local communities to help themselves,
and as will stimulate needed reforms in the State
laws and regulations governing Irrigation.

The necessary foundation has already been
laid for the inauguration of the policy just
described. It would be unwise to begin by doing
too much, for a great deal will doubtless be
learned, both as to what can and what can not be
safely attempted, by the early efforts, which
must of necessity be partly experimental in char
acter. .. .

Whatever the Ration does for the extension
of Irrigation should harmonize with, and tend to
improve, the condition of those now living on
irrigated land. We are not at the s tarting point
of this development.... A high degree of enterprise
and ability has been shown in the work Itself;
but as much cannot be said in reference to the
laws relating thereto. The security and value
of the homes created depend largely on the
stability of titles to water; but the majority
of these rest on the uncertain foundation of
court decisions rendered in ordinary suits at law.

p.ol: >13la- '"oi/ B

is tfssv -ivawori t n(j8at9^ oterfT
rKteattf eldfilxBve ebjsn: ?,rfw bnBl

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a lot ^naicnievoO erlcJ ^d be luorfe

T^enc" fons t f:TI3;tee

.be ' IdlBBoq BJS tfll B*

4 rieb.tBe'T c [ erfd 8 ewroe best IJlw I v/oH

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3 Hi 89^'

t >6 ' ol srlct ni sloosq

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ill ? tali/gei bnB 5'-

neer iolojRbnL-ol ^iBse^oftn 9

srid
od ee d"! .

HAW Ifisb d*9ts B io*t
ad . eo dBriw o-t e

^dda ^J
-ifjrlo e '^Ic'' >i ^di^ to

noisned 1 - tol seob ooldBH arid 1 ived*rfW

. n'djtw aslftomiflrf 5I0< r tl lo

no g^ r J'on eeorf ^ridtbnoo rid qwi

. -flJ

sengeb rfgirl A, . . .dnsfficjoJ
tll^;;- i*r erid nl aworie ned eari

-i-ielei nl bias ed donnBO rioim RB t0d

.od gn.t

X bneqeb bejeato ssmorf "-rfd lo

'
:tBbnr/ol nl*dieontf f

fbio nl beiftT^nei enolalcsb

Adams: With a few creditable exceptions, the arid

States have failed to provide for the certain

and just division of streams In times of scarcity.

Lax and uncertain laws have made it possible

to establish rights to water in excess of actual

uses or necessities, and many streams have already

passed into private ownership, or a control

equivalent to ownership,

I am sure inclusion in the President's message

of these views relating t o desirable federal policy

were a great disappointment to Mr. Maxwell, Mr. Newell,

and the others associated with promoting federal aid.
It was just such views as these expressed in the
President's message that had caused the rift between
them and Mr. Mead. They were not interested in
strengthening state administration of water and fitting
the federal policy Into local needs. They were
embarked on a program of vast federal reclamation
works and wanted no interference.

Another matter on which Dr. Mead felt very
strongly was expressed in the President's message.

It was that relating to private ownership of water
.

apart from the land. This was a fundamental to Dr.

Mead, and I believe the language of the President's
message is almost exactly that contained in Dr.
Mead's letter. I quote further:

Whoever controls a stream practically controls
the land it renders productive, and the doctrine
of private ownership of water apart from land
cannot prevail without causing enduring wrong.

,anol?qo^ ' co wel B

ad* 10^ elivc ! evsri

; 'Jo eam.tcf nl airuseicj-e taut

Idleeoc it abaci evarf swal B

'*OB lO 8690X9 ni 'jetfBM OCt dj3*8e O*

evarf Binflei^E Y^J 861 ^ n to eeeu

enwo eif> ! beeeBq

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iBiebel elds-. ' .^nJtfelet BWS!V essrfo

t llows iK ,fIewxflM . Jseng

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cdf3 nl beeBQTqxe eseri^ EB ewelv rioue ^sut BJBW

,rf ^Br >'n e

.bM .iM
antfeiniicbjB octBtfr ' ^xlctsn'
ocl o^nl -^olloa iBisbel erf*
aiBT.y beJiBdms

. neisl on bs^n^w bn aafiow

^i . Mw no ted\ H oA

^r!^ nl

rte Irfeienwo e^evfiq o^ jinl^let .-tri>t caw ^1

B SBW E T .bnBl rf;t roil *iBqa

er<5 e ^sBw^nsl erf* evslled I bns , baM

ni 3rf^ T ' eseBBarn

:iedtfit/^ > I

.toBiq mr-

bne , ooiq atbnfT ^1 fenal

6nBl moil Ktiaq.'i isctBw lc lo

';w gn. 1 - jtnlei llsvetq

Adams: The recognition of such ownership, which has

been permitted to grow up in the arid regions,
should give way to a more enlightened and larger
recognition of the rights of the public in the
control and disposal of the public water supplies.
Laws founded upon conditions obtaining in humid

regions have no proper application in a dry

country.

In the arid States the only right to water
which should be recognized is that of use. In
irrigation this right should attach to the land
reclaimed and be inseparable therefrom. Granting
perpetual water rights to others than users,
without compensation to the public, is open to
all the objections which apply to giving away
perpetual franchises to the public utilities
of cities. A few of the Western States have
already recognized this, and have incorporated
in their constitutions the doctrine of perpetual
State ownership of water.

My final quote which brings out Dr. Mead's
thought :

Our aim should be not simply to reclaim
the largest area of land and provide homes for
the largest number of people, but to create for
this new industry the best possible social and
industrial conditions; and this requires that
we not only understand the existing situation,
but avail ourselves of the best experience of
the time in the solution of its problems. A
careful study should be made, both by the Nation
and the States, of the irrigation laws and
conditions here and abroad. Ultimately it will
probably be necessary for the Nation to cooperate
with the several arid States in proportion as
these States by their legislation and administration
show themselves fit to receive it.

I think that is sufficient to bring out the
ideas Mr. Mead had with regard to public aid to
irrigation. He was interested in the first instance
in regulating the flow of streams in the existing

K rfolrfw t qlrfe riocra lc nGi^lngooet r

bits rfrf oJ woig o;t b^cMlos'xe--
bfl9rfii$llfls oiom JB otf YJBW e>v:

n ^riglt eri^ Ito no.t^ia8ooi

r q erict 1o IfiBoqeiJb bnB loicf

I Pfil* -"Ol EWJ8J

JB nl acloeoilqqa tqoiq on evsxi gei

ort ? bfaa e nl

- ;! beslnjjcoen ed blr.'oris riolrfw
bnal Sjttt c -ieglTtl

'd bnc lemlBloei

t 8iSBfi nBffrf atecfito orf ecfr/ijaii IQ^BW Isirdeqiaq

o^ , * orf ncl^Be; 'jorfrflw

^B 3 o^ ^ .:atcfc L'lfl

esl^.: 31! iBu^pqteq

ovBri 59^fl*8 nie^SfW srit lo swl A *Belc

, ' - as-tlfl

9fiJtiioob 9.drf ecolrf.t> t^enco ti*rid nl
i&w * isnwc c

seM .iG ^-. w ectoxjp

T[ c-J u/ r jjoa ais

ic 5 bnl lo B91J8 ^aesisJ

rtol P ^ cct rfird t Iqo isdimun rfeegi.v

)Id.tt ''^ YitfRjubni trid-

si eirf.'t bns janoi^ibnoo iBiii
t n . >rld- bajB^etehnxr

sd srf^ lo eevlee
cq 8-t/. 1c- ncl^rrloe ft/itf nl '3rcl
no.Ut , '^JMI ed bluorls \bu3z,

- i^fi^JLi'ii Brief lo .

. eoicfe bnB eisrf P:
flpf eri^ iol Y' IBe8eOf ' n

eecJB^S b.tiB IBISVCR eri^
J Bl8.tssX ilerf.i
.^1 evieoe^ otf 31! sovleenieri^ v;orir.

orf d-nsioJlli/R si
bl: oct biBgsi n'd-tif bBri ,-iM

ii be^eeiecJ-ni 8
?>rU nl ajffjaei*8 lo well erf 3 snJtffllr/set nl

Adams: Irrigated areas so that they would have a full

season' s supply rather than an ample supply In the
spring, and little or no water in the fall.

There is one point I want to go back and emphasize,
That is that water from federal works should be
distributed according to state laws. Here is what
the President said in his message:

The distribution o f the water, the division
of the streams among irrigators, should be left
to the settlers themselves in conformity with
State laws and without interference with those
laws or with vested rights.

I am sure those directly concerned with water in the
West were fully in accord with the above statement
from the President's message. I feel just as sure
that the Geological Survey and Mr. Newell were not.
Western influence was able to get into the law a
provision that the federal governjment should apply
to the states for water rights for their projects
Just as anyone else might do. I have no right to
say Just what was in Mr. Newell s mind, but it must
have been a thorn in his side to go into Mr. Mead's
state of Wyoming and apply for rights to appropriate
water for the North Platte project.

seoifi

3 ni xlqqtrB elqirrs i + e i ^Irqt/8 8 'nee

.IlBl erf* ni tectBv .

-.3 bna 3foBcf 05 <tf tfnsw I ?.i eit

ad fcliiorfe : tefael mcil Te^je.' al

be^ircfl
irf ni bljee

tb 9ri.-* t ' -trfd 1 c no.Mird.f'ictriJ.b erfT

lal &cf bluor . ' ' ami* E i^ 'io

otf
8f; ^neie" B ewf

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avodB en^> ridfw bnooojs nl iH.nt tew

. -iBBBeiv ; 9bleei < I erict moil

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JB eld* RBW ; 'terfseW

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-08f,OTC t !<-- 'TftCtflW lOl BQ^BCfB 9ff*

.ob cf-ffjjiit!

,bnir E'lI'^wsK .rcM njt KB *

8'bj?9i . able elrf ni n & ne

c o^ erfrfsi'i it tqg bn* j /W lo ect_^

Controversy Between Mr. Newell and Dr. Mead

Baum: Can you tell me more about the controversy between

Mr. Mead, Mr. Maxwell, and Mr. Newell?

Adams: The controversy was very bitter. It came to be,

really, a personal matter between them.

It first came to a head in 1900 In connection

'
with a meeting of the National Irrigation Congress in

Chicago. I was in Cheyenne working with Mr. Wilson
on the California report. I a sked permission to
attend that Chicago meeting. Mr. Mead was president
of the Irrigation Congress that year. Mr. Maxwell,
who was directing the propaganda of the National
Irrigation Association, was also chairman of the
executive committee of the Irrigation Congress.

Dr. Mead had invited Mr. J. S. Dennis, who was
head of irrigation in Canada where legislation largely
copied after the Wyoming law had been enacted, to
present a paper describing that. When the matter

got to Mr. Maxwell he stopped it and was in a position

to force Dr. Mead to cancel that invitation to Mr.

Dennis. That caused a very bitter feeling in itself
and was the beginning of that feeling, as far as I
know.

Here, I'd like to have you read this letter from
Dr. Mead to Mr. Dennis withdrawing the invitation.
This was written in October, 1900. (They read copy

bt - 'OS IleweK ,jrJJ neewJeS Yetavo*-

neewtfocf ^enevcT^nco erfit cfuodB artoai tn JleJ irc^ naD

TIl8WK .iH bnB , ClawxaM ,tM ,baM .iM

,9d oi <MOJBO cff .isJd'ltf ^tev e*w Y 8<iev ' r *noo eriT

ewvtatf Tsd'd'JBa iBftoeiaq B t YlXei
':*oennoo nl 0091 nl bjeerf B o* eeiso c?eill *I
aedTtsnoD noi^sliil I^nol^aM eri* lo gn^tfeem B rfcflw
noaliW .iM rfrfi'/ efifle^erl 1 afiw I , -jeo.'rfO

o* no! a-/ bsjfa 3 I .tfioqai Bir

vblee'-, . r tM .snl^eeK og*-'

t flM .if .tjasY ^erirf eeei^floO nol^Bgliil

lurid *BT1 erirf "io BbnjBSflqciq erfrf snJttfo'iib eaw orfw
lo riBirilBrlo oelB 3BW ,nci*j3iocaeA nolJaglTiI
.
er , :tsC ,2 .L . =*lvnl bBrf

^rfw ebBflfiO nl nnlrfagjtiil lo basri
o^ , '. aed berf wI gnlmo^W eritf ns^'ijB belqoo

.tarn erW n^rfW .3&d3 snldlioeeb nsqa
leor B n}. BBW boa ^1 beqqode 0r< Ilawxe?-: .iM o*
,i, -1 ^arfcf Isofljso otf bBK .iG eoio'i

IXee*! nl ^nlfeet is^^ld -^rtev B baei/flo J-firiT

^nlleel 3sd3 ' " BW bna

wooof
jrctl is^Jel elrfrf bBei 00^ v t ei9H

ertt gnJwsibrf^lw clnnea .iM o^ baeM .
T ) , ^dorfoO nl ne^^ltw eaw ei

Adams
Baum:

Adams :

of letter).

But that was Mr. Maxwell, Why did this bitterness

carry over so strongly to Mr. Newell?

Mr. Maxwell was the principal promoter for federal

reclamation. He was working with Mr. Newell end others

for carrying out the type of legislation they wanted.

They considered Dr. Mead's interest in state laws and

state authority as standing in their way, Mr. Maxwell

and Mr. Newell w ere very closely associated.

Well, that controversy between Mr. Newell and
Mr, Mead smouldered on for years. It was very, very

bitter.

Mr. Mead left the department of Agriculture
in 1907. He had been invited to g o to Victoria,
Australia and take charge of the government irrigation
works there, to be chairman of the state's River and
Water Supply Commission, Victoria had expended a
large amount of money on extensive irrigation works
and very little of the water w as being used. They had
no settlers. The problem of settlement was the
problem Dr. Mead had to meet. They had to get that
water into use so the government w ould get its
investment back and get the land under irrigation.
Dr. Mead was in charge of that for the next seven or
eight years. It was there that he got his ideas on

lo :ar

7tf8 .BS

. 9W9H *I

lanebe^ tol Tetfor, 'aw IlawxaK ,iM

b na IIsv/eM .- *tf giil^iow BBV . :id'BfliBloei

vericf ncid'Bl lo e<

bn\e EWB! scfr.^e r : . beneblanoo ^jeriT

^xM .

.bed ) yi9V lew II9W9I4 .tM

bna IleweM ,iM noe.vd-o . .vonir

. tM

- 1o ctr?- --b 9ri^ i'

,' V orf - 9d be/f nK .7091

ctnemrtiav " iifl^

iev ;-.awtirfo ed .

. H \f , t _ t - n>r

;xs .burl fllnod-oiV . :i8Bli
BJlt.ow noloB^linl evlenectx* m . ono lo
.bssu 8^J 9rf SB w Trfaw sri^ "T

i saw ^rjemslrfrfea 1o meLdonq erfT .etelcfSee 00
bfiri Y rfT .^sein o^ bail bBsM .id xneldonq

? ii.t lebnsj bnei erfJ *s fcnis ji

ic novse *x3n erl^ 10! rfsrlrf lo eyiarfo n.f SBW bBM .
aaebl alii 3oa arf derf^ >ndrid e/w *I

100

Adams: land settlement which he later brought to California.
During that period, before Dr. Mead's return to
California in 1915 or 1916, Mr. Newell had gotten
into pretty deep trouble on the reclamation projects.
A lot of opposition had grown up from the water users
on the projects. I don't recall now the details of
it, but the projects weren't paying out and the govern
ment was unable to get them to and the settlers on
the projects became very critical of Mr. Newell. I
believe there was also opposition by some of the state
governments regarding the activities of the Reclamation
Service but do not recall just what it was.

Baum: Didn't the settlers feel that they had to pay too

heavy payments when they were Just getting started?

Adams: That undoubtedly had to do with it, yes. I remember
the Engineering News Record carried a long series of
articles after thorough investigations on the projects.

Mr. Newell had been succeeded for about two years,
as I remember, by a Mr. Davis from Utah. Then Arthur
P. Davis, chief engineer of the Reclamation Service,
took over. A commission was set up, which Dr. Mead
headed, to inquire into the reclamation work and find
out what should be done. That was set up by the
Secretary of the Interior.

Baton: So Dr. Mead was going to investigate Mr. Newell 's work?

001

d tetffil erf rioJrfw cfneinI** bnsl :ciru
o;J nisi i 91 e'bfl .iG 0-ioled t bolidq *erid-
jg ben IleweVT .iM ,^191 10 5 191 cl
"^arnBlos'i srto no sldoon* qeeb
ieeu te^flw eri* oioil qn nwoig br oqqo lo ^ol A

Blis^eb e>> II^oeT ^'nob I .e^otorrq ericf no

' 'neiew ed <- erfcf ctrcf ,.rfl

no eiftlcMse srlcf Jbnfl o* rnsritf tfsg c^ eldamr BBW ^nem

,IJ>rfeH .iM lo XBoUIio Y^^V 6J33j

S^B^B ejrii Tto rno ^ Q o*J^* BW e-rsrirf eveJXsd

'^tfifliBloeH arid -'cd-ivirfofi er : ' ^ e rfn sirmevog

.e Jsrfwr rtewf, HBO en *on

^ ijBq o3 bad - - u *rfd- I91 anelrf^sB eritf rf'nbia TBS

iedmae- .597; t ^.^ ricflw ob ct bad ^Ibo.. -y ctaril

lo B' B baittflo bnccsefl eyf>M ^n J leeclang arict

no encltfesltfeevnl risuoi- a BSloi^tB

'/w^ :tuodfi icl bebeeroye ned fcr.ri IfeweM ,TM
. :JU cioil slvfid ,-d! - ^ecfeiner I r.

t eoJ:vi98 noi^BinBjoeH arfd' lo lednigntt laid t lvje' .
baeM . 'olriw t q0 J -e BBW noleelflintoc A .TSVO al-

<xw fiol^cmflloerr eri* o*nl iirpnJ o3 t bfcBeri
Yd q0 ^ee BBW tffirfT ,anob ec

,10 IT lo Y^J 8 *-'* 13 *

. atfBgl^Bevnl o* g: -.aw baaM .

101

Adams: By this time Mr. Newell had been forced out.

While Mr. Mead was still in Australia, a lot of
that controversy between Mr. Newell and the settlers
was going on. Secretary of Interior Lane wanted Dr.
Mead to return to California and succeed Mr. Newell.
Dr. Mead said he wasn't going to bring up that old
bitterness again, so he declined. When later Dr.
Mead became chairman of the commission to investigate
the reclamation projects he was still professor of
rural institutions at the University of California,
It was at the conclusion of the commission's work
that he was made Commissioner of Reclamation.

Baum: What effect did this conflict between Dr. Mead and Mr.
Newell have on the work of Dr. Mead in the Department
of Agriculture?

Adams: It had no effect, except as it led to the constant
efforts to block our appropriations in Congress.

While Dr. Mead was still head of the Irrigation
Investigations in the Department of Agriculture, the
men in the field had little contact with the federal
reclamation projects. In later years our relations
with Mr. Newell 's people in the field were very pleasant,
As an example of this, Mr. Newell held a conference in
Salt Lake City of his project engineers to determine
methods of water delivery and management. I had

neecf IsweM .

to. 1 ' . llsitf^irA nl lllcfe asw b . -M ell/

drarl^
.
.JIo'. . bet j bBsM

tlC <- ! HBBW 9f blBE bBSM . iG

id .banlloeb orf oe ,

X O

"io toes w sd

B' trf

3frtcw e ' : lo nolewl ; JB BBW ,il

nsw arf 3jBrfJ
.:ed J-
nl br

''IITCtll

-^ ,ctoll9 oo bBff ^1
nl^Bliqc oolcf oc^ e^ic

sric. 1 t R-t;jct' A '- : o ^namtfiaqsG erld nl

noo el^rfil barf C-Xeil eri^ ni

al .e^of .

eiew eri^ nl elqoe 'swsK .iM rictiw

f>o; ; .-3 bled IJ&weH .iM ,8Jtrte In Iq^Bxe HB aA

.TO tfootq slri "ro rrfjto eiLaJ. 3.1
.tfr.emesBaJRm bnB vaevl cfjsw lo ebor'

emebA

102

Adams

previously prepared a bulletin on water delivery and
Mr. Newell invited me to be present and participate
in that conference, which I did. Later, when the
Reclamation Service decided to change their local
associations from water users' organizations to
irrigation districts, one of their attorneys undertook
to get the irrigation district legislation in the
various states of the West so amended as t o enable
the Reclamation Service to work through them. That
attorney and I became very close friends and worked
together very closely.

I feel that the controversy between Dr. Mead
and the others is of historical interest not because
of the personal bitterness that arose, but rather
because it resulted from a fundamental difference
as to federal reclamation policy. I, of course,
have described this controversy as I saw it. I wish
that some researcher would try to look into Mr. Newell 1 a
and Mr. Maxwell's points of view.

I missed a good bet I think. I tried once to
get in touch with Mr. Maxwell in his later years.
He was living in Phoenix. I wrote to him, but got
no reply. I should have gotten on the train and gone
to see him. After his d eath I read in the newspaper
that he turned all his papers over to Tulane University.

r ab toJevr ru I Ilwcf B b&taqs>tq

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iftqp.qewsn rf^ ni bsst I rfctjie b airi tsitlA .mirf see <
enjB^uT orf ievo BTSCJB' ^mtJ* erf

103

Adams: Why to Tulane, I don't know. We ought to have had
those here.

Comments on the Reclamation Act

Baum: It would sound like Dr. Mead would oppose the 160-acre
limitation.

Adams: I think not. This was a basic provision in the

Homestead Act and was, I think, accepted by everybody
as to land acquired from public domain. I'm not sure
as to what his views would have been as to water for
land already in private ownership and developed.
However, I believe that it was while Dr. Mead was
Commissioner of Reclamation that the Secretary of
the Interior waived this provision of the Act for
the Imperial project and a project in some other state.
I doubt very much whether Mr. Mead would have advocated
applying the 160-acre limitation to water for lands
already developed, but of course I can not express
his own views. I do know that as Commissioner of
Reclamation he was constantly confronted with specu
lation in private lands held under federal projects
and was constantly endeavoring to circumvent it.
What I have in mind was speculation in unirrigated
private land. That is as far as I care to go in
expressing Dr. Mead's views on the 160-acre limitation.

eox

vcri otf tfrfgtfo eW ,wcrof o x ' . !' <xJ v

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31 orftf yeoqqo bluow bseM . *I

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eastoxe Jon nao T -RIC.-O.O lo tfud ,beqclvsb

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10k

Baum:

Adams :

Baum:

Adams:

Baum:
Adams :

On this point where Roosevelt said vested rights

should not be disturbed, I was wondering what Dr.

Mead's idea was on the right to the use of water in

excess of what the crops required. Would he have

recommended reduction of the person's use of water?

There isn't anydoubt that he would. In fact, a great

deal of our emphasis in our work in the old Irrigation

investigations was to encourage more economical use of

water.

Yes, I know it was. Would Dr. Mead have recommended

taking away certain vested rights and forcing the

water user to change his methods?

Dr. Mead recognized that you couldn't disturb vested

rights. He would not have advocated any procedure

that would have taken away rights that were really

vested by the existing laws.

Even if these rights were to the wasteful use of

water?

I think so. The main point is that he recognized

that vested rights must be protected. All of the

state laws and the Federal Reclamation Act state

that the right to use of wat erdepends upon its

beneficial use. The question frequently arises as

to whether what might be called "uneconomical" use

of water is benficial use. The difference between

t bscte "r,veoc5? i9riw inlcc eldJ nO tr

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&ri b.r , 10 erfcf *riw 1o eeeoxe

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j? t :t .b.; 'j- #di/dbYn^ J'naJt ".

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to eey- iBolr . * o* '-saw enoi^Bsl^BftT'

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sJB^3 cfoA noU*iBloeH Iflisbe'? erf: v I>n HWE! erf

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cemsbA

105

Adams: what is wasteful use and what Is economical use of

water is not easy to define. I think that I am right
in saying that the tendency in the court decisions
and in administrative control is to more nearly
approach what might be called more economical use.
A striking example is the 1928 constitutional amend
ment in California providing that the right to water
does not extend to waste of water or unreasonable
use or unreasonable methods of diversion.

Baura: Under the Reclamation Act, the money spent by the

government was to come from the sale of public lands
and was to be repaid by the settlers within a certain
period of time.

Adams: The first period was twenty years.

Baum: Did Dr. Mead agree with that, or did he think more
money should be appropriated than would result from
the sale of public lands?

Adams: That question didn't arise at that time. The increased
use of money for reclamation projects and the gradual
decrease of the total amount coming in from the sale
of public lands brought about an amendment which made
the royalties from oil lands available for that purpose.
Around the late 1920 's or a few years after Dr. Mead
became Commissioner of Reclamation he called to the
attention of the leaders In the West the fact that

CfUJL

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riolriw cTnacrbneraB ns iuodss d-/igi;oicf sbnBl ollcfi/q lo
.eoqiuq tBi!3 rcol oldBllBVB sbnBl llo sel^lB

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er(;l ocf r ex! rol^BmaloeH lo TelmmoO

jBricf rfoBl erfrf rfcei* ar Tiebel erlcT lo

T.1

:e&

106

Adams: the proceeds from public lands sales and oil royalties
were fast drying up and that If reclamation was to
continue in the West under federal aid, additional
funds must be appropriated for that purpose.

That was the reason for organizing the present
National Reclamation Association. The old National
Irrigation Congress had lapsed. I think its last
meeting was in California in 1915. Dr. Mead got
Governor George H. Dern of Utah to call a convention
in Salt Lake City. There was a large convention I was
there and the National Reclamation Association was
formed. It has been a very active organization for
the promotion of reclamation since then.

Baum: For the purpose of lobbying for appropriations from
the general fund.

Adams: Yes. Of course the association has taken up many
other matters, but particularly I think matters of
national reclamation policy.

Baum: Did Dr. Mead believe that the whole cost of reclamation
projects should be repaid by the benefited lands?

Adams: The only e xpress ion o f his that I recall is that the
farmers should be required to pay only what they can
afford. That, of course, was a very indefinite sum.
The theory is that they can afford to pay the amount
added to the value of the land by the use of water.

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o3 '9i 11 a gulY**-^ ^e#'i STOW

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q o^ : J-arict al -^ic^fit erfT

)6tr e/ 1 "^jal /!* lo flfrfjgv ftlii

107

Adams

Baum:

Adams :

Baura:

Some farmers can afford to pay more than others.
Higher productive land can stand a higher charge than
lower productive land. Land producing higher value
crops can, In fact, really pay what It has to p ay, I
think; however, land producing low value crops must
work on a much smaller margin.

I believe sometimes now an uneconomic unit will be
partially supported by a more economic unit elsewhere.
This of course has been a live Issue In discussion
of the state water plan, particularly In connection
with protecting areas In which water originates against
diversions to Southern California. In such a large
undertaking as a state water plan there are bound to
be areas needing and demanding water that could not
stand the entire cost of providing it. Whether it
would be good business to make economic units carry
part of the cost of uneconomic interest or by special
appropriations of the state government is not likely
to be the basis on which the issue will be derided.
Rather, it will be decided on a political basis. It
will be a question of who has the votes in state
legislature.

Another idea is that part of the share of the cost of
the project should be repaid by power users, who may
or may not be the same people as are using the water.

vox

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criw t 8i98L f lewoq "^d bJ

6TB 8J elqoeq MIBB ^^ ad

108

Adams: The first federal project on which power was a matter
of importance was the Salt River Project in Arizona.
The income from power on that project was applied to
paying off the cost of the project. The charge to
irrigators was reduced materially by the income from
power. Subsequently other federal projects developed
power and the income was allocated to paying part of
the cost of the project, thereby reducing the cost to
the irrigators.

, Around the '30's Dr. Mead got a new idea. He
felt the income from power should not go to the project
to reduce the cost to the irrigators, but should go
into the reclamation fund for further projects. He
so recommended in one of his annual reports to the
Secretary of the Interior,

Baum: That would be very unpopular with irrigators, wouldn't
it?

Adams: Undoubtedly so. To what extent that principle was

applied in projects developed later when Dr. Mead was
commissioner of reclamation I can't say.

Baum: Would Dr. Mead have approved the present power policy
of the Bureau of Reclamations?

Adams: I don'tthink I have a right to s ay. I'm very sure
that he was not an advocate of public power in the
same sense as those whose main idea was public ownership.

rfolrtw no ;tof;onq L&i&bt. it acf tsnusbA

I ctoetoil lavtH tffe srirf ew eonatfioqml to

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.^"sf.oia arftf to ^iioo

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.t<r iied'nl

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.v in ' I x* ^ tfrigli averi

.ej1^ r q to a^noovJbJs HB *on BJBW arf

ew Bebl alr as 9anea

109

Adams :

I think he would have wanted the income from power
on the Central Valley Project to go toward reducing
the cost to irrigators and making the project econ
omically feasible. I think he was in favor of having
public agencies have preference in acquiring that
power, but I think he was not adverse to the sale of
some of that power to the public utilities if that
was the business thing to do, Mr, Mead had a very
good business head. He was in no sense a doctrinaire.
Many advocates of public power are doctrinaires. Dr.
Mead was certainly not adverse to public ownership
of power, but that was not his chief aim, I feel
sure he would be in entire harmony with President
Eisenhower's ideas as to cooperative relationships
between private enterprise and the government wherever
that is of most advantage to the government and to
the project,

I am sure you already know that many of our
irrigation districts in California have a large income
from power developed on their projects and that some
of them could not have financed their storage without
this income. Districts that develop power on their
projects are Imperial, Turlock, Modesto, Oakdale,
South San Joaquin, and Nevada, Modesto and Turlock
districts have had an income for a good many years,

. f arid- Jbetfrusw evBrl ; idt I

"t biBh'Oit os oct ct 09 {.01*1 vsIIjeV iBitfflaO rf* no

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orf -om 1c .rfct

/cnjf ybBailfl noy; a*urs me

r r. svfsr.' fl.fni( nl e^o.i cil

i-jterfrf no bw- tl

3u< bsonenll vBri cfon

.amoonl

.^eCc; .o^eebcM t ai:- , [Blisqitil ^TB erfoe{;otq

:ii tiB bB/i svBd

110

Adams: and have put their finances in very fine shape by the
income from power. You also know, I am sure, that
the Central Valley Project is highly dependent on
power and that the state water plan has counted on
power income to make the project feasible,

Baum: When the cost of power is high and the cost of

irrigation water is lower as a result, don't the same
farmers, who are the power users, pay more for the
power and less f or t he water, but the same for water
and power together?

Adams: That is true, but the cost to a certain extent is
shifted to those who don't irrigate.

Baum: To industrial and municipal users?

Adams: Yes. And there is a very good argument why they should
pay a certain portion of the cost because they benefit
from the development brought about by the project.
The indirect benefits of the project go to them. That
is really a principle in our irrigation district laws.
Many of our irrigation districts include the cities.
The land within the cities is taxed on the principle
that they benefit from the development.

Baum: Did you come into contact with Carey Act developments?

Adams: Personally, not at all. A few years ago I prepared
for the Pood and Agricultural Organization a little
report on the nature of cooperation among water users

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no Serfmroo esrf OB I '**^8 '?fi^ ct&/ftf bn* newoq

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.3nsmqc.l>vfc sii^ ir> Y ftj

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be C -'Y we'i A . 3on t ^Ifnoc

'-.sinje ? erf*

^tsw r STWctBrt srf* no tfic

'B8

amebA

Ill

Adams: In the United States and included the experiences
of a number of Carey Act projects in Idaho.

Dr. Mead realized that under the Carey Act there
was no adequate federal or state control of the
relationship between the settlers and the private
company and no satisfactory control over speculation.
For that reason he advocated stronger public control
over the Carey Act projects and all other projects

when there was a private contractor relationship
between the landowners and the private company.

fas :: fane 2nU erii nl

.orfflbl ni t ^31*3 'lo rtsdwi/n B

^oA ; ; isbr 'Jjcei ;sM .iG

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a tsvo loi-noo ^T:o^r>BlEli!se on bnfi ^nBqx.
la'uq tsj)nor^B berfBoovbe

i 1 / . Y S<IR ^ -* r -^ idvo

io*cs'i ' -<q B EBW eiorfrf neriw

mcbnfll srfct naew^ed

:eraBbA

112

IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS,

Adams

Baum:

Adams

Baum:
Adams :

1902-1906

UTAH INVESTIGATION

Here is a copy of the Report of Irrigation

Investigations in Utah which came out in 1903*

(Bulletin 12ij. of the Office of Experiment Stations.)

I see this was done under the direction of Elwood

Mead, assisted by R. P. Teele, A. P. Stover, A. F.

Doremus, J. D. Stannard, Frank Adams, and G. L.

Swendsen.

Yes. Each one of us, except Mr. Doremus, prepared

a report to cover a certain stream or group of streams,

Mine were the Virgin River and its tributaries, Kanab

Creek, and later the Sevier River, which is farther

north.

Why did Dr. Mead decide to undertake this project?
Dr. Mead was devoting much of his interest at that
time to promoting better state water laws. The
first comprehensive study in that direction was the
one in California, reported in Bulletin 100 of the
Office of Experiment Stations. At the time the Utah
study was begun, sentiment was growing in Utah for a
new law following the principles developed in Wyoming.

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xecfnJ 1 lo rfot/m vb BBW bjssM .

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B icl rifl^ T I -ot^i EBW Jneail^flee ,nygacf saw

ni bf ob eeJaloniiq sri WP! wen

: emsbA

113

Adams: It was thought that a study of conditions In Utah
would show how they had progressed under existing
Imws and Indicate the desirable features of the new
law, should the state pass one,

Baum: So the federal government was assisting the state

by gathering material on which the state could base
a new state law.

Adams: Yes.

The Virgin River

Adams: The Virgin River was my main assignment. It was the
first job on which I was on my own. Naturally I
was very enthusiastic about it and worked very hard.
The purpose was a history of development, how the
water rights situation had worked out, how the farmers
operated their systems, what controversies they had
had, the size and capacity of the ditches, the stream
supply, the approximate area of land available for
irrigation, and in general the information needed to
understand irrigation in the Virgin River area.

The Virgin River area had been settled soon after
the Mormons moved into Utah. There had been some
scouting in southern Utah in the early '^O's and
actual settlement began there in the late '0's and
early '60 f s. One influence that brought about this

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'Ei nififfi ^ SJ3K '

. .; sw I ' ;

'\o YiocteJri > srfT

aifv

. i ;cteY ; bed'fiieqo

esla srict t
acfBirrlxctqriB srfJ

vtolnl grfd- lJ8t*ri :>, ^.ct /BJiliil

.B^IB tsv ' s,tt n.t noJ.-tB^ltil bnact.

^ barf eiB tevlH nlgnlV

. -.?U o^nl n&ynm
bn. E ! '

rfrf nl e- -.^9<5 "B

^r- ' *BdJ eon?jjltfi t ,e'0d

Ill;

Adams: settlement was the shutting off of the cotton supply
from the South when the Civil War opened. Some
experiments had been made In cotton growing down there
and Brighara Young thought they might be able to furnish
cotton in the absence of cotton from the South, The
main settlement was at St. George and that's where I
made my headquarters.

My timing In going there was made to coincide
with a meeting of a state irrigation congress in
Salt Lake. My job at this meeting was not only to
become acquainted with the people there, but to obtain
passage of one of those resolutions calling on Congress
to support our appropriations, which I did. I met at
that convention the Mormon bishop of St. George, the
district attorney of Washington County, arri a Miss
Work, who was superintendent of an Indian school on
Santa Clara Creek, a small tributary of the Virgin.
I had previously, in Cheyenne, conferred with an
engineer who had recently completed a survey of the
line between Arizona and Utah and got part of my
bearings from him as to the country and where to go.

The travel from Salt Lake was by train to a station
about fifty or sixty miles from St. George and by
horse stage from there. It was a new country for me,
new experiences. I hadn't seen much of the desert

-cddoo sdd lo llo gttJddurfB srf-' dnaine.Lld'ee :einj8l>A

eat ..ben3qo IB livIO vid- nedw rfctuaB erid mcil

{o nwob gnlwois ncct^co nl at f;d baxl a^cts

9d ctrijjlrr, T <; 's^oil^ s nuo<

'. -:uoc eri^t me- ";o eonev t ni r-'

,^8 tffl 8BW rfnftft

eblon .: , t'BW

nl IB^B js '' f asm e ri^lw

. llfiJ

. --rid- ddlw . J:j9i/pOi &d

BE orid 1-- ^EEJsq

i I . I r ! . tqo'iq.' : oct

9rf;' ,

BE" . TirisfiW "ic YSfi" *** do!

HJSW CJ^W tTltoW
^O YIBCi.

f>Y9^^ nJ - ivaiq

exi^ lo . :. e b' .fasos

YBI lo d-: HJB riBCtU bn* iwiosJrrA r;9ewdecf

o* BB miri moil s
..land vo r SBW e>leJ dfjsS aioit levencf 6riT
.32 roil Rellfli ' Id

,919jrfC

lo rfotorr ns^s d'nbgr .eeon^iieqxe u&n

Adams: country. I had spent a little time in Nevada around

Reno when helping to prepare our reports on California
work, but here we found an area of light rainfall,
high temperatures.

I made my headquarters at the old Snow Hotel,
Snow was quite a name in that country. A man by the
name of Snow had been in charge of the settlement
there. One of his sons was president of the St.
George Stake and another kept the Snow Hotel, which
was the only hotel in the whole basin at the time.

Back of St. George was a tall butte. My first
morning I went up there and looked out over the
village and the country and got my geography more
or less straightened out. As I w ent back I noticed
a horse-driven bus going through the street and some
elderly people getting in. I found they were the
temple workers. Every morning the older people who
were more or less without means were gathered up and
taken to the Mormon temple and there they worked
during the day.

The first thing to do in going into that area
was to become acquainted with the church officials
because they were the guiding authorities in almost
all affairs, temporal or religious.
Baum: This was a completely Mormon settlement?

bfr vef! til otnlJ efctctl

Bin- ic siioc?ei 100 ijsqstq oct gnlqleK nsrfw onefi

'I "io seta n* bnc aw eie.rf rfwd 3liow

.eet0^6T9qme>-t riglrf
.le^oH won8 bio i9^tB0pfc

. T;tm;co ^.erfd' nl em^n

cfi-- 'iE ^o amsfi

.^S erlcf 'Ic d-r -r SISCP i enO

won2 ri? ^qr?ji larf^onB "8

.
^e ! . ^oifd IXjs3 B SBW egrroe-: . lo 5fojeP

erf^ 'lev- T bflB ierfi qu d'no'.- I

siom YrfQ^ r ir iCe S Y fi ^ c< ? ^ ns I*i3ni/f - alllv

;d cfn \ eA ,*no ben

efr< i -.Trfcf juilo^ sird nevlift-eeiorf

.nl golJ

. -.93fio

.<ein ^rroxf^lw esel ic 3io
be: .ruB elqw* norrnoM rf;t orf

^ rl-firftf o^r. " ' cb o^ . ^eiil -

af :^ rWJw be^nJfBtrpoB f\mooed o^ BBW

arftf s^< w

*p S^-Ti ''"o J^^ 5;f ,

^tfee n- - oo JB SJBW eirfT

116

Adams: Yes. I found only one non-Mormon family in the

settlement and they were there for the health of the
father.

Baum: Were they in any way hostile to you or the other
non-Mormons?

Adams: I never received a more cordial reception anywhere
than down in that area. The first Sunday after my
arrival I went to the Mormon meeting. The bishop,
with whom I had traveled from Salt Lake down to St.
George, told them of my presence and why I was there
and told the people to help me out In every way possible,
So I had a good s tart. A very, very pleasant experience
In my personal relations with the people. That was
repeated everywhere I went.

Baum: Were you alone there?

Adams: I was entirely alone, I covered the Virgin and its
tributaries from Rockville, a short distance below
Zion Canyon, down through Utah, a small corner of
Arizona, and to St. Thomas on the Muddy in Nevada
which was the last settlement before the Virgin
entered the Colorado. . Some of the settlements had
only two or three families. A few had perhaps fifteen
or twenty families. St. George had maybe four or five
hundred people. I'm guessing. The largest field was
out from St. George. I measured the flow of water in
the ditches and before the season was over obtained

erf*

nt
erfct iol ?is>ti3

ertt oct li^ecri

bnuol.
ttus

nclj oo sicwr e bevlsoei teven I

er*T .sei^ ^d^ nl nwob oarf*

^
e^ >vr I v blcxt ^egioeP

tsv ,v-fev A .*ni- s bBxl I o2

rftflw r 'i lence

. 3 w 1

J enojs JJCY TW

erfi fort* nlr-viiV - t.evco I . ine

wo. r : f a B

B t rietf
f>[ii no

B erict 1? . loD erii beie^ne

-rill r wel A . ^iriit 10 owrf y

'nj*l Y^nsw*
.alqcaq b^ibrurri

n! r lo well erftf beineaein I . . ao

ievo EBH noeeae arf^ bn* aortoctlb edct

1
.

no.'

117

Adams: representative crop returns. People didn't live on
their farms. The Mormons had the European plan of
living in the settlements and farming the land outside.

During my few days in Salt Lake I had met the
president of the Mormon Church, who was then Joseph
P. Smith. I believe he was a nephew of the original
Joseph Smith who had organized the church. He told
me the people along the Virgin were very poor, the
water supply was very meager, and that the church
was very much interested in doing anything it could
to help them.

Baum: What did the people do with their crops?

Adams: They were mostly used locally. Alfalfa and grain

were their main crops. The surrounding country was
cattle country. I think most of the farmers had
cattle. They sold very little, as far as I know. It
was a self-contained area. They grew some fruit and
would carry some of it and their other produce to the
northern settlements and get a little money. I do
not remember where they marketed their cattle. They
didn't raise enough produce to sell much. The irrigated
areas were so small and total production so meager
compared to the area that most of the young men of the

Til

( s>vll

Ic flBlq njBsqoiirS rftf bBrf Enoffiidt wfT . TJX*I
bistro f>nel srii galansl bns ec^n^nel^^eE erlt ni gnlvll
; d-erc ber.' I jleJ cf Je8 nl Bj,sb we* Y" 1 ?niiuQ
j 8BW crfw ,ri3Ti/rfO nowsoM

lyrio besiflBBio fcfiff

eri^ t icoa Y^V eisw nlsilV -ncl^j e/qoea eritf IB

rfoit/rio ^Brfrf bn . ^BI ^x ^IqqtfB lerfjew

bluco :' -(ctYnJB juifob nl be^aete^ni rfoum Y <iev 8fiw

,strid c
:-b Iqc^c e
~I b&f

8JBW Y"J' ^' .EqOTO f* eiW

bar! ; 'riS I

sfi nal 88 t elJc)-iX Tfi&v bios

^it;^' .', veir ,aei be oo-ll BBW

ocf eouboiq i .< $t It SWOB

,y *f-?31I. r. ctsp bn* edi v

.elrf'ctq ilerf^ b&;t:rfije4n Yrlrf e isxfineinoi cfon

. i/Bi Use o* eo0fx 7 'nbib

e nol.loj/boiq IB^O^ bfi* Ilame OB RBOIB

rid- 1

118

Adams: settlement had to go elsewhere. They couldn't

support an increase in population. Consequently
there were many more young women than young men. In
that entire basin there were only about lij.,000 acres
irrigated in scattered settlements all up and down the
river.

There were very few records of stream flow so I
made numerous measurements of diversion and of princi
pal tributaries during the season. In some cases I
put in gauges and had the ditch tender take daily
readings. Prom the various measurements and some
records obtained from the county engineer I could
approximate the flow throughout the season.

Baura: Wasn't a lot of this work what would usually have
been done by an engineer?

Adams: The engineering phases of the investigation were

not difficult and were similar to those with which

I had had experience in the Cache Creek investigations.

One very Interesting thing to me was a canal
that had been under construction for about ten years
and they hoped to complete it the following year.
The purpose was to lead water from the Virgin River
out onto what was known as Hurricane Bench, a very
fine body of land. The reason for undertaking that
was to get more land to keep more sons in the area.

nl .rr
r.e-roje 000 t .j.ll
srtf nwcb bns ci

nsirow $m/o^ enow Y 11 * 1

?Ino eiaw enerict nle*d

enerlT

br i.flftB! ei/otsmufl

. gnliirf? a

e^ *rfrf bjRit

. :ibja3i

bluoo 1 isonl^na ^tfnwoo erict ! >:ooot

J KlRjnlxorr

ev.gr! Y^jC^werj blt/ow ^ariw >(iow eJ' IB ^'na*W

?ienJt?,ne cue ^cf enob need

ei9w ncl > *io segjarfq %nlt9$nl:$D& eriT

rioirfw rfJlw r leliffile eiev. Illb ^cn

cl*flsl.-t"- :-{9iO e. i.i ni on ft^qxa brf barf I

Jen BO B BEW ew o* 7x1 1 tit ^nid-Beie^n.? Y's^v f

->rf d-wocffi ic 'oi/td-enoo nebn0 need b*ri 3&rii

.iflY gnlwollol erid- At etfelc

ie\ 'gfiV erl^ mort teotew bJ erf Bfl -q edT

Y*i9V B ^rlonea ausoiiii/H BB nwoni pew rf*riw orfno rf;
nliijrfTebm; TO! noeBen ei . fiBl 1c ^bod enll
srfct nJt enoe eiom qeaf o^ bnal eic<n rfeg orf esw

ebA

119

Adams: Hurricane Bench was then a sagebrush desert.
When Mrs. Adams and I passed through there in 19ij-7
found the thriving settlement of Hurricane. That
canal had been built by the farmers taking out stock,
which they paid for in labor. Every year when they
had time they would work on the construction of
the canal and they finally made it. They did receive
toward the end about $5000 from the church to help
complete it, but otherwise the entire expense was
paid for in labor of the local people. They weren't
afraid to work.

The custom down there was for travelers to stay
at the home of the bishop or with some family who
undertook to take care of travelers. In the little
town of Rockville was the dearest, motherly old lady,
Mrs. Hall, who had come out with the original migration
across the plains. Her husband was ill and she herself
brought him out in a pushcart. Terrible hardships.
They had no sooner reached Salt Lake than they were
sent on this mission down into the south. She told
me this story. They had no resources. They had to
work for others to get something to live on. It
wasn't until the crops of the others had been planted
that they were able to plant some themselves on the
little land allotted to them. The only thing they

& nerf?
ew ' -nrfo rf^woirtt beser.o I ; . .:tH n.

'Mi/H lo tffletneI;tctB g-nlvlirfct erf* bnwol
I -nswiiBl sritf ^d tflJucf need barf ijsnflo

.todBl nl
^f -.;Iuow Y 9 ^^ - ;s ^

-Koei bJtb y . '

qXeri , :e eri^ btBWO^

'.tne eric* Eltri-
^*r-9i9U' Y 9rfT 'sool rlrf lo iccifll ni no'i

. -ow oct
^ P : v sifc> 9ffT

or { w to qoriaicf orf? lo emori er(* *B

nl .stel-avsi^ Tto SIBO

.. . .-eeiaeb ft'lct e/ inlooH lo fl,-

;io .f -' iwo r.' , ' .

111 esw bncdawri teH .Bnlalc eri* BEOIOB

'q B nJ

bariofti i^nooe on bari
jj, C j . - ^b ncieEim elri* no

.esntuoEaT on bsri ^rfT .Y^o^e -
rfl .no 9V* I o,l :; aiencto iol Xf

.-lnB ^rf atsritfo off* lo n ! ^aw

erf. r '9Ruirf* aroG *na.f ' -f

120

Adams: could raise at the end of the season was brooracorn.
When the time came for them to take what little
produce they had raised up into the southern settle
ments to sell to get a little money for their own
necessities, all the settlements had been supplied.
She said they carried the produce all back and practically
lived on broomcorn the rest of that year. That shows
what devotion to some idea will do for you.

One thing that helped me a great deal down there
was that I frequently joined in with the people in
their social gatherings. I also went to the Sunday
meetings occasionally. When I was out in the field
I visited with the people and got well acquainted
with a lot of them. Those close contacts are really
what help you in your work in a job such as I had.

My travel was of course entirely by team. I
carried my personal effects and camping equipment
and my equipment for measuring water. If when night
fall came I was not near a settlement where I could
obtain accomodations, I'd unhitch the team, water and
feed them, tie them up, prepare my meal, spread out
my blankets, spend the night, get up in the morning
and start out again. A very interesting experience.
I haven't had one since that equaled it.

My territory included Kanab Creek, which isn't

ew ncsBs 8 aritf lo brie erf* eta ealfil bliroo
r oct morl,} 10*1 KO omltf erf* nerfW
merf*0os erf* o*ni qu beal>- Yrf* eoirboiq

ilsrf.t rtol Y snora r^rfll B rfe^ oct Ilee oct erfnera
eed barf act/- flf ^BaJ^lBeeoen

bsliiRc Tsrf^ bias erfS
rfe *flrfT .ta^ ctari^ *o ctesT ericf ntoomootcf no bevll

tot c e^bi ar

3i9ri.-t awcfc JjBf f *Bri^ snlrf*.'-

nl slqceo ri* rfctlw nJ b^ ^l#necfOPil I rferfcf E*W

uS rf^ act *naw oels . re loos lier'i

ni ^iro P.J?W I nsrfW .Y--C" c ^8JSo '3wi

Haw *e?. bna alqoeq ff.t njlw fc-; I

osrfnoo seol^ eecrCT .: f a ric'

.buri IP -^ dot ' o^ >?TOW IITOY - *Briw

I ,mfict Y^ TtLeiltne level* YW

*r e s*oeYie lanr s^^q Y^-

^e*/> iWaBaci ic7 ^nsmqlupe ym bnB

bluos I 3l**se B ^Bs^ ; ?tw I ewBO HB!

.ITB9^. b'l ,8. "OOB C<lB(

m eiBceiq qu ,rar{ct beel

' qrj *es *rfS-tn rf*

.eonelT Jesi9*nl Y^SV * nlBSB ctc r o

.*! belB0pe *BI{* eon! 8 ^no bBrf i'novsri I
rioldw t ^96TO dBOBS bebwl- -co*lni* Y^

121

Adams

Baum:
Adams :

a tributary of the Virgin River. The main settlement

was Kanab. My first contact was with the president

of the stake, Mr. Wooley. I got my bearings through

him. He knew everybody, knew the conditions of

everybody.

So that In every case it was the religious leader

who was the main authority.

Yes.

In the early days in Utah water was alloted by
the church to various settlements. Later they operated
under an old territorial law which set up county
courts which had authority to allocate water in case
of controversy. Normally it was a mutual agreement
between the settlers as to water. If the settlers
themselves couldn't agree the church would arrange a
settlement. Sometimes the county court would make
the allocation, but there was not very much trouble.

There was occasionally some difficulty between
the users along the Virgin from Rockville to St.
George and the users in Long Valley along the upper
Virgin. They told me of several occasions when the
people around St. George and Rockville and La Verkin
felt the upper users were taking too much of the
supply and they got together and started up to have
a scrap with them. Before they got there they'd have

tevi '

*os T .Tfelor . .
:^n?ve w

B srfa lo

^1 98 BO ^19V8 H" dfl/lCt OS

ortt asw

Y 1 nl BY-sfc ^I-TSS 9rf^ nl

^IS^BJ . :

Y^< labnu

- sctiuoo
lo
.1
B J eigB :t vleem'

asw STerid' *;;' f ,
ne^twlec 4 " virs

bne 331

.5v>a .nJt?

r irtB el .' ^ bnR e;r-. . ic/orue slqoeq

3rfj- Slftl
JB hns T -

1 3 or 'id' sieleS . ;'Jfw qr

:cy/

122

Adams

Baum:

Adams

a torrential rain, the river would rise, and they

would hurry back to their own ditches. So there

were still some controversies.

When did you finish your investigation?

I got down there in February and w as there until

early fall.

The Sevier River

I had heard that there had been complete settlement
of water rights on the Sevier River, some distance
north of Kanab. I was very curious to find out if
that was a correct description of conditions. So
I a sked authority from Washington to make a s tudy
of the Sevier situation on my way back to headquarters
in Cheyenne. That permission was granted and after
finishing at Kanab I drove up through Springville,
Pangultch, Marysvale, and arrived at Richfield,
which was the main settlement in the Sevier Valley
at the time.

I find from my report that I reviewed some
forty cases of litigation on that stream. I found
there were a good many repetitions and inconsistencies.
The river ran through t he jurisdiction of three
separate county courts. There w ould be an adjudication
down here, for instance (look at map), by one judge.
The rights to the water of the stream would be

. ".It blucw nsvii "rftf t nljsi iMlinstioi &
, :rfoctlfc nwo od ^Txuri bl

eelaTSvoi^noo emoe IlJt^e

t/oY bib
bne Y^s'-^rf^ n -t nv/ob *c-

tevlH

need barl :sri bsri I

eo . ielv- no s^risirr To^awr 1o

11 4 1 ocf euciiuo -/Tev EBW . toton

.enci -.9b iosi-;

e s 9>lBa' ' 'Iiori^jja betfa t

-^m no noi^jatr^l ". isiveS arict lo
isct nc-teeim'iaq JariT .snne^sri!:

ovoi b I dst'3.T ctB gnJtrialnll
: r itx? bn* % sIsvR^TjsM

' Jnoineli.

: 80:

' ' I
ro! I . an^e ct

*toqe^ y: t I

:\&%13LL lo aeBjso

.-u/t sri ^ tt flrt

IB HB e(i bltfo . ;*fi;co -j^nooo

^nc , (< -rn *B ~Ao< '

..1^8 srtt r lo tectf

eriT

nwob

123

Adams

Baum:

Adams

adjudicated by another judge up here. Although the
situation was in excellent shape, and there were no
pending conflicts of great moment, some of the adjud
ications that had been made earlier were again being
reviewed by another court. It was clear that under
the operations of the old Utah law they didn't have
any final and clear determination of water rights
on the Sevier River. I find that in my report I was
bold enough to suggest the type of law that was
necessary to meet that siuation. I had to have con
fidence in myself on a job of that kind, and looking
over those recommendations, they all seem to be sound
now.

What did the people along the Virgin River think of
the work you were doing?

They were all much interested. After this report
was printed the following year I was surprised to
learn from the state engineer of Utah that the district
attorney of Washington County had recommended to him
that my report be made the basis of the settlement of
rights in the Virgin River basin. Obviously, I didn't
have all the physical facts and other data necessary
for an adjudication; that was not the intention, but
I had an outline of them, the substance of the situation
down there. The district attorney didn't realize the

frtIA .etori qr ^onB Y<* bectBolbutba

on stew - te ni aaw noldBi/tfle

-fur^bB erf:t ~ c 9J"OB ttfflauioin tfeeiB lo ecfolllfloo gnlbneq

> absci n99 d. iecii

te ^w cfl .^Tuoo r< a Y^

a -iBL dei'U bio erf* Ic enoI^fiTQao e>

s^riplt TS;*BW lo ncl^Bntet3*9b naelo bne Jenl! Y^*
w I ^iO( I tfBfic!- I . r ; Tlv95 arid- no

eq^cf erfrf *89ggi!?. o:t riguon* b.!'
: I .'noj

gr ' . bnl>[ vtsrf* '. ' B no -

bniroe ^s I ' . 19 vo

.won

lo 3fnMcf Tsvin nlgilV rict ^noJf ! bib

OY 2C*io

. "*nJt r r B aiew Y^^

bsztiqt tw I IB-V snlwolfol s.rf;t bs^nltq saw

1* rise! -T99nlsiie 9- moil

')8T bsrf Y* n woO flo*sriJ'<BsW lo
cfani" arid lo elefid erfet fbj?,K ^d dtoqsi

I ,Y-Tew^<JO .ntarcf -rev
s^eb isxlcto bns

. -<i a^^ *on eew dsrfd ;n^ ' Jsoibw(;bjR m?

Jf ofiBcredwe eri^ ,rc<Mto.1tc ^nij^uo ns bRrf

: rf'r. renio**fl c^olicfeifc erfT .^laii.-t nwob

12U

Adams: nature of material necessary for an adjudication.
Baum: Did you go back to Washington when you were finished?
Adams: No. I returned in the late fall to Cheyenne and

there I prepared these two reports.
Baum: The winters you spent writing up what you found out

during the summers?
Adams: Yes. I must have finished it before the winter was

over because in the early spring I was assigned to

another Job.

INVESTIGATION OP INTERSTATE WATER RIGHTS ON THE PLATTE RIVER - 1903

Baum: What was your next Job?

Adams: The Utah work was carried on in 1902. The next job
was connected with the study of interstate water
rights on the Platte River and tributaries. There
were great uncertainties as to the principles that
should govern interstate water rights. Many of the
important streams crossed state lines, sometimes
several times. The Platte River, for instance, had
two main forks, the South Platte, which headed in
Colorado and flowed easterly and northerly through
Denver and joined the North Platte in Nebraska. The
North Platte headed mainly in Wyoming although a few
tributaries reached over into Colorado. It flowed
through Nebraska, joined the South Platte, and then

. ns tol

' to' *

ocf I r. etfsl arfct nl 3ei I .oPT

. ITOC
br ^silw

? r

$ sioled tfj T.0m I

E - oed tevo

VWI

?r 3.BW ^

bel ic w d.1
* B rf^ nr.oo

svlH- e

Ct89T-

.tnl

B -:

.e. -19 .^B

. >ni.T f
bar .

\tion bnB vLtsitae bev/oll bna objertc
>F r\t erf^sll rf^toH ri? h -sG

snlmo-y;W nl Y-f^^*" 6s '-^ctel*l rf^ioH

nl ivo brfoB9i eelTB^rdltct
n^. >uc8 rict be- -lertrfeH fistrc

T*E
.esmic!-

B .

b- 'I ,

125

Adams: flowed Into Missouri. It was one of the important
problems of the day and Dr. Meadw anted to make a
contribution to the public understanding of the subject.
So he planned this study of interstate water rights
on the Platte. (Reported in U.S. Department of Agricul
ture, Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin No. 1^7.
Water Rights n Interstate Streams. The Platte River
and Tributaries. 1905>. )

There had been controversies between users of
water in one state or another. A very serious
controversy had arisen between Kansas and Colorado
over the Arkansas River. Kansas had brought suit
to prevent the further use of wat er by Colorado
from the Arkansas. While there had been some court
decisions affecting water rights between states, and
also I think there had been some between Canada and
the United States, no principles had yet been developed
which should govern the division of water between
the states. Now here was this very important suit
between Kansas and Colorado. That suit had been filed,
I believe, in 1901.

So Dr. Mead picked out the Platte for a special
study. He could have picked out the Snake River,
which crossed several state boundaries, the Bear
River, the Colorado River. There w ere many potential

eaw tfl ': bewoll
betas wbfldM .iQ

,ctor ! lo snibnBSstQbfltf oi. r otf nolctodjictnoo

^n ta.tfiw 9*j3*Eia*r b*ntu 08

lo ztfi'wchxjs-- . . ni be^i- .e*^jp./'i erf* no

^nsmltoqxa lo eo!110 e-n/^

Bj-drBiq j . ifHii eJ.- .^nl. rt a_ :

. OOJ ,f.

Ic vic)d EalaTavottfnoo n

^v A ^isri^onfl to 9cts;te e
oC- br.fi BBansX r:9wctsd nsBiiu bsri

'A *rid -

3BU Tsrf^ ctnevstq

d had sieritf 6j ! riW . A erf*

. :>w^9o r $;trfsJti ne^BW sniiosllB snoialoefc

r.'.- >cf bar ,t >fnlff^ I

-' $f, 'irrq on t sf>;tjactS fa*ln

- w lo noleJvib srfrf r IB

v Elri* BBW eteri . tsd-e
t jBrfT .obBioIoO br,P BB

nl ^
I/- - . ' ' artt ctrro bjto'c hseM .tQ 08

: di tfiro b>Iolq ovrf
IB' ,.elT8bru'od iB^a IB'

loO arfct .

126

Adams: conflicts between the states.

Baum: What were your duties in this investigation?

Adams: I was given the task of finding out during the

season of 1903 what became of the water of the Platte
River and its principal tributaries. It was a one-man

job in the field, except as I could obtain the
assistance of the watermasters on these various streams.

I might illustrate the situation by reference to
the watermaster on the Cache la Poudre, the main
tributary of the South Platte, which flowed by Fort
Collins and Greeley. (Greeley, by the way, had been
established through the influence of Horace Greeley,
I have a history of the Greeley colony. )

The watermaster there was a fine gentleman by
the name of Armstrong whose business it was to see
that each ditch got what it was entitled to each day.
He followed a routine procedure. He would get up
about four o'clock in the morning and get a record
of the flow of water in the river at the main
measuring point. He had a man stationed there.
With that information he would determine what each
ditch along the river was entitled to take that day.
He would then telephone to each ditch tender and tell
him how much water to take. Then he would have his
breakfast and get out his horse and buggy and patrol

-ted

eJrftf nl seltftrb ttroY new *B -raS

fb d-t-c snlbnll lo iefi^ art)- navlg SJBW I : swab A
lo tectsw on"* to raflod c^Briw C9I lo no?. :
-nc saw ctl . al'XB^tfcfl'id' Iflq ' acfi bnB tevlfi

. :iBCtd'c bJuco I SB oqeoxe ^Islt sri^ nl dot,

J- lo

eoneiPlat 'JjBtrcfls srirf drfairfc

erf.t t 6ibuo1 si erfojaO srf* no

'w , f^JaI<I rfrftroS arftf lo

nsad bjsrf t \'w '^ri* . .^lestO) . bnB enllloO

YO-tesi^ eoBioE .t bftrfeilcfBrfae

: [oo Y 9 -^ e9rI ^ 9 ^ ^ Y,io3e.lii <i I

name! ~nll P.BW sterij ^^BW erf?

rei/d aeoriw juicT^sroiA lo eamn srfct

8BW rfl rfBl. OB6 d-Brfrf

. --nrbcooT;q t>: B .

- nJnioin sricf- nl 3loclo'o ^Irol ^0odB
^vft erf* nl nscfew lo woll ad^ lo
j ben J . nflw B b&d K . taloq

riOBP ^Briw a '*eb blucw srf - >nl

^ o^ baldfctrte B*W invlT srfrf gnolB rfatlb

89 orf enorfqel--;) nerfi bluov*
ow eri nerfT ,9>fr* orf IS^BW rioum worf xnlxl
ba YJ-S^d bnB eeiorl a; > bnB

127

Adams: the headgates of various ditches to see how things
were going, to see that the orders that had been
Issued were being carried out, and if there were
any difficulties. He would straighten out anything
necessary. There were gauging facilities at the head
of each of these ditches which enabled the ditch
tenders to determine the amount of water they were
turning into the ditches. In a few cases I had to
install facilities for that work.

When I visited the Poudre about once a month
I would make the rounds with Mr. Armstrong. I
arranged with him to have each of his ditch tenders
supply me with a record of the daily diversions into
the ditches. During the season I accumulated material
as to the areas that were irrigated.

Baum: What streams did you cover?

Adams: I did that on the Poudre, the Big Thompson, the St.

Vrain, Clear Creek, and Bear Creek, all tributaries of
South Platte River. And on South Platte from the
mouth of the South Platte Canyon to Littleton, which
was south and west of Denver, then to the junction
of the South Platte with the North Platte. I followed
the same procedure in Wyoming and Nebraska, except
the facilities for gathering information through the
watermasters were not as complete.

K o3 esdottb euoliBv lo serfssbfi^rf rftf

tfBritf ETebto srf;t ctBiicf eea ocf , sn.fos> STW

J 11 bfifl t cffc beJi-T ' vrwbeireel

cfi/o aectrislfli^?. bluov . ollllb

bs ! s*,' nljji/Bg r .Yic

: lb srfl balcffin -iw aerio^ib f>R9rict *io doee 'lo

sw lo ctn e

oi . rt-1 ocfnJt s

B etbw J beitlalv I norfW

irflw afenwoi ^rf^t erijarn blucw 1
rfose v flii*

ctni i~sb erf^ lo btooe n Ylqq08

trr b- B I- noeBee dff* jinl- . srio^lb erirf

'fi -'-i 1 v-tsrfd

?ITOO "-e rfariW

t ri^ ,ii

r p t 3f^3iO IBOS hr. . ".IO t niBtV

er n'*wo3 no bnA . s^SsI*! r<rf-

. - t J- nc^nftO e^*; 08 arict lo rfctt/om

f^or.ai. nerid- , ^BW bnja rirfooe EBW

be:>rollo . -:oK orict rftflw s^clRll d^troB eri*

-a t sj( .- bne nl ^tr.fbsooTq SPJBB sri*

r irlnl gnli9jrf*^ tol eslctllloBl s

. :Iqnico BB Jor

128

Adams: I covered only two tributaries of the North
Platte in Wyoming, Hooeshoe Creek and Deer Creek.
Then the diversions from the North Platte from the
Wyoming -Nebraska line down to Bridgeport and the
diversions from the Platte between North Platte and
Fremont. Only a few ditches obtained water f rom the
main river, and I got what information I could.
That was my job for the season.

Baum: Were all the watermasters as cooperative as Mr.
Armstrong?

Adams: Very cooperative, yes. There was no difficulty.

That was a very interesting year. The type of
agriculture was quite different from any I'd had
any e xperience with in California. It was mainly
alfalfa and wheat and sugar beets. I never shall
forget the beautiful wheat fields around Port Collins
and Greeley and all that northern Colorado country.
Under the climatic conditions there the wheat fields
when the wheat was ripening looked really golden.
In California the wheat fields look rather drab when
they are ripe. The production over there was phenomenal,
As I recall, some of those wheat fields used to produce
sixty or more bushels per acre.

Of course I was not the only one working on this
investigation. Professor 0. V.. P. Stout, head of

rut lo esiiBtfrKfiict owct Y^no beievoo I
teed bnB jleeiD eeriest . nl

..Tl sjitfln rWnoff erf* oro-il ancietsvlfa srtt nrfT
rio bnB :f BisBideH

9 actct JicM nee

srfct net 1 : B^do eerloi/b vre

b.r ' . .'3*iiclni cfBi. >; tiftvit nism

^ffl Eflvf rf

iK BB e\ r ic^/"i9qooo zi. BW arid' Iljg staW

on saw . .

sq^^ iB9-^ gnUastectni a BBW ^arfT

bw' ' tfne-ie'njb ecflLrp ZBW ei0tflt

vj[n.?Bin eew rfl . ^iw sonelisqx 8

.B*?9d tsgr ,r

enillcO dac^ fnj; ?0fled erii

' ^^:8rid^ofl ^ariS UB bnB t e ^ & r i i - ) fcnB
et, .; oie/id" enol*- :

Y-C-f^ 91 ^ behoof gnl^eqJ^^ ssw ^aaxi
dBTb 'coricfBi jiool eblsil *JB %t clmol al

-cftrid- TOVO r..- .f.clT etB

^Berfw eeorfj lo enofi , >T I eA

.aaou . r - : :<3 ?tr

*rf^ ctcr; 10

129

Adams

civil engineering at the University of Nebraska,
and C. E. Tait made the necessary measurements of
streams and gathered further data regarding the water
system. Walter B. Denton prepared a report on water
rights. I believe that Mr. Talt and one other
member of the Irrigation Investigation staff made
some measurements of seepage losses in the main
river. We each prepared our separate reports and
these were sent to Washington where they were the
basis of the published report which was prepared by
R. P. Teele. I might add that during the season the
field investigations were under the general direction
of Clarence T. Johnston, who was in charge of the
Cheyenne office. I should also add that Professor
Stout worked with me in studying the use of water in
the North Platte, between the Wyoming and Nebraska
lines and Bridgeport. We made many trips there
together.

I'm not quite sure what w e accomplished by that
study of interstate water rights on the Platte and
its tributaries. I gave my copy of the printed report
to Davis or UCLA. It was intended to be a presentation
of the situation and the need for a settlement of
difficulties. Whether any principles or solutions
were suggested I don't remember. I think it was

a & .tie IBS

rfoc/m worf no e.na;tefc smce err- evl?. ucnf b'
a: 1 . .re lo bnltf ;tBrtw t blq ei?w

?bflrf
.ertrfoo *5o ^vub eecrftf nl wcl etew

tBl B1B9Y x -t^ -f^ * B BlniOllIfl

.'cfsg BSW. I nm f J ei. r * ^A .TBe^ B 004iISj S"
^nlgns nfl saw criw t beM , .'tslrfo Tjm t TBe- c

bnB nolsaeloiq alri nl berfalldstfas YW8"Otorfct

X E Q ^ y^^LJ,J8c

9 svari b;

.bsfooan ow isvsrfAiiw ^esBjnsqxs ocfr eA
one ^ r 'rsrii aee! " P no cfi/o rfnee od

.aeaneqxa IBU^OB ir;o blsq anew . P,OO eri^ nevoo

,Ic: ioven BBW ;

.ectrfgln moe ctuc C R r/oy blse t?c\

^nofd'flsld'eevn.l riB^TJ sffd- rt.t 7 esw tfBrfT

. Jnic llIsO nl ie^I ctfl"S lo Ififtft B BBW eirfd

~qlt;p pnlomso ^P 1 ^ oeneqxe en*3 *rol mlei SBW I

.Bsllqqi/B Jbfts ^n5in
.JevBict bns t le*od ,600*! tiroY blan v

.B9Y rfO
eri^ nc jftow elrfct rir.inll 1/0-7; bib nsrfW

131

Adams: I commenced my work In the early spring and completed
the field work in the late fall. Prom time to time
I returned to Cheyenne to review my notes. I had
clerical help in the office to keep my materials up
to date. I completed my report in the following
February and then was assigned to work with Dr.
Portier in California.

INVESTIGATION OP MODESTO AND TURLOCK
IRRIGATION DISTRICTS, 19014-

Adams: Dr. Portier, who had taken over the work of the

Irrigation Investigation under Dr. Mead in California,
had asked Dr. Mead for my help in making an investi
gation in Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts.
These districts had just overcome their legal and
financial difficulties. Turlock had started to
deliver water in a small way in 1901 and Modesto
was ready to begin in 190i|. The congressman from
that congressional district, Mr. J. C. Needham, had
gone to the Secretary of Agriculture and requested
assistance from the Department of Agriculture, The
request had gone to Dr. Mead in Washington and then
to Dr. Fortier in California and Dr. Portier had
picked me to do the job.

bns ^nitqe vlrtse srfct at ataow ^ bon0ir?moo I :80usf>A

.Hal

bBd I , rr TQF. weivei ctf - otf bemi/ctsi I

q- "^e^Bm -^ qJf oct eo,cllo led IBoi^eIo

-.1 erf* nl cfioc be^s-/ I ,cteb o^

rflw jiiow o* bengiaBB ei-. r I bna ^iBi/ide^

v .''I ISJt^lO^

XOCJ; . MI

40^1 t RTOI'

t .Id

flimclIlBO ai DBeM ,TC isbriu r .

'vni f!t, ' nl qleri -^m 10! bBt^ . .^BJB bad

^ItwT bnB cctaeboM nl noirfjag
bii ; 1 iJted^ 30 ODIQVO ^eirt bBn' e^oJtid-BJtb

.s sic lib iBlonfi^

orfReboi^ bnB IO(?I nl Y^W Una e nJt IS^BX "eb

,4iOCJ ni ni^fid oct ^bson
iBri ,ff!Bii&eeH .0 ."G ,iM t ^oJtt*8lb ,eisnoo

'jpi r 'jj^JuolisA lo Y' 1 ^

< . 1o ctnaoictiBqeG a

n- bjeeM .rtC'

her! rsidio'- .iG bn slmo'illjsO nt Tf'Jt^*ic r ' .

.dot ^ri-^ "

Dr. Santtel Fortler

132

Early History of. Modesto and Turlock Districts
Adams:

Irrigation was, of course, well advanced in the
Fresno, Visalia, and Bakersfield areas in San Joaquin
Valley. The Miller and Lux canals on the west side
of the San Joaquin Valley were operating. A number
of canals were irrigating land along the San Joaquin
River on the east side of the river. There were small
private projects in the Madera area, the Madera Canal
and Irrigation Company, and in the Merced area, the
Crocker-Huffman Company. The Crocker-Huffman Company
had colonized some of that land. Other than that,
the land on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley
from Fresno to the Stockton area was mainly in dry
grain farming. There was some irrigation on the
riparian lands along the stream beds. An effort had
been made to develop a project from the Stanislaus
near Oakdale under what became known as the Tulloch
system, but little had been accomplished. The
typical minimum holding was probably a quarter section,
160 acres. The maximum, up to 2000 acres or more.
In the days of profitable grain farming they got
along all right, but the soil ceased to produce as
it used to, low prices came on, in the '90's was the
depression, and many landowners, especially the owners

jSJoJ: 'icicle ^oolr: a Yl f "

r nl beonfivbjB IIsw . oo lo ,BJSW s>lTxI sbA

: nl Bjeeiii Ms: bna t -IV ^

' ^sl/ ' nB8 erict

nlt/pBoI, nsS edd- sncl- .Slii : w elBnao

lo able rfeee ri^ no ie>v'

IBHBD jBisbeM . erf^ nl actr.

- 'ie , -aaqmoC n

- - '^o'lO ,yi -

crf^ i' .bn^I eft. iBd

aoL naa orftf lo eble *ee erfct no bnsl
f i : ew / o^ en Be i 1 ? mcil

. -Trf^ e offi

slaln ne^otq P . . J abain need

. id ;Jfld!f ifthn;..- slab^BO ieen

.; i.'Od b, r >I 3tL *ud , rs

t noJ :q ew gnlbj" Isoi^

o^ q0 t rnwnlXBin .e9^ofl Oc^I

9 slcfarfilotq lo prflb arii

es bsp.Bflo Iloe ri^ tfird . t UJB

er ,n< -^BO ao. r I t

y j t aisnwcf>nfll ^n^ir; bns t

Adams :

133

of small holdings, were in a bad way.

In 1887 Modesto and Turlock districts had been
formed under t he Wright law, (C. C. Wright, who drafted
the Wright law, was a resident of Modesto.) They both
employed engineers and after a year or two systems
were worked out and a ccepted and bond issues voted
and sold. Construction was carried to the point
that La Grange Dam, a Joint diversion dam on the
Tuolumne River, was finished, and substantial portions
of their two canals were constructed.

Large landowners were early objectors and the
districts were in constant difficulty through
litigation. The details of this litigation are
given in my report of the investigation. (The
investigation was reported in Office of Experiment
Stations, Bulletin No. 158, Report ojT Irrigation
and Drainage Inve st igations , 1901;. )

These two districts comprised an area of about
a quarter of a million acres. The Modesto people
were entirely new to irrigation and what they wanted
was some help In getting started In their plans of
operation, delivery of water, management of their
systems, and any help they could get in the use of

water.

bed B nl rr . ^Jtblorf IlB*e Ic : smabA
o^ ' '.cfoltcfalb 3(00X10? bfiB otfabdf y88l nl

.0) ,wl ctrfsltW arf c
ri^ocf Yrf7 (,otfaboM lo

">^6Y8 owtf TO IP. 8Y rterflfi bna
<> ^l bncc bnB bod-qeoo B brir. o f -rr bellow STOW

^nloc srfvi ^l^iBv .bios

no msb nolstavl , ^aQ egnBlD BJ

enol^Toq XBl^nBaedirs bos , F Jl BB

fc aso ow^ ilerfd- lo

B -. n3z>&l .iw eisnv/obnej

o*H'-tfc t

air ' >

n .nol^ ' ; r , ^i ^ro ni nevlg

> ; eoJfT'O nl barftr ^id-Bevnl

%I lo

cda Ic BO-XE n ' - -,t

olf ' eriT ,aio nolllim /5 lo

^^ ctflriK bfljs noi^glni of w -lidn

:ii berfiBd-e gal**e? nl qlerf eoa asir
i' -'aengnj8BJ t tectjew lo

Ic nl rfe?5 blr;oo Y^*

Baum:
Adams

Baum:

Adams

Keeping Records

What kind of aid were you able to give them?
One of my first jobs was to set up gauging stations
on the main canals and on some of the main laterals
with the idea of letting the districts know Just how

much water they were diverting from the river and how

much water they were delivering to the irrlgators.

Daily readings of the diversions in each canal were
made by the dith tender at the dam. To stimulate
interest of the landowners In the operation of the
district system, I arranged with the principal
local newspaper in Modesto to obtain this record of
diversions from the Tuolumne River every afternoon and
publish it.

A plan was outlined for keeping records, both
by the ditch tenders and by the superintendent of
the district. As to the question of the Modesto
district, I set up the necessary record books and
forms and had them printed at their expense.
In other words, did you set up a bookkeeping system

of use of water?

You might call it that.

.
Another matter we went into was the rise of

ground water. Experience had shown that as you brought
water onto the land in quantity, ultimately the ground

- f o o efl /ytlq&

9vijo o3 elds ucy afiaw bis lo LnJtf
u ct-38 cxt RBW a dot

srfit Ic sicoe r ctlBW rf^ nc

v/( t/t woiijf e, - ",ab| erf^ rftflw

bnfi levlT ariJ r.foTl S n ^ '"-ew ^scii lectf.w rfotnn

.8'io,i ' e;t ^r ' ^erlcf ae^BW rfoxra

v XanBO riofl- 'rbBQi ^llsG

9J cT 1 .nueb eriJ *n isbriaJt

erfc^ 'lo ncictflnsqo arlcf nl atenwobriBl ericf lo
IcqlonlTq ^ . ^e^s

IOJJT

mctl e^ol8^evib

ritfod , nb^ccsr 9$. icl ban.' ^sw neJq A

c:! >bc *8up

B3fC-"d blOO:31 V1flf-,B3On 9Jti^ 1 t ^S)iT^8l:fa

bsif bnB ermol
b ,?.fcrtow tsrf^o nl
-.' lo set; lo

: ,OY

^ '

di HBO

nwcrfp. barf

bru/ontg

bn -

til bnel

: ' '

:smsbA

135

Adams: water would rise. We thought it desirable that they
should begin to think of those things at once.

Three lines of wells were set up for keeping
ground water levels. We made monthly records throughout
the season of the ground water ]evel. No wells were
put in for that purpose; I simply used the farm wells
in the area. In the upper portion of the district
the water was about seventy-five feet from the surface,
whereas in some of the areas down toward the San Joaquin
River the water was samething like ten or twelve feet.

Another matter we thought should be watched was
the seepage from the canals.

. w , . , T .
Applying Water to the Land

Adams: I spent a good deal of time with the ditch tenders

on the various canals as they delivered water to the
irrigators. I remember one laa downer, a brother of
Congressman Needham, was scared to death as to how
he should use water when the day of delivery came.
So at his request I went down aid spent several days
with him, took my rubber boots, went out in the field,
with him, aid helped him distribute water over the
land, giving him some ideas as to procedure. I was

not brought up on an irrigated farm, but my three

years 'intimate contact with irrigators on Cache Creek
in California, on the Virgin Kiver in Utah and on the

9lcfexJ:se.b 31 : . i bluow lectaw

t 'rid 1 *eoil uorfe

03i 10! qxr tf&e eidw si lew lo e ..eirfT

:oo6i ^Ldinoni e . 'el le^sw fcrcuoi

;.- -^Iqinie 1 jaaoqii j ^Bri^ iol ni 3uq

oq iscqw erit ill .se'ia erfi nl

^ v, 8iIJ moTl , vv'jtl-^nsvee cti;ocfjB BBW ie^BW edcf

irod . f .oe ni eaeit

to nect eiil gni; BJ?W ieJsw edcf iev-

e sw iQ^dsxa latttonl

_ ri-.y*ftr% A*t-4- n^-rr*'* *- * y^r ^ ^ A r-f-l

3..'

a o;t oeji ;q.A

eiebnei rlo^Ib erl;r rf^iw eml^ lo Leeb boos, a ineqa I
r bsievileb -^erfrf es elaneo euoliBv sxtt

-tcf B t 'ierjwob.rI eno i- . .^il

9L oi benaoa esw t atBri sicee

lo Y*^ erl ^ neifw

IfeTevee ctneqe IB nwob rfnew I oaeirpei alrl JB
'l s/ .lew t e^ood -xedornc vrcr 3ioo^ t J

I . QTubeoonq oJ e- RBeJbi enroe mid gnl'v

pa ^ wcf t^nal >e*B^Jti'xi rts no qxr rtrigi/oicf cton

O eiJe^O no eioctBgiiil rl^iw rfoc^noo

no briB rterfU nl ievl/i nlgi-tV ertl no t flInioljtlBO

136

Adams: Platte River In Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska had
made me familiar with the practice and I was able to
be of some help of that kind.

Then there was the matter of preparation of land
for Irrigation. Land was being prepared mainly In
contour checks and It was obvious they were moving
too much dirt. Arthur Stover of our Berkeley office
came down and made some surveys to see just what they
were doing and these were Included In the reporte

The methods of applying water to the land in
California were quite different from those followed
in the Rocky Mountain states. Out here the normal
method was by the basin or check method. In the
Rocky Mountain states contour ditches were run In
the field and the water carried in those small ditches
and spread over the land with the help of the Irrigators
out there with their shovels. Some of the land In
Modesto and Turlock districts had a slope in which
It seemed the check method was not the most economical
method, so we leased about 25 cr 30 acres In the
Modesto District and set up a little demonstration
project where we irrigated very flat land and sloping
land. We irrigated land by strip checks, by rectangular
checks, by contour checks, and by the mountain method.
We ran that for a couple of years. Incidentally, I

. itJwoYW t ..ivlf.

r.J- elcfjB r.Bw I bna eoftfosiq srf j rftflw - B! m ebBir

bnl

lo ft^icfeiBC" stf-tBni arid BBW

ni ^Inlptr; J>etBqftc 3n.' hsJ . Bgiiil. io*i

-w ^1 bns 85fosrir> ii/crfi
.aJesI'ioS iJJO lo isvod'S if/rfdoA .^lib rfotrni

- ; oe ebBjn fob

,itcc3i sri^ nl bebylor.-^ e r r =>rf;t bne Sflob etsw

nl bBl srfJ od t9* '-^Iqqje lo a be. -c!T

bawcllo'i 9Rodd- moil *ne-r " '

' ^dnwoF
.

nl nwt ' ' '?9is

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137

Adams: might mention that I sent a young graduate civil

engineer down there to look after this experiment.
His name was August Griffin who later became chief
engineer of the South San Joaquin irrigation district
and then went with the Canadian Pacific Railroad
to Canada and became their chief engineer in charge
of all irrigation matters.

Baum: Were the irrigators eager to learn new methods and
did they come to your demonstration farm?

Adams: Our studies of the check method and their high
levees, I think, did have an effect. Instead of
having high levees over which farm machinery couldn't
travel and having a difference of maybe a foot or
more between one contour check and the next, smaller
checks were built with broader levees so the crop
could be grown on the levees and the farm machinery could
pass over the levees.

District Operation

Baum: In those years were the irrigators enthusiastic
about the district?

Adams: Oh yes. Shortly after I arrived in Modesto, early in
March of 190ij., they had their formal opening, a great
jubilee. People came from all parts of the state for
that opening. Quite a boom started in the development

TCI

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:nv

138

Adams: of the district. I don't remember how large Modesto
was at that time, I don't think over 2000 people.
It was the county seat. Turlock was a village of
probably not more than 100 people.

Land could be bought in the two districts as
low as $30 or $14.0 an acre. The highest priced land
was held at $75 an acre, which was then considered a
prohibitive price. That was for raw land. In the
next few years, and very evident during the years I
was there, there was a lot of activity in the purchase
of land.

Baura: How did the Irrigation district organization work
in Modesto in those years? Was it an effective
institution, or do you think some other form of
organization might have been better?

Adams: I was convinced before that study was over in 1901^.
that the principal irrigation development in the
state would be under that form of organization.
Samuel C. Wiel, author of a standard work on water
rights, brought over to Berkeley the proof of his
first edition of his book. I remember in conversation
with him that he was surprised that we were interested
in irrigation districts. He had In mind the experiemces
under the old Wright Act and he thought they would

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139

Adams: never be attempted again. I told him then I thought
our future in irrigation development lay in that
direction.

That work in 190i|. brought up some questions of
management which were of interest. In Modesto District
everything was running smoothly. No controversies
within the board of directors and no controversies
among the people. In Turlock, however, just the
opposite was true. The superintendent or engineer
that first year was soon superseded by another.
Some of the farmers in certain areas were still very
much dissatisfied, I don't remember now just why.
While I was just completing the manuscript of ray
report, the leader of that opposition, who was down
in the Hilmar Colony, came up to see me. I don't
know why. He proceeded to tell me their troubles.
I had known of those troubles and I referred to them
in my reports and had pointed them out as difficulties
that needed to be overcome. I handed a copy of my
manuscript to this man. He read it, looked very sober,
and went away. I think I had effectively answered
him in that report.

Baum: Did they get their troubles ironed out?

Adams: Oh yes, within a few years the situation in those

two districts was reversed. All was calm in Turlock

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Adams: District, all was confusion in Modesto District. But
those districts have been models of success.

Baum: Why did this turmoil come about?

Adams: I don't recall the details. It had nothing to do

with the form of organization. It probably had more
to do with the assessments and distribution of water*
There are bound to be difficulties where people are
dealing with water, especially during the early years
of a project. It took Modesto District a little
longer to eliminate its difficulties and get into
smooth operation than Turlock District. They changed
engineers from time to time, I do not recall why or
what bearing that had on the operations of the system.
I think the smooth operation in Turlock District
really began about 1913 or ll| when R. V. Meikle was
made engineer of the district. He was working for me
and had just completed his assignment when the engineer
of Turlock District came to me to get help in presen
tation of their problems to the Secretary of the
Interior. San Francisco was seeking a water supply
from the Tuolumne River and the two districts were
opposing it. The city attorney of San Francisco
asked me to work on their case but I was unwilling
to work on either side. I told them they could have
Mr. Miekle and Mr. MIekle went there then to work on

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Adams: that problem and shortly thereafter was made district
engineer. Turlock hasn't changed their engineer since
then. That's unheard of in irrigation district
operation. Only Imperial District has approached
this in its continuity of engineering direction.

Baum: Prom what you say, I gather you consider the engineer

a very important factor in the operation of the district.

Adams: Oh yes. Mr. Meikle kept scrupulously out of district
politics. He had nothing to say in that field. He
is very able, very wise. That's the key to his success.

OTHER WORK - 190lf - 1905 - 1906

Adams: I spent two years in California with Dr. Portier, the
first year mainly on the study of Modesto and Turlock
districts, but there were other activities. e had
going on at that time a number of what we called
"tank experiments." Crops were grown in tanks and
different quantities of water applied. The tanks were

weighed at intervals to determine the loss of water,
the use of water by the plants, and also bare tanks
were used to determine the evaporation from the
surface of the soil. We had tanks of that type out
from Tulare. We had some tanks back of what is now
Agricultural Hall. We had tanks on the plant intro
duction garden of the Department of Agriculture up

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An Article and Photographs

By Prank Adams
Appearing In Sunset, June - July 1906

UP WHITNEY BY LONE PINE

TRAIL

By Frank Adams

Photographs by the Author

FEW people realize that the sum
mit of Mount Whitney, the
highest mountain in the United
States, is but a dozen miles removed
from a comfortable wagon road, yet
such is the fact. Neither ,do many
realize that at certain seasons of the
year the whole of the dozen miles
between the summit and the wagon
road can be covered on animals.

A year ago the enterprising citizens
of Lone Pine, Independence, Keeler,
and other nearby towns completed a
new trail to the top of Mount Whit
ney.

Part of this trail had been built
years ago by Uncle Sam's soldiers,
encamped along Lone Pine creek,
while making temporary use of
Mount Whitney Military Reserva
tion. A part, also, had been built by
citizens who wished access to the
rugged eastern slopes of the sur-
rouruding mountains. That the upper
and more difficult portions were built
to make this famous old mountain
more easily accessible shows that the
enterprising citizens who undertook
the feat knew the value of short cuts
in mountain climbing.

UP WHITNEY BY LONE PINE TRAIL 75

IN CLEAR VIKW OF MANY OP THR WONDERS OF THK UPPER KF.RN

Mount Whitney has been climbed
many times and by many people, yet
those who have approached from the
west, and this includes the great ma
jority, have missed a charm that
only the east-side trail can give. The
scenic wealth of the west is in the
deserts and the mountains, and rare
the region that combines them more
completely to one's satisfaction.
"Teader vistas ever new" could be no
more truly written than of what this
winding, rocky trail affords as it

-tktdainti

each hfad a hum h of weft vto/f/s

leaves the desert at the edge of Loni-
Pine creek and makes its way
through the timbered gulches and
over the jagged cliffs toward the sum
mit. Yet, different as is each back
ward vista, all carry that enchanting
inspiration so peculiar to the desert.
Ever unfolding at the foot of the
canyon lies Owens valley, bordered
beyond by the Inyo range, its surface
as rich in mineral coloring as are its
mines in mineral wealth. Ever
changing their form at the head of
the canyon are Whitney and his com
panions, their faces high in the sun
above the timber line, and promising
pleasures innumerable to those who
will overcome the obstacles at their
feet.

Lone Pine, the outfitting point for
a trip up the east side, lies in the
evening shadow of Mount Whitney,
a few miles west of Mount Whitney
station on the Carson and Colorado
railroad. To the summit is scarcely
twenty miles. The vertical distance
covered in this short stretch, how
ever, is nearly eleven thousand feet !
Rut these figures should not frighten
anyone seriously contemplating the
ascent - - they certainly would not
frighten one at all accustomed to

SUNSET MAGAZINE

THH SCKNIC WKAI.TH OK THK WKST IS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND OHSHRTS

mountaineering. The comfortable
stops between Lone Pine and the
summit are frequent. Four miles out,
at an elevation of 4500 feet, is Sol
diers' Camp, on Lone Pine creek, but
still on the desert. Seven miles fur
ther, at an elevation of 8300, is
, Hunters' Camp, well up in the canyon
among the timber, and well within
the sound of Hunters' Falls, where
the waters of I,otif Pine creek come

tumbling from the rocks above. At
10,00 feet, nestled snugly under a
vertical granite cliff near two thou
sand feet high, and partially sur
rounded by a small park of firs and
pines, is Lone Pine lake, well stocked
with wary trout from the lower
creeks. A mile above is the camp of
all the camps on the trail the upper
meadow, with its stream, its clumps
<>f trees, and its abundant feed for

UP WHITNEY BY LONE PINE TRAM.

)NK PINK FAI I.S, ON INK WHITNKV TRAIL

animal>. At 12,000 feet is Mexican
camp, the coldest camp on the jour
ney, yet a convenient starting point
for the trudge up the mountain. Di
rectly above this camp is the hardest
climb on the trail, perhaps excepting
the last supreme effort that accom
plished lands one on the summit. At
its end is Lone Pine pass, elevation
13,337 feet, from which one first
catches a glimpse of the west-side

panorama stretching from the Ba-
kersfield hills far north beyond Mount
Brewer and Mount Williamson. Be
tween Ix)ne Pine pass and the sum
mit, in clear view of many of the
wonders of the upper Kern and the
upper Kaweah Mount Kaweah and
the pinnacle, for instance is Lake
View camp, still two or three hours
from the top. This can be called a
camp by virtue of the fact that it was

SUNSET MAGAZINE

THE KASTKRN PACK OH MOUNT WH1TNKY PROM THE LONE PINK TRAIL. FROM THK SUMMIT, THK O IKK MAKKS A SHKKR

PALL OP I8OO FKKT. ON AUGUST IO, 1905, A PARTY OP UNITBD STATES SURVEYORS COMPLETED A LEVH1.

LINK TO THK SUMMIT, FINDING IT TO HAVK AN KLRVATION OP 14,502 PERT. WHICH PROVED

IT TO BE THH HIGHEST MOt'NTAIN IN THK UNITKD STATKS

SHKKF MOI'NTA

MOl'NTAIN ON THK RIGHT IS Ml M. At>IK

I/ I 1 WHITNEY BY LONE PINE TRAIL 79

IHt it htilf of tkf ttftfH mitfi fait f>f cavrtrd by mul

used as one by the hardy trail builder
when finishing his task. Neither
wood nor water are there unless they
happen to have been left by a former
traveler, although snow can usually
be found in close proximity.

After crossing Lone Pine pass the
trail is wholly on the west side of the
summit of the range of which Whit
ney is a part. Beyond Lake View
camp, from which there are perhaps
no more lakes in view than from
numerous other points on the trail,
the journey is again lightened by the
ever-changing outlook. As you cross
a ledge at 13,775 feet elevation Whit
ney comes into view after having
been hidden for an hour behind the
rocks and peaks through which the
trail winds. You say an hour will
land you there, yet experienced and
hardy you are indeed if you say the
truth. The last pull is a puli in ear
nest, one not to be forgotten either
for its efforts or its thrill.

While the mountains and the desert
are ever calling as one toils up the

trail to Whitney, you can not escape
the lesser things on the way. Of wild
animals there are very few, yet if you
camp at the upper meadow and stay-
there long enough to get acquainted,
you will find a host of little friends.
Chipmunks will waken you with the
first sun of the morning and only
leave when the last kernel of grain
or the last crumb of bread is gone.
Birds, you will be tempted to call
sparrows, will flit about cautiously
until they learn that you will not
harm them. Below 6,000 or 7,000
feet of elevation Lone Pine creek will
supply as many ample meals of trout
as you take time to go for. A few
flocks of grouse will cross your path,
but not if you carry a gun ! But if
animals are few, not so with trees
and flowers. At the base of the
mountains are the "pinon" pines,
small and scattering. A little higher
up, beginning near /,000 feet, are the
beautiful Jeffrey pines, with red and
white firs mixed plentifully in be
tween. Above 0.000 feet the Jeffrey

SUNSET MAGAZINE

pines retreat, leaving only the fox
tail and timber-line pines to brave the
rigors of the upper altitudes. But
near 11,000 feet the climatic strain
becomes too severe for even the most
hardy of the timber, and a few feet
below that elevation the last tree on
the trail a dwarfed fox-tail pine
lies prostrate on the rocks as if over
come with grief at not being able to
accomplish for its race another full
thousand feet of achievement. After
the timber is left behind one begins
fully to appreciate the beauty of the
little annual and perennial flowers.
Yon are ever finding a new one as
you follow the trail in its windings
across creeks and past lakes, guided
only lp the frequent little stone-on-
stone monuments that originally told
the trail builders where to go, as they
now tell you where to go. You find
flowers not only in profusion of num

ber, but also in profusion of color.
Yet withal they must be looked for
to be found, for they have chosen to
grow where, in the nature of things
they must grow deep in the crev
ices between the rocks. If you follow
the trail the last of July or the first
of August you will find, from 13,000
to 14,000 feet, perhaps the most per
fect of them all the dainty polenw-
niutn, each head a bunch of sweet
violets, each flower as fragrant as an
heliotrope. Nestled close to it you
may also find a brilliant member of
the dandelion family Hulse algida
full of the pure, golden sun of the
high altitudes.

Rut the story of the Lone Pine
trail to Mount Whitney must be
learned at first hand from each of the
characters in it. A three-days' round
trip from Lone Pine will indicate its
secret. A week's trip should tell it.

Adams:
Baum:

Adams:

Baum:

Adams:

at Chico.

Was all this work under the Office of Experiment

Stations?

Yes.

You were not connected with the University at that

time.

No, although the work was in a way in cooperation

with the University.

Evaporation from water surface was one of the
matters we were looking into. Dr. Portier had me
set up a series of tanks on the east slope of Mt.
Whitney, ascending from a little above Lone Pine to
the summit, to measure the effect of elevation on the
evaporation from the surface of the water. The amount
of loss from the surface of reservoirs was important.
There had been previous work by investigators going
back to the William Ham Hall days, but our purpose
was to add to that information. It was then that I
had my first opportunity to get into the high Sierra.
It sounds like, although you were not trained as an
engineer, you were doing more and more engineering-
type work.

I had very good tutoring on certain engineering
phases of the work when I worked on Cache Creek with
Mr. Wilson, a trained engineer who had been state

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143

Adams:

engineer af Nebraska. I had also obtained a lot

Adams:

of fine advice and instruction from Professor O.V.
P. Stout, head of the department of civil engineering
at the University of Nebraska, when I was working
on the Platte River back in 1903.

Professor (Major) 0* V* P. Stout

Although a little out of order, I might add here
that Professor Stout continued at the University of
Nebraska aid became dean of engineering, went into
the first World War, became a major, returned to
his work as dean of engineering, Is ft that to head
up the engineering work of a private irrigation
development company out in Colorado axl Idaha. Die
company went broke just about the time of the
depression of the thirties. Dr. Portier was just
planning to set up some studies of seepage from
canals in California. I suggested that he bring
Major Stout out, which he did. Major Stout an d Carl
Rohwer, who came out from Colorado, carried on that
work for a number of years. Then Major Stout
became aart of the cooperative work in California
and took charge of investigations in the Delta. A
little later Dr. Mead persuaded him to make some
studies of the Tri-Counties Project in Nebraska.
While he was on that project he had an emergency

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13 ri sri

Adams: operation from which he didn't recover. I always owed

a lot to Professor Stout, both in inspiration and In
the knowledge I was able to pick up from him.

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Major 0. V. P. Stout

Adams

FAMILY
IN THE LIGHTING FIXTURE BUSINESS, 1906-1910

At the end of those two years with Dr. Fortier I
considered a venture into farming up in Oregon with
my colleague in the Irrigation Investigations, Arthur
P. Stover, but didn't.

My brother and another man, who was a mechanic,
both of them connected with a lighting fixture concern
in San Francisco, decided after the fire to go into
business independently. They persuaded me to join
with them. Another stockholder was Mr. John P.
Young, who was managing editor of the Chronicle.

""*^""

Our firm was Adams & Hollopeter, Lighting Fixtures.
I remained with the business four years. We had a
fine factory and manufactured our own lighting fixtures,

It was very enjoyable and gave me an opportunity
to learn to sell. I found I could. It also brought
me into contact with a lot of fine people. In
addition to selling, one of my jobs was to look after
the finances of the firm, see to it that there was
money on hand to pay the help and the bills. That
made it necessary to see that funds came in from our
contracts on completion, and if the money hadn't come

- I ,-Sc- HI

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Adams

Baum:

Adams

Baum:

in, to see that I got it from the bank, the Anglo,
London & Paris National Bank. The head of it was
Mr. Phil Lilienthal, a wonderful man. He was killed
in a traffic accident down the Peninsula and Mr.
Ignatz Steinhart, donor of the Steinhart Aquarium, took
over and after that Mr. Herbert Pleishhacker. I
had an opportunity to get acquainted with all these
men. It seemed remarkable that someone from a small
firm as we had should go to the top men in the bank,
but that was the practice in those days.

Several years later there was a merger of our
business with another business and after two or three
years the enterprise went out of existence.
Had you lost all contact with your irrigation work
while you were in business?

No. I had started during those two years I was with
Dr. Portier, 190lj. to 1906, a study of delivery of
water to irrigators. I laid that aside when I left
the work in the summer of 1906. While still in
business, I took up as a side issue the completion
of that report at Dr. Portier's request, making the
necessary field trips in Colorado, Utah, Nevada,
Oregon, and Washington to get additional data. That
was published along about 1910.
This was for the Department of Agriculture?

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Adams: Yes. That was, I guess, the first publication in
that field. (USDA, Office of Experiment Stations,
Bulletin No. 229. Delivery of Water to_ Irrigators.

1910. )

WIPE AND CHILDREN

Baum: You mentioned that your wife was a secretary in

your office when you were in Washington. What was
her maiden name?

Adams: Amy Belle Hill. She had finished at a local normal

school in Muncy, Pennsylvania, passed examination for
teacher's certificate, and at the age of seventeen
had taught one year In a district school at the
fabulous salary of $22 a month. Desiring more
remunerative work she took a business course and
passed the United States civil service examination
and stood No. 2 on the eligible list for the entire
State of Pennsylvania and was appointed to our office
in Washington in 1901.

Baum: When were you married?

Adams: We were married June 20, 1906.

Baum: I'd like to include some mention of your children.

Adams: Well, we have four. The oldest is Helen, who is
Mrs. Percy M. Barr. Mr. Barr is a professor of

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11*8

Adams: forestry over at the University. They live next door
and have four fine children. The next is Francis
Edward, a graduate of the University of California,
a consulting mechanical engineer in Los Gatos. He
married Jane Bolton. They have one boy. Then comes

David Hill, a graduate of California and of Boalt

.
Hall, and he is a lawyer in San Jose. He married

Margaret Davis, and they have three children and
live in Los Gatos. The fourth is Thomas Cooper
who graduated from the University in forestry and
in economics and later received his Ph.D. in forestry
and conservation from the University of Michigan.

All three of the boys took the Naval R.O.T.C.
at the University of California so when war seemed
certain they were called and went in. Both Francis
and Tom came out with tuberculosis and had to spend
long periods in the naval hospitals, but both made
full recoveries. Tom is now a forest economist in
the United States Forest and Range Experiment Station
in Portland. He married Laurie Browning and they

have two girls.

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ADMINISTRATION OP CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS
AND THE DIVISION OP IRRIGATION. UNIVERSITY OF. CALIFORNIA

Early Years of the Department of

Irrigation, University of California

Baum: Then you returned to irrigation work after the bus
iness went out of existence?

Adams: I left the business in 1910, but it continued

successfully for some time during the first World
War. Early in 190? Dr. Fortier had succeeded Dr.
Mead in charge of Irrigation Investigations in the

Department of Agriculture. Dr. Mead had gone to
Australia. Dr. Fortier asked me to come back to the
irrigation work and take over in California.

Baum: I believe your work with the Irrigation Investigations

was also in cooperation with the University. How did
that relationship first come about?

Adams: Well, as I told you earlier, back in 1900 President

Wheeler invited Dr. Mead to organize a department

of irrigation in the University.
Baum: You mentioned how you helped him.
Adams: Yes.
Baum: Why did President Wheeler want to set up a department

at that time?

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151

Adams :

Baura:
Adams
Baum:

Adams

Baton:
Adams :

Baum:
Adams:

Baum:
Adams :

The title of the association's monthly publication
was Water and Forests*

Was this all paid for by private subscriptions?
Entirely.

What sort of arrangement did President Wheeler make
with Dr. Mead for payment for his services?
My recollection is that he was to receive $1000 for
giving this six-weeks course of lectures and giving
general supervision to the work of the department.
There was no other compensation to those in the
department.

Wasn't there a resident assistant?

Yes. Dr. Mead assigned Mr. J. M. Wilson, under whom
I worked on Cache Greek, to be in charge of the
department and also to undertake and direct Irrigation
Investigations in California as a part of Dr. Mead's
organization.

Was Mr. Wilson paid by the University?
No. He had a title of Assistant professor of irriga
tion.

Did he have duties at the University?
Yes, he gave instruction. He broke down in that. He
was a little too old to readjust himself to the instruc
tion. He had some kind of a stroke in t>ie classroom,
and lingered for several months and died. Dr. Portier

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Adams

Baum:
Adams

Baum:

Adams

was sent later to succeed him. Dr. Fortier brought
with him Arthur P. Stover who had worked under him

in Utah.

Was Dr. Fortier paid?

Not by the University, no. He was paid entirely
by the Department of Agriculture.
Then this was a service of the Department of Agricul
ture to the University?

Yes. All the University gave us was headquarters in
the old Budd Hall.

Dr. Fortier didn't take much part in the
irrigation instruction in the University. That work
was carried on by Arthur Stover. I remember he was
given a University appointment and may have received
some University salary. After a year or two, he
was assigned to take charge of Irrigation Investigations
in Oregon. At that time Dr. Mead selected Bernard
Etcheverry, who was then at the University of Nevada,
to come down and give the instruction. He was indepen
dent of Dr. Fortier and the Department of Agriculture
from the start, entirely paid by the University, and he
reported to President Wheeler directly. Dr. Fortier
had some relations still with President Wheeler, I
don't remember just what they were.

I might say that when Dr. Mead s et up the

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153

Adams: Department of Irrigation back in 1901, both Civil
Engineering and Agriculture wanted it affiliated
with its department. In order to overcome the dilemma,
President Wheeler set up a separate department. It
was to cooperate largely with the College of Agriculture
because the Irrigation Investigations under Dr. Mead
were set up to cooperate with the agricultural experi
ment stations in the w estern states.

Baum: After Mr. Etcheverry began to work for the University
independently, how much cooperation was there between
the Irrigation Investigations and the Department of
Irrigation?

Adams: Very little.

Baum: Couldn't there have been joint investigations?

Adams: The Department of Irrigation was primarily devoted to
instruction. Both Professors Etcheverry and Harding
did consulting work and both, I think, were active
on research committees of the American Society of
Civil Engineers. Their fields of research were mostly
different from ours.

Cooperative Relationship Between Irriga tion

1
Investigations, the State, and the University

Baum: When you took charge of Irrigation Investigations in
California in 1910 you were with the Office of

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Baum: Experiment Stations. You had no connection with the
University except the use of their offices.

Adams: We had an informal connection with the University

because it had assigned some 23> acres on the University
farm at Davis for experiments under Mr. Roeding and
that work had been underway,

Baum: So there was some cooperation on investigation?

Adams: Yes. It was a very cordial relationship. The matter
of funds did not in any w ay limit the spirit of
cooperation. The University was offering us facilities
and the Department of Agriculture, as it was intended
to do, set out to assist them.

The other source of finances was the state.

I told you the Water and Forest Association had
supplied funds to the federal agencies back in 1900,
In 1903 the state began to make a small appropriation
and it did that through the State Board of Examiners.
There was no State Department of Engineering at that
time. At the instance of Clyde L. Seavy, who was
then assistant secretary of the State Board of Examiners,
the legislature authorized a continuing appropriation
of $30,000 for cooperation with the various federal
agencies. Of that, $7,000 was assigned to Irrigation
Investigations. So we had state and federal funds to
work with.

. ::

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155

Baum: Did you have adequate funds?

Adams: I had adequate funds at the time, yes. The funds
were not large. The regular annual appropriation
from Washington was about |7>000 to match the amount
from the state. Money was worth something then.
Prom time to time Dr. For tier assigned additional
funds of several thousand dollars for our work in
California.

That arrangement continued until 1913. Dr.
Thomas P. Hunt had come to the University as Dean of
the College of Agriculture late in 1912. He was
very much interested in our work and he offered to
supply what money we needed to supplement the work.
So from that time on the University became a contri
butor to the finances of the cooperative work.

Leroy Anderson was then in charge of the Farm
School at Davis. The University Farm was purchased
in 1907 or 1908 and they set up a Farm School there.
There had been quite a sentiment in the legislature
for instruction in practical farm work not leading
to a college degree. Superior Judge Peter J. Shields
of Sacramento had been the most active one in promo
ting purchase of the farm and setting up this farm
school. Professor Major was in charge of animal
husbandry work and there was some conflict over

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THOMAS -PORSYTH HUNT 1802-1927

DEANANB DIRECTOR 1912 -19*1

Dean Thomas P. Hunt

156

Adams :

Baum:

Adams

Baum:
Adams

jurisdiction between Professor Major and Professor
Anderson. After Dean Hunt came, Mr. Anderson left,
and several years later purchased a farm in Santa
Clara Valley. He became very much interested in
water conservation in the Santa Clara Valley and was
largely responsible for reviving the plans for
formation of the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation
District.

When did they set up the Division of Experimental
Irrigation?

When Dean Hunt set up a budget for irrigation, he
had to have some unit to which It was assigned, so
he called it the Division of Experimental Irrigation.
This was about 1913?

Yes. The name was changed from time to time and
instead of appointing someone In the University at
a University salary to take charge, he just left the
whole thing to me as the one in charge of the cooper
ative work in California. That's why I was In effect
a member of the College of Agriculture staff, but
with no official connection with the University.
You were in charge of University work without being
employed by the University.
Yes.

My first appointment to the University was in

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157

Adams:

Baum:

Adams:

Baum:
Adams;

1916, but that didn't change my relationship. I
reported to Dean Hunt, the state engineer, and Dr.
Fortier before my appointment to the University just
as I did afterward. I considered myself as
responsible to all three.

I did want to ask about the efforts to combine the
Division of Agricultural Engineering and the Irrigation
Division in the 1920 's.

I don't think that was of ai y importance. It was
merely an Incident that came up at one period. In
the first place, the dean then was new to California
and to tiie University. The assistant dean had same
ideas about organization, and I sensed the feeling
that they would be happy to see us combined with the
Division of Agricultural Engineering. So we simply
had to meet that situation. The details of how we
did this are covered in my "Early History of the
Irrigation Division, College of Agriculture."
I take it you think this would have been detrimental?
In our judgment in a state like California irrigation
was so important that it needed the entire attention
of a group of irrigation specialists. Our conception
of our field was that it went far beyond the engineering

phase of irrigation, aid dealt much more with soils
and crops and agricultural practices aid irrigation

TO I

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-t^sgiTxl b rB eeol^oeia IpiucH^oli^B >n eqoio

158

Adams

Baum:

Adams :

Institutions than with agricultural machinery, which
was then the main field of the division of Agricultural
Engineering. When the Division of Agricultural

Engineering was first organized under Professor

Davidson, he and the dean and I had a complete
understanding as to the relationship between the two.
There never was any difficulty. The same was true
when Professor Walker took over the Division of
Agricultural Engineering. Our relationships were
always most cordial and they were among our best
friends.

Underwhose auspices did you c arry on your irrigation

i_.

investigations?

The three principal cooperating agencies, of course,
were the University, the Federal Department of
Agriculture and the State Department of Engineering.
In special instances others were brought in, such as
the Conservation Commission for some early studies,
and the State Water Commission. It was of little
Importance where our funds came from. Money contri
buted by the Conservat ".on Commission and by the State
Water Commission was of course used for the purposes
specified in the agreement for cooperation. There
was never any conflict of interest between the various
agencies.

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159

Baum: There was never any conflict as to what type of
investigation they wanted the money s pent on?

Adams: No, no difficulty about that.

Our funds from the University g radually increased
much above the amounts contributed by the other agencies
and some of our men were working on subjects that
were not related to the cooperative work at all, some
technical problems like the studies by Dr. Edlefsen
on the forces involved in the movement of soil moisture,
and Professors Veihmeyer's and Hendrickson 1 s work on
the wilting of plants. Their work gradually became
differentiated from the cooperative work. Our
cooperative work was outlined in annual agreements
between the three agencies.

When I took over in California in 1910, Dr.
Portier's headquarters were in Washington. About

1919 or 1920 his headquarters were moved to Berkeley
and his Washington staff was brought out here. They
became interested in special studies in California
which were apart from the cooperative work. After
Dr. Portier retired about 1921; and Walter Mclaughlin
took over, he and I arranged that certain of the

projects would be handled directly by him and certain

of them directly by me.

When that change was made it involved no change

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160

Adams: in our personal relationships. My full salary was

taken over by the University in 1926. I was continued
on the government roll as a collaborator and so contin
ued for many years until the Soil Conservation Service
was given control of the old Irrigation Investigations
and they weren't in sympathy with my attitude toward
some of their activities, especially with regard to
the soil conservation districts, so by and by I had
notice that my services were no longer needed as a
collaborator. That made no difference whatever with
our relationship with Mr. Mclaughlin's group. Just
one of those things that come when you don't agree
entirely with policies that are being pursued.

Conducting the Irrigation Census

Baum: What was your first work when you took over as head

of Irrigation Investigations in California?

Adams: My first job was to get ray bearings on what was being
done and then to go up to Davis and outline an
experimental investigation program there. My pre
decessor Fred W. Roeding had started work there when
the University Farm was established about 1908. Mr.
S. H. Beckett, who had conducted the work there at
Davis, under Mr. Roeding, had taken a position on

the Kuhn project up at Willows. After getting my

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:mr

161

Adams: bearings and getting the work organized at Davis,
bringing back Mr. Beckett and putting him to work,
I picked up the study of the old Wright irrigation
districts in California begun when I was with Mr.
Wilson on Cache Creek back in 1900. That work was
about well organized when I was given the duty of
directing the irrigation census in California in
1910. The irrigation census throughout the United
States for 1910 was placed in charge of Mr. R. P.
Teele of the Irrigation Investigation staff in
Washington, the chief editorial assistant there.
The responsibility for the work in each of the
western states was placed with the one in charge
of the Irrigation Investigations in the state.

That work necessitated gathering a staff of
eight or ten men quickly. I was able to do that
and got some very competent help. I had entire
freedom in the selection and appointment of these
men. They were paid by Census Bureau and their
expenses also.

There were two interesting experiences I had
in connection with the staff. The director of the
census was Dr. E. Dana Durand, who had been one of
my professors at Stanford. When I took up the census
work in California, he wrote to me and said that he

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eno need bftf orfw ,fjnfi r u,'C sn . . ?sw sue
.'In-- . :o r inj8ctR ^s

:.* -^Jc . nl :-

162

Adams: didn't want to impose on me, but if it was convenient
he would like to suggest two assistants. One was a
man who had very successfully handled the general
census in San Francisco. The other was a veteran
of the Civil War, who was the father of Dr. Durand's
wife's schoolmate in college. Well, of course, I
took those two men on.

In taking that census we sought to cover every
individual irrigation pumping plant, as well as the
irrigation from ditches and canals. The former census
taker was assigned to the Porterville area. His
reports came in more complete and with more of them
than from any other agent in the field. I wondered
why, so I went down to see him. I got in the buggy
with him and went around for his daily canvass. He
was a pompous kind of a fellow. He had a sign painted
on the back of his buggy, "Special Agent, United States
Irrigation Census." He'd go up to a farmer I just
listened and he'd say, "I'm an agent for the
Irrigation Census. We want to get a record of your
well. You have about a twelve-inch well?" "Yes."
"About a four-inch pump?" "Yes." "You get about
\\%Q gallons of water per minute?" "Yes." He was
putting all the answers into the mouths of the farmers.
Well, I stopped that very soon and his records were

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.c*e I ,IIeW

163

Adams: more reliable after that.

The Civil War veteran's records were also coming
in in a way that made me suspicious of them, so I
went down to see him. He lived at Uplands and he
was spending a great deal of time at the old soldiers'
home at Sawtelle. One of our men felt that he was
making up some of those records, so I called on him
on Sunday morning at his home In Uplands. I went over

some of his records with him and arranged for one
of our other men working in Southern California to
work with him in completing the small area assigned
to him, but not yet completed.

Baum: You mentioned that Mr. Beckett w orked for the Kuhn
project for a few months. I've heard about that
land settlement scheme. Before we pass the subject,
did you come into contact with the Kuhn project?

Adams: I came into contact with that quite intimately.

The man in charge of the Kuhn project was D. W. Ross,
former state engineer of Idaho, whom I had known in
Idaho. He had first set up the procedure by which
the s tate engineer should investigate proposed
Irrigation districts and report on them before they
were voted on by the landowners.

Kuhn Project

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. .

: -88

Adams: The nucleus of the Kuhn project was the land
under the old Central Irrigation District canal,
but it included other lands. It was entirely a
private venture for the sale of water and land. It
was in no sense a land settlement project as the term
is usually understood. The activities of the Kuhn
Project in the Sacramento Valley are outlined briefly
in Bulletin No. 21 of the State Division of Engineering
and Irrigation.

It was formed about 1906 and purchased the
properties of a private canal company that had put
into operation a portion of the old Central District
Irrigation canal. The Kuhn Project also purchased
the outstanding bonds of the old Central Irrigation
District which were still a lien against the land,
as well as additional areas outside of the old Central
District. They organized the Sacramento Valley
Irrigation Company and also the Sacramento Valley
West Side Canal Company. They then proceeded to
extend the old Central Canal arid to sell land they
had purchased.

The Sacramento Valley West Side Canal Company
was organized as a mutual company and for each acre
of land sold by the Sacramento Valley Irrigation
Company a share in the mutual water company was given.

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165

Adams :

It was the intention of the Sacramento Valley
Irrigation Company to furnish water only to lands it
sold, but owners of outside lands who were refused
delivery of water brought suit to compel delivery,
partly on the grounds that the land in the old Central
Irrigation District had the first right to receive
water, and also that the Sacramento Valley West Side
Canal Company was a public utility. The decision
of the court went to the plaintiffs and subsequently

the Railroad Commission declared the Sacramento Valley

.
West Side Canal Company a public utility.

Later the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company
and the Sacramento Valley West Side Canal Company
went into receivership and the companies were operated
by a receiver for several years. These various troubles
led to the organization of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation
District and about 1920 it took over the canal system
of the Sacramento Valley West Side Canal Company.

A subsidiary of the Pittsburgh corporation that
financed the Kuhn Project was the Mills Orchard
Company. They acquired a large quantity of land in
the neighborhood of Hamilton City and also some back
of Maxwell. That was developed as a commercial enter
prise, not for sale. It was managed by Mr. James Mills,
later a regent of the University of California and for

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166

Adams: a long time chairman of the agriculture committee of
the regents. They had deciduous orchards and alfalfa
as their main crops over in the Hamilton City area,
The area west of Maxwell was entirely in citrus.

Mr. Mills had been manager of a large citrus
development at Riverside. He was a very well-known
man and very enthusiastic about citrus up in that
area. Citrus had already been developed in northern
and central California over in the Oroville area and

in the Porterville area in the San Joaquin Valley. I
don't know what has become of the Mills citrus orchards,
but Mr. Mills was very much discouraged at one time
because of the lack of cooperation of the local
authorities in giving him the necessary pest control.
He expressed that opinion to me at that time. He
sort of threw up his hands. When Mr. Mills left
active work up there and lived in Berkeley his son,
James Mills, Jr. took over and as far as I know is
still in charge of the Mills orchard properties.

Solano Irrigated Farms

Adams: If anyone is ever interested in tracing irriga
tion development in the Sacramento Valley or activities
in that direction, I suggest they look up the Solano
Irrigated Farms Project which was very much in the news

000.

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167

Adams: about the time of the activities of the Kuhn Project
or perhaps lat er. This was an effort to develop
an Irrigation project in Solano County southeast of
Suisun. It was a rather spectacular effort and
ended in a complete failure. However, a canal was
built and several small reservoirs constructed. It
was sparked by a real estate firm in San Francisco
and given very wide publicity In the San Francisco
Chronicle. In fact, the Chronicle devoted so much
space to the enterprise that Igained the irrpression
that M. H. De Young, owner of the Chronicle . was
personally interested, but I may be wrong in this.
A real ballyhoo was carried on and excursions run
from San Francisco with the idea of promoting the
sale of land there. I suppose some land was sold,
but it was a totally impractical enterprise as de
vised.

Late in the first World War Mr. L. A. Nairs,
who had been a very prominent figure in the Kings
River area as representative of the riparian lands
down river, asked me to go over the Solano Project
with him considering the possibility of reviving
the project for rice growing. Mr. Nairs at that
time was either with the State Council of Defense
or with the Food Administration. I recommended

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168

Adams: very strongly against such an undertaking. Owing

to the low temperatures in that area at night, rice
growing had already proven to be unprofitable there.
The idea was soon abandoned. I don't know whether
the State Real Estate Commission was active in those
days, but if it was, any one interested could find
records of these operations in their files. I could
mention a number of private land development projects.
It might be Interesting if anyone is interested in
doing research in that field. For instance, the
Atascadero Project in San Luis Obispo. This was
carried out with the skill of a master promoter
named Lewis, I think the initials were E. G. His
propaganda was most elaborate and included publication
of the largest rotogravure publication. That was
particularly alluring to those looking forward to
retirement. Some features of his technique were
so unrealistic as to be fantastic.

An extreme example was his promise to set up
a university and offer any course that any land
purchaser desired, even erecting a Napoleon Building
for that purpose. Ultimately, of course, there was
disillusionment. Previously he had gotten into trouble
in a promotion, I think in St. Louis. He told me one
day that in the Atascadero venture he had protected

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169

Adams: himself so well that no one could trip him up.
Ultimately, however, he moved down to the Palos
Verdes Estate, out from Los Angeles, and there, I
believe, he got into trouble once again.

Atascadero went on to become quite a settlement.
I'm sure this has not been due to the glowing prom
ises of the promoter.

An entirely different type of land development
can be found at Corning up in the Sacramento Valley,
carried through by a Mr. Woodson. He was an unusual
man of the highest integrity. I have never heard any
criticism of his operations. Through a combination
of imagination and sincerity he succeeded in building
a fine community. Anyone at Corning could give his
name because he was the leader.

Idealism, rather than promoters' profit, has
also figured In the history of getting people on
the land in California. I have In mind the Little
Landers' Colonies promoted by William E. Sraythe,
"A little land a living" was his slogan. I think
his first venture was at San Ysidro down near the
Mexican border below San Diego. Another was near
Hayward. I never visited the Hayward enterprise
but was very familiar with that at San Ysidro. An
acre of land was about the normal holding. I

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170

Adams: remember talking to one fine gentleman who had such
an acre. He told me that It was Impossible for him
to work hard enough to earn a living on that land,
which, of course, was true.

I, of course, have touched only on some highlights
in this field.

Work o_f_ the Cooperative Inve s t igat long

Baum: Exactly what were your duties as head of Irrigation
Investigations in California?

Adams: Our staff included several members of the irrigation

staff of the Department of Agriculture assigned to
California by Dr. Portier. Prom time to time he
loaned me other members of his staff for special
work as needed. Otherwise, I had complete freedom
in the selection of personnel for regular and
temporary work. University employees that required
regents' appointments and were intended to be permanent
were appointed after my recommendation to the Dean
of the College of Agriculture. There were no restric
tions as to regular or temporary employees paid by
the state or as to the temporary employees carried
on the general assistance roll of the University.

Administrative work involved selection of
personnel, matters of financing, our cooperative

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171

Adams: relationships, selection of work to be undertaken,

planning of that work in conjunction with the man or
men assigned to it. The extent of my contact with
men in the field, including those at Davis, depended
on the training and experience of the men involved
and the nature of the work. In some of the earlier
work in which a number of the men would be in the
field for the entire irrigation season or for some
other extended period, all working on a single
project, I was in the field a good deal of the time
because I was necessarily the leader. Examples are,
to do the water studies with alfalfa and rice, and
our work with the State Conservation Commission.
When leadership of the project was assigned to some
member of the staff, I was in the field from time
to time to keep in touch with it and to under st end

i t

There were also some projects of which I retained
a measure of leadership but with some staff member
or some temporary assistant for that purpose in charge
of the work in the field. Examples were rice and
cotton irrigation experiments, our experimental work
at Delhi, and the two years' study we made in
Hollister. Ify field contacts with such projects were
frequent. You can't understand work if you know only

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172

Adams: the beginning and the end, especially when you're
dealing with growing plants.

Baura: Did you carry on some of these projects yourself?

Adams: I carried on certain work personally such as that
related to irrigation districts, irrigation legis
lation, work with Professor Huberty on the cost of
water, and other matters in the field of irrigation
institutions and economics, but never allowed these
activities to prevent my keeping in close touch with
the other work going on.

Baum: Did you h ave to do much lobbying in the legislature
or in the University to get more funds?

Adams: I had nothing to do with obtaining funds from the
University. Back in the early days, as already

explained, representatives of the Irrigations
Investigations of various states had to promote the

passage of resolutions by legislatures and other

bodies in support of our appropriation in Congress,
but there was no such activity in California after
I took over in 1910.

I went into our work in greater detail in the
manuscript I wrote, "The History of the Irrigation
Division, College of Agriculture," a copy of which
is in the University Archives.

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173

Baura:
Adams

Irrigation Practices

Can you explain the studies undertaken in a little

more detail?

'
We sought to make studies of such matters as

preparation of land for irrigation, methods of

applying water, measurement of water, operation of

'
irrigation pumping plants, amount of water necessary

for different crops. Such work was largely concerned
with alfalfa and grain at first. There was no inten

tion to confine such investigational work to Davis,
but that was the focus for certain phases of the work,

Duty of Water

Adams: In addition to gathering information to assist

farmers in their practices on the farm, and that
was very largely for men who were just starting in
farming, and irrigation was new to many, we undertook
work that would assist the state in its administration
of the new water law enacted in 1913.

A matter of importance when irrigation was
developing rapidly was more information on the duty

of water. The duty of water is generally taken to

mean how much is being used. The passage of legis
lation by which the state took over control of water
rights made it desirable that it have as much information

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Adams: as possible about the duty of water because it

must pass on applications to appropriate water and
information about the amounts that should be assigned
was necessary.

Baum: Was that work in cooperation with the State Water
Commission?

Adams: The only duty of water studies made in cooperation

with the State Water Commission were those for rice.

Prior to those studies we had made investigations
of the duty of water for alfalfa throughout the
Sacramento Valley, including work at Davis. In those
studies we concentrated, not only on measuring the
amount of water that was being used, but endeavored
to determine the amount really required. There
were great differences in the amounts of water
applied and in some cases great waste and in s ome
cases not sufficient water was applied. So we added
extensive soil moisture studies to help determine
the amounts of water utilized by the crop and how
much was lost by surface evaporation and by deep
percolation. We undertook to keep track of the use
of moisture by the plant down to a depth of six feet,
taking samples before and after each irrigation,
watching the movement of the soil moisture, finding
the reaction of the plant in plant growth or in the

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17*

Adams

yield.

About 1918 we added Professor Velhmeyer to our
permanent University staff to undertake a study of
the irrigation of deciduous orchards and vineyards.
He began this work in the Santa Clara Valley cooper
ating with the Division of Pomology of the University
through Professor A. H. Hendrickson. They extended
this study with deciduous orchards and vineyards
widely over the important deciduous fruit and vine
yard areas and continued it for many years. Professors
Veihmeyer and Hendrickson reached the conclusion
that water is readily available to plants so long
as it is above the "permanent wilting percentage."
This wilting percentage varies widely with different

soils. To gain further information about the
wilting of plants they conducted greenhouse experi
ments with soils representing nearly all the important
soil types in California. They then went on to explore
the whole field of water, soil and plant relationships.
I think that it was in the late 1920 's that Professor
Beckett was transferred to Southern California to
carry on studies of the Irrigation of citrus fruits,

avocados and walnuts, working out of the Citrus
Experiment Station at Riverside. In time his work
was placed administratively under the Citrus Experiment

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176

Adams: Station. After Professor Beckett's death the work

was continued by Professor Huoerty. There were other
orchard irrigation centers, but those mentioned were
the most extensive.

These more technical studies were not confined to
those mentioned above. For instance, there was the very
able work of Dr. Edlef sen on the forces involved in the
movement of soil moisture; the work of Dr. Doneen on
the irrigation of sugar beets; studies of artichoke
and lettuce irrigation by Professors Veihmeyer and
Hendrickson; irrigation by sprinkling by Mr. Christ! an -
son and many others. These studies were not pi rt of
the cooperative work, and therefore did not have to
fit into a cooperative program. University workers
of established competence must be free to think out
and plan their own research, and if you don't have men
capable of independent research you don't have much of
an organization.

Burning of Brush in Ranges Areas

Adams: A very important research undertaken by the division
which I failed to mention involved experiments in
the burning of brush in range areas to make the land
available for grazing. This work was begun after
Professor Veihmeyer succeeded me as head of the division,
I believe. At any rate, it was he who conceived,
planned, aid carried out the work. It was done under

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177

Adams: the auspices of the range committee set up by the
dean and headed by Dr. George H. Hart, head of
animal husbandry. In addition to University
personnel the committee included representatives
of the cattlemen and the State Board of Forestry.
It was a very interesting project. I visited
Professor Veihmeyer's plots and small watersheds
a number of times. Experiments were conducted in
the Red Bluff and Redding areas and Lake County,
Madera County, Monterey County, and even in San Diego
County. It was clear that the burning of brush
would open the land for range purposes, but whether
burning would increase soil erosion and reduce
rainfall penetration was highly controversial.
Cattlemen, of course, favored burning while the foresters
generally opposed it, or at least they questioned
it and questioned Professor Veihmeyer's conclusions,

just as Professor Veihmeyer questioned some of the
conclusions of the foresters. I think it is correct
to say that primarily as a result of Professor
Veihmeyer's work in this field, controlled burning
in range areas is now a widely accepted practice
conducted in collaboration with the State Board of
Forestry. Incidentally, this work has been continued
since Professor Vlehmeyer's retirement several years

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178

Adams

Baum:
Adams

Baum:

Adams :

ago.

Initiation of Studies

Who initiated your projects?

My job in the cooperative investigation was to make
the best use of the available money in doing the
things that would be of most value to the state. It
was my job to determine what those things were. For
each year a program was set up specifying the cooper
ative work to be undertaken during the year. After
discussing this with the state engineer and w ith the
dean of the College of Agriculture it was submitted
to Dr. Portier, and if approved, as it always was,
it was embodied in a memorandum of agreement for the
fiscal year, in which the obligations of each party
to the cooperation were stated.
Did Dr. Fortier allow you a great deal of discretion

as to what to do?

I don't remember, after I took over in California,
that he ever gave me a single directive as to what
we should do in our cooperative investigations. He
was the type of man who would expect his men in the
field to keep him informed as to what was being done.
I had frequent conferences with him. He would usually
come out to California once a year and he occasionally

Mini

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179

Adams: would have conferences of the whole staff in

Washington or in the West. But I don't recall
that he initiated any of our studies. He must have
influenced what we did, but it was my job to figure
out what should be done and to get his approval.

Baum: Was Dr. Mead similar in this respect, or was he a
more directing type?

Adams: While Dr. Mead was chief of the Irrigation Investi
gations (which was until 190? when he went to
Australia) there were no representatives of the
office in each of the western states. Work in the
Rocky Mountain states was administered in the Cheyenne
office which Clarence T. Johnston, assistant chief,
was in charge of until he became state engineer of
Wyoming. On the Pacific Coast Dr. Portier was in
charge. I know that Dr. Mead always kept closely
in touch with what was being done, but I cannot say
to what extent he gave direction. When I undertook
the Investigations in Utah in 1902 he gave me general
directions, but I had no further instructions from
him during the progress of the investigation. I
knew he set up the program of the study of interstate
water rights on the Platte River, but was away in
Italy during the season that the work was carried out.

Baum: I believe that you stated somewhere that as funds

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180

Baum: contributed by the University and the staff of the
division increased you took on more and more work
that had no relation to the cooperative work. Is
that correct?

Adams: Yes. This was especially true beginning in the

early 1920 's. By 1930 we had a University staff,
all appointed by the regents, of eight or nine and
a budget sufficient to maintain this staff and
meet the necessary expenses of clerical and other
general assistance probably $50,000 or $60,000,
Salaries and expenses were much less then than now.
The others were engaged in teaching at Davis or
in University research. Research was conducted by
University projects outlined and approved by the
dean and reported on semi-annually or as most con
venient. There was a leader for each project and
sometimes a research committee. The various projects
usually covered a field rather than any specific
piece of work.

Once a field of research was set up, such as
those assigned to Dr. Viehmeyer, Dr. Edison,
Professor Huberty, Dr. Doneen, and Clarence Johnston,
it was the leaders' responsibility to develop it.

Baum: Were there any complaints from farmers that you were
spending too much effort on some crop in which they

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181

Baum: themselves were not interested?

Adams: No, I wouldn't say that. Some farmers in Southern
California once raised the point of whether we had
been requested to do certain work. The background
of that was that the Southern California growers
were very insistent in their requests to the Univer
sity for aid in their problems. It was natural
for them to wonder if we had been asked to do this.
Our job was to anticipate the needs and take up
studies which we considered important.

Baum: There wasn't any feeling by some groups of growers
that they were being neglected?

Adams: Oh no.

About 1936 at my request Dean Hutchison appointed
Professor Viehmeyer to succeed me as head of the
division. I felt that the nature of our work was
then such that a man with the training of Professor
Viehmeyer was better suited to lead it. Another
reason was that I had gradually become so much
involved in other activities that I could not give
adequate attention to the division. By that time
Professor Huberty was in charge in Southern California
and not really a part of the division as previously
administered.

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Professor P. J. Velhmeyer

182

Cooperation with Other Specialists
Adams: Our policy was to bring into our work specialists

in other fields. The most notable example was the
long continued and close cooperation between Pro
fessor Viehmeyer and Professor A. H. Hendrickson
of the Division of Pomology in studying the irrigation
of orchards and vineyards and the wilting of plants
and general matters relating to soil and water
relations. L. D. Doneen, who was studying irrigation
of sugar beets and truck crops, cooperated with the
truck crop division at Davis. Professor Christiansen
cooperated with the sprinkler industry in his study
of the hydraulics and economics of sprinkling.
Professor Huberty cooperated with the Chemistry
Division in his study of underground waters in
the Putah Creek area. Professor Beckett cooperated
with the Division of Agricultural Engineering in
the study of wells and pumping in the Putah Creek
area.

In our rice experiments, we cooperated very
closely with the government rice experiment station
in Biggs, doing some of our work there and bringing
the one in charge, first Ernest L. Adams and then
Jenkin W. Jones, into our field work, keeping them
in touch and working with their advice. We organized

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183

Adams: a rice committee which the director of the experiment
station appointed at our request and brought into
that a specialist in the grasses and weeds that
infested the rice fields, Professor Weir in drainage,
Professor Shaw in soils, and others. This rice
committee Bat in on the planning of our rice irrigation
studies and made frequent visits to the field. So
we were in constant consultation with specialists in
other related fields. We didn't undertake to go it
alone.

In our cotton irrigation studies, our cooperation
was with the government experiment station at Shafter,
first tinder W. B. Camp, now a very large commercial
cotton grower, and then with his successor, George
Harrison. That illustrates the type of approach we
used in all our studies.

Personnel

Baura: It sounds like one of the major problems in those
days was to find qualified personnel.

Adams: I would not say that it was a problem, although it
required care. Special care, of course^was needed
for those recommended for permanent appointment by
the regents, that is, our permanent professional staff.

Baum: What kind of people did you look for for your work?

Weren't you competitive with the other farm agencies?

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Adams: Not necessarily competitive. It depended upon what

we were doing. For some of our work, men with engineer
ing training were primarily desirable, with some
training in agriculture. For instance, in our cooper
ation with the State Conservation Commission, most
of the field men employed were engineers. The same
for the Irrigation Census. Few of them had had any
special experience in the type of work we were doing.
The men trained in agriculture were equally effective
in some of those field studies. Our studies of pumping
or irrigation sprinkling, those were problems involving
primarily engineering training. Our studies o^p use
of water involved engineering to a degree, but also
involved knowledge of crops and agricultural practices.
Some were trained in agronomy, some in soils. In
building up our University staff, we had to look for
young men with a bachelor's or master's degree, because
there were few men with advanced training and experience
in our field. We wanted men with ability and good
basic training in the field in which they would be
used. Personality always had a great deal to do with
the selection of the staff. It seemed to me very
important that we have always a very congenial group,
a group that was willing and able to cooperate freely
with each other and with others. I've told you how

, M'tOW TL'O 1C . ' : > '

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Adams: we cooperated with different agencies.

Another feeling I had was that we shouldn't
be in-growing In the selection of our staff. We
had several from the University of California.
We could get competent men from the University,
but I wanted some from other university and regional
backgrounds. Professor Viehmeyer came from George
Washington University and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and had had a number of years experience
in the Federal Department of Agriculture. In the
early years we had 0. W. Isrelsen from Utah Agricultural
College who had specialized in engineering and soils
and had his master's degree from California. Later
we had J. E. Christiansen and Dr. N. E. Edlefsen
from the Utah Agricultural College and also from the
University of California. Dr. Doneen came from the
University of Washington, Vernon Givan and Arthur
Pillsbury from Stanford both graduates in civil
engineering. . Clarence Johnston came from the
University of Michigan.

Baum: Were these the men you had in charge of projects?

Adams: Well, in charge of investigations or making them
themselves. Sometimes there would be a committee
to advise but primarily the work was done by the
leader.

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186

Adams: By the middle 1920' s it became evident that

it would be desirable for those of our men who did
not have advanced degrees to get them. I got Director
Hutchison--later Dean Hutchison--of the University
Farm or Branch of the College of Agriculture at Davis
as it was then called, to talk to our group on the
desirability of obtaining advanced degrees. This
was before we had any men with their Ph. D. or its
equivalent on the staff. Following this Professor
Viehmeyer took leave and obtained his doctor's degree
in plant physiology from Johns Hopkins University,
Professor Huberty went to Stanford and got his advanced
engineering degree there. Vernon Givan and Arthur
Pillsbury had advanced engineering degrees when
appointed. J. E. Christiansen and Clarence Johnston

also obtained advanced degrees. Dr. Edlefsen and
Dr. Doneen already had their doctor's degrees when
they came to us.

Each project every year was assigned a budget.
Especially during the year 192ij. when I was in residence
at Davis, we had monthly meetings of the group to go
over the work in the field, the finances needed, and
we'd make adjustments, additions or reductions as
seemed indicated by the work going on.

Baum: Who did you use for field work?

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blell T OY fcJfc orfW

187

Adams :

Baum:

Adams :

Baum:

Adams

Baum:

Adams

All of our projects involved a great deal of field

work by the leaders.

It wasn't a desk job.

No, It wasn't a desk job at all for any of us.

If the leader needed assistance, it was provided.

Usually it involved labor or equipment more than

anything else. Sometimes we were able to get

younger men, recent university graduates, to go

into the field and help.

Were you ever under any pressure to employ certain

people?

No.

Comments on Agricultural Extension

You mentioned once that when Agricultural Extension
was first established you were not too pleased with

it.

When Professor Crocheron came out here and organized
the Agricultural Extension Service, he had the task
of finding men to go out as farm advisors. He was
able to get some very experienced men. In other
cases, the men he was able to obtain didn't have
much experience. They couldn't go out and say,
"We don't know anything." They had to assume back
ground. Take in our own particular field, we had

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IB'

188

Adams: had a good deal of contact with the farmers. Many
requests came In to us to go out in the field and
help individual farmers in their irrigation problems.
We enjoyed these contacts and did not like to give
them up to what we thought were inexperienced young
men. I think we were rather narrow-minded. There
might have been a little feeling of jealousy on our
part. We're all subject to error in our judgment
sometimes.

As we came to hnow them better and to come in
touch with their work, we became very much attached
to the Extension Service and I personally became
very much attached to Professor Crocheron, the
director. We had many activities together with the
Extension Service; the farm advisors were constantly
calling members of our staff to help them with this
and that until a specialist in irrigation was appointed
and he took that over.

Baura: What did you think of Extension's system of working
through local farm bureaus?

Adams: In the early years the Extension Service worked

through the local farm bureaus, but not exclusively
so, In fact, the Extension Service organized the
local farm bureaus, beginning with the farm centers,
which then formed the county bureaus. The purpose

881

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bns blaJtl erfct n r oct nl SKB' in

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--

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ow eolvtaS nolenr

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Y^ nuco erf * &

189

Adams: was to get a sufficient number of farmers in each
community back of the Extension Service to insure
its success. I remember that in some counties there
were as many as a dozen farm centers.

It was the duty of the farm advisors in those
days to meet with these farm centers at least once
each month. The farm center meetings were usually
held in the evenings so the farm advisors were pretty
busy working elsewhere in the daytime and then these
meetings in the evenings. Each of the farm centers
had a chairman and there were usually committees
appointed to give special attention to particular
interests. The farm advisor was really a leader in
guiding the work of these committees of the local
centers. The work was entirely educational.

Working with the farm centers was not the only
duty of the farm advisors. They had their farm
calls to make in answer to inquiries and w ere more
or less the leaders in promoting the w elf are of the
local community. I remember how emphatic Dean Hunt
was that the farm advisors should not seek to
dominate or dictate to the farmers. In fact, he
had a very definite rule that no farm advisor should
call on a farmer unless invited to do so. He wanted
the University to keep entirely out of any regulatory

981

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190

Adams: work. The University was at that time doing some

regulatory work--for instance, in fertilizer control.
The State Department of Agriculture was attempting
to do some educational work. Dean Hunt entered into
an agreement with the state director of agriculture
and the educational work was left to the University,

In regard to the Extension Division working
through the local farm bureaus, I think I should
say that in due time the various county farm bureaus
were organized into the State Farm Bureau Federation
and this federation began to go into activities
not related to the educational work that the Extension
Service was doing. At the beginning of the 1930 's
the Extension Service pulled entirely away from the
farm bureauthat is, it no longer worked through the
local farm bureaus although it worked with them where
the work was educational,

I understand that in a number of states the
Extension Service worked much more closely through
the farm bureaus than they did In California, In
fact some of the financial support of the farm
advisors, or county agents as they were called, came
from the f arm bureaus and the county agents were
looked upon as representing the farm bureau. That
plan, however, was never carried out in California,

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Adams

Baum:

Adams

191

The Agricultural Extension Service was conducted
entirely by the director of the Agricultural
Extension Service with support from the federal
government, the University and the counties.
Were the services of Extension advisors available
to non-Farm Bureau members?

Oh yes. They were available to members of the
Grange, the Farmers Union, or unorganized farmers.

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192

WORK WITH THE STATE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

Baum:

Adams

Members of the Commission

You mentioned previously that one of your jobs
was working with Dr. Pardee and the State Conser
vation Commission. How did that cooperation come
about?

Hiram Johnson, who had been elected governor in the
fall of 1910, appointed a committee to make studies
and draft legislation with reference to water and
forests, lands and minerals, and other natural
resources. When that committee was announced,

Mr. A. E. Chandler called me up and said to me,

"Now, we're not going to hide our heads under a
bushel."

Mr Chandler had participated in the cooperation

with the Water and Forest Association on Cache Creek,
making a survey of the Little Indian Valley reservoir
site under the Geological Survey. At that time he
was an instructor in civil engineering at the University,
He made the survey as a summer job. After that he
made a report for Dr. Mead on irrigation from Tule
River. Following that he was placed in charge of
Irrigation Investigations under Dr. Mead in Nevada.
One of the first things he undertook over there was

sei

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.sb, ,tG

erf^ to

193

Adams: to draft an irrigation law for Nevada. After that
law was passed, he was appointed the first state
engineer of Nevada. After administering the Nevada
irrigation law for several years, he became assistant
chief counsel of the Reclamation Service and dealt
with legal matters on projects in the western states.

Baum: Was he an attorney?

Adams: While he was in Nevada he passed the bar examination.

Mr. Chandler left the Reclamation Service and
joined with Mr. C. E. Grunsky and several others in
forming an engineering firm in San Francisco. He
was also appointed assistant professor of irrigation
institutions in the University to work with Professor
Etcheverry, and gave courses on irrigation institutions
and water rights. While there he wrote a very fine
little book on the elements of western water law in
which he reviewed the water right laws in other
western states and gave his ideas as to the type of
legislation needed in California.

We had always been very good friends since I
first met him in 1899 when he was teaching in the
Watsonville High School. So he called me up, as I
said, when Governor Johnson appointed Dr. Pardee to
draft legislation. I'm quite sure he shortly there
after called on Dr. Pardee, who had been appointed
chairman of the committee. I also went to see Dr.

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Adams: Pardee. (Mrs. Pardee told me he preferred to be
called Doctor rather than Governor. He was an
eye and ear specialist.) I was told to come at ten
o'clock in the morning. It seems that Dr. Pardee
always had his breakfast in bed a little before ten.

He never ate lunch. So I frequently went down there
and found him still in bed, right after his breakfast.

I ought to go back a little and point out that
efforts to pass irrigation legislation back in 1903
had failed, largely due to the opposition from
Southern California, headed by Judge John G. North,
who was president of the Riverside Water Company, and
had become president of the California Water and
Forest Association. In subsequent discussions before
the Commonwealth Club in 190i(. and 1905, the club
made an extensive study of legislation and the whole
problem of regulation of water rights, and Judge
North made several appearances and expressed his
very strong opposition. He claimed their water
rights were all settled in the South and there was
no need for legislation.

Attending an irrigation congress in Pueblo,
Colorado, I think in 1910, I heard Judge George H.
Button of the Los Angeles County Superior Court
describe the California water laws as the best laws

od bei'ielenq od em b '

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Adams: in the country. Well, I knew to the contrary and
I felt that one of the first things that would be
desirable would be to find a way to overcome the
opposition that had come forward previously.

So I suggested to Dr. Par dee that, with his
approval, I'd like to go down and see Mr. Francis
Guttle, who had succeeded Judge North as president
of Riverside Water Company, and Judge Hutton^and
explain what was generally in mind in connection
with irrigation legislation and enlist their interest
in it.

I first called on Judge Hutton. I had a very
pleasant talk with him and he conceded that what he
had in mind was the underground water law. He could
see there was some need for general legislation and
was very sympathetic.

Then I went over to see Mr. Cuttle. Under the
old code, which was still in effect, anyone desiring
to aopropriate water would post a notice on the
bank of the stream and then file a copy of the notice
in the county clerk's office. That was the end of
the matter as far as any record was concerned. I had
heard Mr. Cuttle state that all the water had been
appropriated in the South, and had been for a long
time. So I went to the courthouse in Riverside and I

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.tiqoi'
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196

Adams: think also in San Bernardino, and I listed recent
appropriations. I had that list with me when I
called on Mr. Cuttle. He was quite rigid, adamant,
when I approached him first. He said, "That water
is all appropriated. There's no need for anything
of the kind any more." I showed him the list. He
couldn't believe it when he saw all these recent
filings. His attitude changed. I <r>uldn't tell
just how he felt, but he was apparently more
friendly.

By the time I got back to Berkeley he had got
himself appointed on Dr. Pardee's committee to frame
legislation. So when I got back to call on Dr.
Pardee, Mr. Guttle was a member of his committee.
Did Mr. Cuttle get on the committee in order to
encourage legislation, or to prevent it?
Well, he was going to look out for the interests of
the South. I think he saw some reasonableness in
what was being attempted.

He was president of the Riverside Water Company?
Yes. Under Judge North he was superintendent.
I had done some work down there and became well
acquainted with him, so I knew him well at the time,

Baum: I presume he had numerous appropriations he wanted

Baura:
Adams ;

Baum:
Adams :

to protect for his company.

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197

Adams :

Baum:
Adams :

Baum:
Adams:

I'm not sure what was in his mind. He was thinking,
of course, of his company and of other companies
in the South. He became gradually one of the strongest
advocates of legislation. In his later years, at
water meetings I've heard him frequently refer to
the early efforts to gain legislation.

This committee recommended the appointment of
a State Conservation Commission and that was authorized
by the legislature in 1911. Dr. Pardee was chairman.
Mr. Cuttle was a member. The other member was Mr.
J. P. Baumgartner of Santa Ana.

How much actual work did the members of the commission
do?

They, of course, didn't undertake to do field work.
Their responsibility was to gather data and prepare
legislation. They had to rely on others to collect
the data.

What was the pressure for the Conservation Commission,
anyway?
Of course there was a lot of talk about conservation

during President Theodore Roosevelt's administration.
Then there was the controversy over the disposal of

the public lands under Secretary of Interior Ballinger.
The whole philosophy of that movement was reviewed by
President Roosevelt in an address before the Commonwealth

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198

Adams: Club in 1911. So It was a very hot subject at that

Baum:
Adams :

Baum:
Adams :
Baum:
Adams :

Baum:
Adams :

time.

Dr. Pardee had been In the forefront of the
discussion out here. I know he had attended irrigation
congresses, at least one, because I saw him at a
congress in Ogden about 1902.
Louis Glavis was secretary of the commission.
Yes. Louis Glavis was a very controversial figure
at that time. He had gained great notoriety in
connection with the Ballinger controversy. Dr. Pardee

thought it would be a smart thing to get Glavis out

here, so he appointed him secretary of the commission.
He wasn't in California at the time?
No, he was brought out here for that purpose.
Did you meet Mr. Glavis?

Oh, I had a great deal to do with him. Well, I won't
say that, because I didn't care to have too much to
do with him. He didn't last too long. There were
controversies regarding him within the commission...
I t ake it you didn't care for him too much personally.
He was a nice personality. I know, one thing came
up one time. We were cooperating with the commission
and Glavis asked me, almost told me, to do a certain
thing. I objected to Dr. Pardee. He said, "You tell

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199

Adams

Baum:

Adams:

Baum:
Adams :
Baum:

Adams :

Glavls to go to... You and I are doing this, not
you and Glavis." By that time Dr. Pardee was more
or less fed up on Glavis. I think Glavis just didn't
fit into the California situation. He undoubtedly
performed a fine service in disclosing some of the
dishonesty and irregularity that was an issue in
the Ballinger investigation.

Were there any differences between Glavis and the
1 commission on policies?

I don't know that there were. There probably were.
Glavis couldn't influence that commission. It is
probable that because of his attempt to assert his
own more radical views that he didn't last.
His more radical views?
I rather think so. I don't know.
It seemed to me the commission's views were quite
radical for that day.

I don't think you could call them radical. The
subjects were very hot. There certainly had been
great laxity In disposal of the western resources,
especially the forests and the lands at that time.
There was a great need for reasserting stricter
public control. I would say that the commission
was exceedingly progressive, at least Dr. Pardee,
rather than radical.

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200

Baum: It seemed to me that the commission used stronger
language in their report than one usually sees in
that formal type of report,

Adams: Maybe I can partly explain that in this way. At one

of the meetings of the Commonwealth Club, when we
were discussing the water commission bill, Dr. Pardee
said, "Some of us were forced to take at times rather
extreme views on some of these questions in order to
get anything at all." He didn't expect to get as
much as he advocated.

Irr igat ion Resources Study and Map

Baum: What work did you do in cooperation with the commission?

Adams: As soon as the commission was appointed I saw Dr.

Pardee. It seemed to me that what would be helpful
for the commission to do in the field of irrigation
was to make an investigation of irrigation resources,
that is, the lands and the water supply. I don't
remember just how I outlined it to Dr. Pardee. If
we undertook the work, of course, it would have to
be done at the expense of the commission. e didn't
have sufficient funds, but the commission had, I
think, $100,000. Dr. Pardee was immediately interested.

I took it up with Dr. For tier and got his
approval. We entered into a cooperative agreement by

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201

Adams: which we should undertake it. This wasn't intended

to be a technical engineering study, although engineers
were primarily employed in conducting it. The idea
was to bring together such information as was then
available on water supplies, s torage possibilities,
on irrigable and irrigated lands, and present a state
wide picture of the status of irrigation and such
suggestions as we might make as to future possibilities.
The idea was also to include an irrigation map of
the state, which had never been prepared previously
except for one of the Central Valley that William
Ham Hall had prepared back in the eighties. I knew
from experience you can teach more by a map or a
picture than you can by a text. People don't
ordinarily read reports. Lest I forget it, I might
say here that in 1922 we entirely revised this map
after another field canvass of irrigable and irrigated
areas. Mr. Fred Scobey of Irrigations Investigations
staff prepared an entirely new base, and the Geological
Survey generously prepared the topography without
cost to us, and also lithographed the maps at cost.

We went to the records of the Geological Survey
and the William Ham Hall reports for data on surface
and underground water supply, and where no data were
available we had to estimate the run-off from rainfall.

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202

Adams: On the matter of reservoir sites we had to rely

very largely on the recent work of the Reclamation
Service. On the matter of agricultural lands, vie
had William Ham Hall's maps of the Central. Valley,
but there were no maps of the outlying areas which
indicated with any accuracy for our purposes the
arable lands. So we had to send men into the field.

People in the state generally, and I was certainly
among them, didn't realize the number of smaller
valleys scattered over the state. I think we tabulated
around a hundred different areas as topographically
Irrigable. Our report of irrigation resources was
included in the report of the State Conservation
Commission and published in 1912, pages 86 to 32?.

After our irrigation resources study was completed,
it seemed to me that it would be helpful in educating
the public to the need for irrigation legislation
to present data that w ould show in more detail the
wide variation in practice and requirements throughout
the state. So I again proposed cooperation with the
Conservation Commission. The proposal was that we
make a study of the use of water during 1912 in Shasta
Valley at the northern end of the state, on Feather
River, in Santa Clara Valley, on San Joaquin River and
its tributaries, and on Santa Clara River in Ventura

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203

Adams

Adams :

County and Santa Ana River In San Bernardino,
Riverside and Orange counties. That was approved
all along the line. The report of this study together
with a summary of our irrigation resources report
was published in Bulletin 2$k of the Office of Exper
iment Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

All this leads up to the legislation that was

passed in 1913

Background of_ the 1913 Legislation

Well, the commission set about drafting a law.
Our cooperation with the commission had nothing to
do with the drafting of that law. Any contact I
had was more or less by courtesy of Dr. Pardee.
I was present at many of their meetings and had some
rather different ideas on the subject and I know
I expressed them and that Dr. Pardee was always

very cordial about It.

Defeat of the 1903 Works Bill

To trace that work, I think I ought to go back a
little and, possibly at the expense of some repetition,
explain where the Commonwealth Club came into this
matter. I already spoke of Dr. Mead's investigation
of nine streams in the state in 1900 and the resulting

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2014.

Adams: recommendations for legislation. At the conclusion
of those studies the Water and Forest Association
appointed a commission to draft legislation. The
engineers who prepared the various reports in Bulletin
100 didn't propose a law; they proposed principles
that were needed. The commission appointed by the
Water and Forest Association was headed by Chief
Justice W. H. Beatty of the California Supreme Court,
a very fine, able, high-principled man. President
Wheeler of California and President Jordan of Stanford;
the heads of the divil Engineering departments,
Professor Soule of California and Professor Marx of
Stanford; F. H. Newell, director of the Reclamation
Service; Dr. Mead; Frank H. Short of Fresno; Also on
that was Judge John D. Works, then, I believe, a judge
in Los Angeles, later United States Senator. Judge
Beatty, by the way, didn't sign the report because
there was some question of the constitutionality of
some of the provisions and he didn't think it was
proper for him, as chief justice, to sign the report.
I was familiar with the work of this commission
because I remember attending a number of meetings,
especially the last one when the report was signed.

Judge Works prepared the bill and It became
known as the Works Bill. That was introduced into

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205

Adams: the legislature in 1903 and owing to the opposition
of the South, headed by Judge North, president of
the Riverside Water Company, it was defeated.

Commonwealth Club Study of Water Rights, 190i|.-1905

Adams: That brings us down to 1903. That was the year the

Commonwealth Club was organized. In 190lj.-05 the club
made an exhaustive study of the water rights situation
in California. It was led off with a paper by Mr.
William Thomas, who had been head of the Water and
Forest Association. Then it was referred to two
different sections and was discussed in the club by
the most prominent lawyers and others interested in
water legislation in the state. Included in the
appendix of the report of the discussion, (Commonwealth
Club Transactions , Vol. I, No. 6) were the recommen
dations of the engineers who prepared Bulletin 100,
the full text of the report prepared by the Water and
Forest Association commission, and the remarks in full
of both those who had approved and criticized the bill,
so it made a very complete history of the movement up
to date, 1906.

Baum: Were you present?

Adams: I attended the meetings. The only direct contacts I

had was when the chairman of one of the sections which

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206

Adams :

reported on the subject, Charles Wesley Reed, asked
me to meet with him and I spent a long evening with
him going over the earlier reports and recommendations
and legislation in other states.

At the end of the discussion in the Commonwealth
Club, 1905> a committee was appointed to draft a new
law. Then came the fire and earthquake of 1906,
destruction of all club records and interruption of
its work for a number of months, and it was not
until 1910 that the subject of water, other than
San Francisco and Bay cities water supply, again

came before the club.

Commonwealth Club Section on Conservation

In 1910 the Commonwealth Club took up the study of
the conservation of our forests. This was followed
by a study of the twilight zone of authority between
the federal and state governments in matters of
conservation. The highlight of this discussion
was a debate between Judge Prank H. Short of Fresno
and President Theodore Roosevelt on the control of
our national resources. Following that, I was asked
to form a section on conservation, and among other
things, to take up again the question of water legis

lation.

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20?

Adams: I was busy at the time on the cooperation

with the Conservation Commission in our study of
irrigation resources, but I s at down with Earle
Walcott, the executive secretary of the club, and
worked out a plan of organization and various com
mittees and personnel. We arranged for six committees
within the section. A committee on agricultural
lands headed by Professor Charles B. Lipman of the
University of California; a committee on water
supply and irrigation with Mr. C. E. Grunsky,
chairman; a committee on forestry with Professor
Walter Mulford as chairman; a committee on fuel,
Mr. Mark L. Ricca, chairman, then I guess the most
prominent California petroleum engineer and later,
during World War I, Federal Administrator of Fuels;
a committee on minerals other than soils, H. Foster
Bain, later Chief of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, as
chairman; a committee on water power with James H.
Wise, a very brilliant young engineer of the P. G.
& E. , as chairman. We had some high-powered men on
those committees.

That section, through its six committees reporting
independently, came before the club in 1912 and 1913
Our report made the longest report the club had ever
published, some 214-6 pages. It was quite a job, lots

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208

Adams: of fun. I had a wonderful group. I always felt a
little ashamed being general chairman of the group,
being younger than most of the group. They were good
sports and took it. I had no difficulty in obtaining
the consent of these different men to act as chairmen
and they all performed a very fine service.

Baum: You had been active as editor of the Commonwealth
Club Transactions before that.

Adams: That was 1908 to 1909. That was while I w as still

in business in San Francisco. I did that while riding
on the street car or home in the evenings. A lot
of fun. I worked up a format, a style book for it.
As soon as we had an executive secretary in the club,
that became one of his jobs.

Baum: Perhaps they were more ready to a ccept a young man
who had been editor already.

Adams: Being an editor previously probably had little to do

with it, since few members knew of my doing that work.

I wasn't a chicken, I was 35 but the others were
older. It was a very distinguished group. Those
were the days when the club had no d if f iculty getting
the top leaders to work. It's much more difficult now.

At the time the Commonwealth Club took up the
question of possibly drafting a new water law, the
Conservation Commission was busy on that subject and

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209

Adams: vie thought it better to keep in touch with the

commission and assist them in any way we could. A
subcommittee was appointed to confer with the Con
servation Commission, which they did. Dr. Pardee and
one time Mr. Cuttle came over to the club when we were
considering the water commission bill. Dr. Pardee
expressed great satisfaction at the help the club was
extending.

1913 Water Commission Act

Adams: The general thinking at that time of the members
of the section on conservation was that the s tate
should provide for a body within the State Department
of Engineering to deal with the regulation of water
rights. Since the Works Bill of 1903 was defeated,
I believe all the western states but Montana had
adopted water laws basically in line with the Colorado
or Wyoming laws. Under the Wyoming law there was an
administrative determination of existing rights by
the State Board of Control. Oregon had a clear-cut
difference. They followed the Wyoming law up to the
point of final adjudication of rights. The fundamental
need in the adjudication of water rights is to gather
objectively and impartially the factual data regarding
use of water and relative rights of the users

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210

Adams: determined by dates of appropriation and quantity
of water used. Under Oregon law, after the state
engineer has determined the rights by administrative
procedure, his findings are presented to the courts
for adjudication.

Our general feeling in the section was that we
should have the administrative determination in
California rather than the Oregon system. We believed
that ultimately the office of state engineer should
be merged into a State Department of Public Works.
On several occasions our section or other sections
made that recommendation and that water rights be
a part of it. Dr. Par dee was in favor of the Oregon
system and that was adopted in the California law.
In California the state was authorized to make the
investigation and prepare a proposed adjudication
only on reference by the court.

Another purpose of the state water laws was to
provide for a method of appropriation by application
to the state. Still another was to provide for state
supervision of distribution of water under these
rights as established.

But Dr. Pardee said "No, that's the business of
the courts. They should direct if necessary the
supervision of distribution under the adjudicated

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211

Adams

Baum:

Adams

Baum:

Adams

rights." I argued with Dr. Pardee on that and when

the bill was pretty close to passage, as I was riding

up on the train to Sacramento with him, I argued with

him all the way. Finally I said, "I think I have it,

Doctor." And I fished out a piece of paper and a

pencil and wrote a memorandum.. . I think this is a

copy of it.

(Reading) "The supervision of the distribution of

water in accordance with priorities established under

this act, where such supervision of the distribution

of water does not contravene the authority vested in

the judiciary of the state, shall be under the State

Water Commission."

That was the memorandum that I wrote out for Dr.

Pardee.

You wrote. .. "does not contravene the authority

vested in the judiciary..."

Yes, that was the point. He said, "Prank, I hate like

hell to admit it, but I'll have to accept that."
That section was adopted as Section 37 of the original
act. Well, it didn't mean very much then. My thought
was that if the camel could get his nose Into the tent,
he could get In some time.

Mr. Chandler didn't think very much of that
provision. I explained to him just how it happened

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212

Adams: to be inserted, and some years later, five or six
years later, that section was amended to set up a
system of watermaster service. The then president
of the State Water Commission said in his annual
report that apparently Section 37 was originally
written merely to get into the bill the principle ,
which was, of course, the fact,

Baum: What was the basis of your preference for having
administrative adjudication rather than judicial?

Adams: Failure of court adjudications to settle water rights
in California was the main reason for passing the
Water Commission Act. Court adjudications in Colorado
had been rather successful but there were still some
drawbacks to procedure there. It seemed to me that
the experience in administrative adjudications in
Wyoming and Nebraska had demonstrated its superiority.
I was then not very familiar with the Oregon system.

Baum: Did you have more confidence in the fairness of

administrative adjudication rather than adjudication
by the courts?

Adams: The difficulty about court adjudication is that you

get a mass of biased testimony and it is very difficult
to establish the facts. The first thing is to gather
the facts, which should be the basis of adjudication.

Baum: The facts would be gathered by the state in either

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213

Baum:
Adams :

Baum:

Adams

Baum:
Adams :

case, wouldn't they?

That's true under the Oregon plan but, as I previously

stated, under the California law the state can make

the investigation to gather the facts only on reference

by the court. Without such reference the proceedings

would be in the court and conclusions based on expert

testimony which is very likely to be biased.

But if the facts were gathered by a state agency, why

would your preference be for an administrative body to

determine the rights rather than a judicial one?
Well, the original argument was that that was t he
policy adopted in the disposal of public lands, which
was an administrative policy. That the water of the
state was the property of the state and should be
administered by the state that it was an administrative
process rather than a judicial process.
In other words, it wasn't private property.
In Wyoming it was the property of the state and
the only private right that could be obtained was the
right of use. In some states water was considered
to be the property of the public. In California
under the present law it is declared to be the property
of the people of the state.
Why did Dr. Pardee insist the other way?
Well, he had been governor. He was a very astute

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Adams: politician, and he had long legislative experience.
It was a perfectly natural attitude for him to take,
because he believed that the adjudication of water
rights was a judicial and not an administrative
matter. He was constantly saying that the constitution
of the state placed judicial matters in the hands of
the courts, or words to that effect,

Baum: Was there any talk of setting up a special water court?

Adams: That was talked of from time to time, but not, as I
recall it, just then.

Baum: Did Dr. Mead express any opinion on the bill?

Adams: I sent Dr. Mead a rough draft of the Conservation
Commission bill. I have here a letter from him
written aboard ship on his way to Australia on
October 5> 1912 in which he condemned the bill very
severely. He advised me to have nothing whatever to
do. w ith it.

Baum: I would think he would have been in favor of it.

Adams: He was very strongly in favor of administrative

determination of rights, rather than determination
through the courts. I think that's the thing that
led to his first reaction against the bill.

Well, the Water Commission Act was passed in
1913 and held up by referendum. It again came before
the Commonwealth Club. The section on conservation

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Adams: reviewed it very thoroughly. Dr. Pardee was present
for at least one meeting; Mr. Cuttle, I think, also.

You would be surprised to see how the section divided

on passage of that law. Our section reported on it
in October, 19ll|, just before the election. There
were majority and minority reports. Let me just read
the names of some in favor. C. E. Grunsky, A. E.
Chandler, A. L. Cowell, State Engineer W. P. McClure,
Charles Wesley Ree$ H. Poster Bain, G. M. Romans,
Fred H. Fowler, B. A. Etcheverry, Miles Standish,
William Thomas, Professor A. M. Kidd of the law
faculty over here, Assistant State Engineer Norboe.
The minority report opposing the act was signed by
Mr. E. F. Treadwell, John D. Galloway, W. B. Bosley,
an attorney with P. G. & E. , Elwyn W. Stebbins, a
geologist, Charles Gilman Hyde, (I'm surprised at
that) professor of sanitary engineering at the
University, Professor W. L. Jepson, Senator C. M.
Belshaw, P. G. Baum, a P. G. & E. man, Mr. A. Burch,
and Mr. A. L. Shinn, a lawyer who had much to do with
reclamation matters up in the valley. I read over
their objections the other day and I'm surprised some
of these men signed that, men like Galloway, Jepson,
and Hyde.

But the bill passed.

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216

Baum:
Adams:

Baum:

Adams

That's all in the Commonwealth Club Transactions ,
Volume 9, 1911;, pages 581-595.

Yes, and it got off to a good start. Governor
Johnson appointed a very strong commission: William
A. Johnstone of San Dimas, Irving Martin, editor of
the Stockton Record, and Albert E. Chandler.

Other Recommendations of the
State Conservation Commission

Licensing Power Sites

I would like to know what the State Conservation
Commission thought about the problem of power sites.
That was a very hot subject and came up in the meetings
of the Commonwealth Club. One issue was whether
there should be permanent licenses for power or for
a period of years. Also, the provision that the
power companies should not include water rights in
their evaluations for rate-making purposes beyond the
actual cost of those water rights. Another question
in connection with the Water Commission bill which
doesn't seem very important, but was rather heated in
the meetings of the club, was the fees to be charged
for licenses. The opposition made a big objection
about this, the great cost to the poor man for filing

t ' ' ; r ?
.

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21?

Adams: on water.

Baum: How great was that cost?

Adams: The cost wasn't great. It was larger for water for
generation of electric power than for irrigation and
other purposes. Dr. Pardee's answer was this. "It's
going to cost something to carry on the work of this
commission. We've got to provide automatic funds
for it because a hostile legislature might at any
time cut off the funds and hamper the work." There
was discussion both ways on the subject, of course.

Baura: Do you think the Conservation Commission was in favor
of public development of hydroelectric power?

Adams: The matter didn't come up. Their interest was in
public control of the water supply.

Baum: I believe the Conservation Commission recommended that
the state use the Gary Act to develop lands.

Adams: A committee of our section cooperated with the commission
in drafting a bill under which we could operate in
California under the Gary Act and this bill was adopted.
Mr. D. W. Ross, former state engineer of Idaho who
had administered the Gary Act up in Idaho and was
now with the Kuhn project, had worked with the committee.
But it was never used in California. There was no
reclamation, except possibly in the desert areas along
the Colorado River.

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218

Baura:

Riparian Rights

Adams

Baum:
Adams

I believe the Conservation Commission, on the
matter of riparian rights and the wasteful use of
water, suggested those rights be condemned and

purchased.

That was considered from time to time, but was

entirely impractical.

Too expensive?

Yes. I made one little study. A group around Dos

Palos who got water from the Miller and Lux system

on the West Side wanted to form an irrigation district,

I remember at that meeting someone asked Mr. Treadwell

if Miller and Lux owned all that water and he said,

"Of course we own it all." Well, that sort of nettled

me so as a service to the little group I had Harry

Barnes <?o to the assessors' offices in Fresno, Merced,

and Stanislaus counties and plot all the riparian

lands clear down to Tracy. Riparian lands are the
lands lying adjacent to the river that have never
been separated from the stream by transfer- -there is
a provision that lands sold away from the river can
still share in the riparian rights, but that has to
be in the deed. We prepared a large map and plotted
the riparian lands in black. I took that to the
people down there and showed them just what they were

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219

Adams: up against.

Baum: How much of the land was riparian, and owned by
Miller and Lux?

Adams: I cannot remember the acreage, but what I do remember
is that a map of the land along the river showed
largely in black that is, that they were largely
riparian lands.

Baum: Riparian rights were a part of the problem th
Conservation Commission was considering.

Adams: Yes, but it was evident they couldn't change that
by legislation. It could only be done by constitu
tional amendment, and such an amendment was adopted
some years later. That amendment, you know, was
before the Supreme Court twice. Mr. Treadwell and
those other large riparian right people sat down with
men like Mr. Chandler and Samuel C. Wiel and others.
Mr. Cowell sat in on it. They worked out the
constitutional amendment which was adopted.

Baum: Treadwell sat in on that?

Adams: Oh yes. You can't do those things without consulting
the other people. That was later. I think the
Herrainghaus decision brought it to a head, which
was the extreme interpretation of riparian law.
Everyone recognized then that something had to be
done. The effect of the consitutional amendment was

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220

Adams: not to abrogate riparian rights but merely to limit
them to reasonable use,

Baumt Did you know Mr. Treadwell?

Adams: Yes. I think I can say I knew him very well. He
was very able, very forceful, and very positive in
presenting his views. I sat in on some of the
discussions leading up to the constitutional amend
ment, and felt that Mr. Treadwell was very fair in
his attitude. Incidentally, Mr. Treadwell performed
a fine public service when he wrote a biography of
Henry Miller. The title of the book was The Cattle
King. He described the early development of irriga
tion on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley under
Henry Miller.

Forest Fire Protection

Adams: I mentioned the work of our conservation section
back in 1912, 1913, 1914. One phase of that that
was always of interest to me was forestry. I re
ported at a meeting of the club on what the conser
vation section had done. The issue was the difference
between the State Conservation Commission and the state
forester and what should be done in the way of forest
fire protection. We did not at that time have a
State Board of Forestry except an ex officio board.

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221

Adams: We had a state forester by the name of Mr. G.

Morris Ho mans. He didn't get along at all with Dr.
Pardee. He had his own ideas as to what should be
done, so there was a rather sharp difference of
opinion. They each presented a bill to the legisla
ture. The main issue at the time was fire protection,
on what basis it should be accomplished. The Conser
vation Commission's plan was largely through coopera
tion with the timber owners. The state forester's
plan was largely a matter of setting up forest
protection districts and state fire wardens and
lookouts, and to carry this work on at the expense
of the timber owners.

Baum: Then the one plan was more voluntary and the other
more compulsory.

Adams: Yes, that in general was i t.

Baum: I should think the compulsory plan would also be more
expensive to the timber owners.

Adams : Undoubtedly.

The matter was so important that the section
arranged a general conference of timber owners and
foresters and the State Conservation Commission in the
club rooms for a discussion of the whole question. I
asked Mr. Beverly L. Hodghead, who was president of

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2sw orfw t bfierfgboH .J Y-f 1 ^ .

222

Adams: the club, to come in and preside. I remember we had
a former state forester, Mr. P. E. Olmsted, Mr. C. R.
Johnson, head of the Union Lumber Company, one of our
very biggest redwood outfits, Mr. G. X. Wendllng
and Mr. Miles Standish, both large timber owners.
About 15 or 20, as I remember, attended this confer
ence. Mr. Romans wouldn't attend. The evening after
that conference he called me up and gave me fits for
"meddling in affairs. " e had been very good friends.

Incidentally, there was no satisfactory fire
protection for years because it seemed impossible
to work with Mr. Homans on the subject. It was
finally adjusted by making M. B. Pratt of the forestry
division of the University, assistant state forester,
largely to direct his attention to fire protection.
He later became state forester,

Baura: You've always been interested in fire protection,
haven' t you?

Adams: In forestry. In those days fire protection was the

main subject of interest. It revolved largely around
the disposal of slash and inflammable material.
The cooperative effort was supposed to result in a
greater effort by mill owners to take care of slash
and the state was to control and insist on it being
done.

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223

Baum:

Adams :

Baton:

Adams:

WORK WITH IRRIGATION DISTRICTS

Preparation of Bulletin No. 2 in 1915

I know you have worked very closely with irrigation

districts.

Yes, down until about 1928. Since then I've been
less closely associated with the districts.
Wasn't a study of irrigation districts one of the
first things you undertook when you went back to
the Irrigation Investigations in 1910?
Yes. I began to bring down to date my information
about districts organized under the old Wright Act
of 1887. I don't recall if I mentioned starting that
study. Briefly, I reported for duty under Dr. Mead
In 1900. While I was waiting for Mr. Wilson, under
whom I was to work, Mr. William Thomas, who was pres
ident of the California Water and Forest Association,
suggested that I study the old Wright Act districts
which had had such disastrous experiences. So I
began the collection by mail of data regarding the
organization of those districts, endeavoring to get
together a complete list of them and the record of
their financial transactions and their litigation and
their current status. I left the work to go to
Washington in 1901 and all that data was laid aside,

ROW

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Adams: so when I picked up the study of Irrigation districts
again in 1910, I undertook to bring that information
down to date.

I employed a very bright young man by the name
of Ray S. Gidney. He was an expert stenographer, a
senior student in economics, and had done stenographic
work for professors Etcheverry and Chandler In the
Department of Irrigation. There were still a number
of people living who had had to do with, or were
familiar with the organization of some of those early
Wright Act districts. I sent Mr. Gidney into the
field to interview them and get a complete record
of what they had to say because he was such an excellent
stenographer and he knew the subject. When the Federal
Reserve System was established early in President
Wilson's administration, Dr. Adolph Miller, professor
of eiconomics at the University, was made a member of
the Federal Reserve Board. He took Mr. Gidney with
him to Washington as his secretary. Mr. Gidney
progressed In the Federal Reserve System and became,
I think, at one time head of the Federal Reserve
System in Buffalo and other positions in the system
and Is now Controller of the Currency In Washington.

I had two other assistants for temporary work
In gathering information about the financial status

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.Cfllonpnfl erf^ *t/odfl rv ^flftnc'r - 1 jmlierftfflg nJ

225

Adams :

Baum:

Adams:

and litigation of some of those districts. Summing
it all up, I found that there had been 1+9 districts
organized under the old Wright Act. Twenty-four
had never incurred any bond indebtedness. Many had
accomplished nothing. The other 2 had incurred
indebtedness, some for a good many hundred thousand
dollars. Of those 2$, only eight were then active,
of that eight, two were only nominally active.

In Bulletin 2 (State of California, Department
of Engineering, Bulletin 2, Irrigation Districts in
California, 1887-1915, 1916.) I completed the study
of the Wright Act districts and also included a study
of several districts that had been organized in
recent years. The last district organized under the
original Wright Act was in 1895. Until 1909 no other
districts were organized.

Irrigation District Legislation

What changes in irrigation district law made it
possible for irrigation districts to be successful?
Those changes, up to 1928 which was the end of the
period when I was most active in irrigation district
work, are outlined in detail in Bulletin 2 of the
State Department of Engineering and Bulletin 21 of
the Division of Engineering and Irrigation. They

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226

Adams: were the same department, different names.

Bridgeford Act of 1897

Adams: The Wright Act experience had been so disastrous
that portions of the law were revised in 1897 by
the Bridgeford Act. The changes were fundamental.
Under the original law fifty or a majority of the
owners of land in any area proposed to be organized
could file a petition with the board of supervisors.
If approved, they could carry an election by a
majority vote. They had no restrictions whatever
on the issuance of bonds or assessments. Consequently
much of the financing was unsound. Some of the
districts would have been feasible under later condi
tions, some were entirely speculative.

Baum: Were they able to sell their bonds?

Adams: In the last decades of the 19th century financing
of irrigation developments was relatively easy. A
good deal of the money came from foreign sources,
I believe from England.

Records of flow of streams were meager. The
state engineer, William Ham Hall, had started the
gauging of streams back in the '80's but between that
and about 1902 or 1903* there were very few gaugings
made. The Geological Survey had made some. They

ctne-islllb .

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abA

22?

Adams: became more active in the work about the same time
the Irrigation Investigations were started in Cal
ifornia because of contributions from the California
Water and Forest Association. When the Wright Act
districts were organized, stream flow information
was totally inadequate on which to base the estimate
of a safe water supply.

Baum: Then they were going ahead vithout adequate informa
tion, and probably without adequate water supply.

Adams: Yes. Lack of water was the main cause of failure.

Baum: More than dishonest promotion?

Adams: Oh yes. I don't recall that there was much dishonesty.
There was some manipulation and I am sure some evasion
of the real terms of the law. I guess you could call
this dishonest. For instance, in one district--the
old Sunset District in the San Joaquln Valley an
owner of a section of land divided it into small
holdings and gave away or sold different parcels at
nominal prices to people who would agree to vote for
organization. That way the organization of the district
was carried and shortly after that the bond issue of
$2,000,000 was voted. I believe there were some of
the other old districts that were equally questionable.
I gave a history of the old speculative districts in
Bulletin No. 2.

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,el r '/IlBupe 9-tQw rfsricf B^oin^Bib b 1

cii lo Y'J a eve-

:rrr

228

Adams: The changes made in the law in 1897 were basic
with reference both to organization and to issuance
of bonds. For petitioning for organization of a
district, a majority of the landowners representing
a majority of the value of the land was necessary.
The board of directors could not call an election
for the issuance of bonds without having previously
received a petition for the submission of that bond
issue signed by a majority of owners of a majority
of the value of the land. So a brake was placed on
the organization of districts. I was Informed by
someone who knew the history of that legislation that
the purpose was to stop the organization of any more
districts.

Baum: At that time large landowners were against the
districts, weren't they?

Adams: Many were, yes.

Improving the Market for Bonds

Adams: In 1909 South San Joaquin and Gakdale districts were
formed. They employed competent engineers, outlined
a system of works, voted bonds, but ran up against the
absence of a bond market.

Baum: This was because of the failure of the previous
districts.

ess

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.actolictelb

229

Adams:

Baum:
Adams:

Yes. They finally were able to let their contracts
by making the contractors find a market for the bonds.

The Wright Act and the Bridgeford Act provided
that bonds should bear 5$ interest and conld not be
sold for less than par. District bonds could not
be sold at that price. The arrangement was something
like this. The contractor would find a bond dealer
who would undertake to dispose of the bonds at a
certain price, say, at 75-80$ of par. Then the
contractor would charge enough more for the work he
did to allow him to rebate to the bond dealer the
difference between 75-80$ of par and par which was
the amount paid to the district by the bond dealer.
This was a clear evasion of law and was generally
so understood by all parties concerned, but there was
no other way in which a district could dispose of
its bonds.

So they just raised the price of the construction.
Yes.

South San Joaquin and Oakdale districts made
an attempt to create a better market for the bonds.
They drafted a law which set up an Irrigation district
bond commission this was early in 1911 composed of
the state engineer, the attorney general, and the
state superintendent of banks. This commission was

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sn'J- baa t lJBtsr t ieanJ-<an9 ecfBcte erfct

".Irnmoo clrfP . drief

230

Baura:
Adams :

Adams: to Investigate any irrigation district desiring to

issue bonds and if it found that the amount of bonds
did not exceed 60$ of the value of the water rights,
lands, and systems, their bonds could be registered
with the state controller. They thought that would
help. Well, it was ineffective.

Baum: Was there any opposition to this change at that time?

Adams: I think not. Mr. L. L. Dennett, attorney for Modesto
District, was most prominent in drafting that legisla
tion.

Did you know Dennett?

Oh, very well. I got acquainted with him in Modesto
in 190l|. He was a very enthusiastic man. Very
earnest and very determined and a very friendly man.

Baum: Would you call Dennett conservative or liberal?

Adams: He was after what he wanted. There were no issues of
that type, conservative or liberal, involved in this
legislation. He was determined to improve conditions
and find a market for these bonds.

That law was ineffective. A movement was started
to improve it. I don't recall exactly the inception,
but in November, 1911 Governor Johnson called a
general conference at Stockton of interested irrigation
districts to consider improved legislation. Prior to
that the matter had come before the Commonwealth Club

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erfct oiol ^tuBin eri^

231

Adams: and several meetings of the club were devoted to the
subject.

Baum: Were you present?

Adams: Yes. The subject was "Marketing Irrigation Bonds".
Among those who took part in the discussion before
the club were Mr. Dennett; Attorney General Webb;
State Engineer Nathaniel Ellery; State Superintendent
of Banks W. R. Williams J A. T. Brock, the San Fran
cisco representative of Halsey and Co.; James K.
Lynch of the First National Bank; W. J. Button of
Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.; Edmund Duryea, engineer
for South San Joaquin District; John D. Galloway,
civil engineer; Mr. C. E. Grunsky; and Mr. E. R. Zion.
I presented in preliminary form a statistical abstract
of the old Wright districts.

After the discussions of the club the president
appointed a committee to prepare recommendations.
This committee consisted of James K. Lynch, chairman;
Henry G. Meyer, banker; and A. T. Brock. At their
request A. E. Chandler; John S. Drum, banker; . L
Hathaway of the New York Life Insurance Company;
Samuel C. Wiel and I were asked to w ork with the
committee, and we joined in their report. This
committee prepared a report to be submitted to the
conference called by Governor Johnson in Stockton.

Xf_S

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;a. ' b.e^elsnoo noo BlrfT

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.n> cti ncBJitfoL nounsvo"

232

Adams: There was a great deal of controversy as to the
required %% Interest and also as to the 60^ of the
total value of property back of the bonds. School
districts, as I recall It, could issue bonds up to
15$ of the value of the property in the school
district. Other institutions were permitted to issue
bonds up to, I think, only 5$ of their assessed
valuation. So 60$ was felt to be too high. The
answer of the districts was that with a water supply
available, the value would be tremendously Increased,
which was, of course, true, If they carried through
the construction and it was a success.

This committee presented Its report to the
conference at Stockton. We made several suggestions.
One was that the districts should be allowed to
issue bonds at 6%. Another was that no district
should be allowed to dispose of bonds without
approval of the commission. Another was that the
specific duties of the state engineer, the attorney-
general, and the superintendent of banks should be
spelled out in the law. Another was that districts
could sell bonds for less than par on the approval
of the commission. I'm sure that report had a great
deal of influence in the drafting of the amendment
to the 1911 law, passed in 1913.

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lo snlrflBib ed^ onetfflnl lo Iseb

233

Baura: Did you agree with those suggestions?

Adams: I was a member of the committee and joined in the

report. In view of the eminence of the other members
of the committee, my part in the drafting of the
report must have been a small one. In those days
I used to be east frequently and I was in Chicago at
the time the report was presented to the meeting at
Stockton. I made contacts over a number of years with
investment bankers in Denver, Chicago, Cleveland,
New York, with the view of getting the attitude of
the investment market for irrigation district bonds.
They had been in disrepute for so long that I wanted
to see what help I could get in redrafting the law.
The only separate thing I remember in connection with
this final report of the committee was that I sent
a wire from Chicago to the committee recommending 6$
bonds and that they should be sold at the market value
rather than at par.

Baum: Would these investment bankers you talked to have
been willing to handle irrigation district bonds
with these modifications?

Adams: None of them would say that at that time. One house

in Chicago had handled a lot of the Colorado irrigation
district bonds and their Investors had lost lots of
money. They were very anxious to see conditions improve.

eessue seorii ~S B wo^ blG

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, svotqmi encl^lbnoa see o* auoXxflfl ^ndv etew -^erf]

23k

Adams :

In another Investment house in Chicago, the man I
talked to was quite interested. He said, "I wish you'd
come to lunch with several of us and talk the thing
over." So I did that the same day. They knew practi
cally nothing about these bonds, but I was surprised
at the great interest they showed. I told them of the
improvements we were trying to make in our irrigation
district law. One of those who attended that luncheon
became a partner in a large New York firm which took
a large issue of one of our district's bonds a little
later. That man was Mr. Dillon and the firm with
which he became affiliated was Dillon, Reed and Company,

The Bond Certification Commission Act which was
passed in 1913 as a substitute for the 1911 act
provided more than merely for the registration of
the bonds. It provided for the commission to make
an investigation and if they found all conditions
favorable and the total amount of proposed bonds did
not exceed 60$ of the available border rights and
lands and other properties, the bonds could be
certified by the state controller as legal investments
for trust companies, savings and commercial banks,
investment funds, insurance companies, investment of

Bond Certification Commission Act of 1913

n erftf ^ogflolrOD hi eei" mtfeevnl t&dione, nl : j>rr

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p.licti/c caw I . ebnocf eaeili rfr.'ccfa snlrirf

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,jrcna' lBloT a nmoo bna a^nlvaa ,a -

1c ineBid^ftvn r 'aeqiroo eonBiwan.? . /**

235

Adams: school funds, and other institutions. You will recall
that one of the suggestions of the Commonwealth
committee was that no irrigation district could issue
bonds without the approval of the commission. The
law as passed did not definitely give the commission
the power to veto a bond issue, but in reality they
did because if they reported unfavorably, there was
no likelihood of the bonds being sold.

Baum: Did they report before or after the bond election?

Adams: Before the bonds were voted. Under the original act
they reported after the bonds were voted.

That Bond Certification Commission Act has, of
course, been of tremendous help to the districts.
It has been amended a number of times. One important
amendment gave the commission power to take over the
affairs of irrigation districts that had defaulted.
That came about during the depression in the early
'30' s. The commission did take over control of some
districts during that period. I should mention that
I had nothing whatever to do with preparation of
irrigation district legislation after the early 1920 's
and a number of the very important amendments to the
Bond Commission Act have been passed since then. They
included the one mentioned.

There was one matter during that depression that

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b 3eci3 gnlit/b is^rfBC em PBW eieriT

236

Adams: always troubled me. Enterprises and industries of all
kinds went into bankruptcy and irrigation districts
and irrigation companies were not an exception. The
law provided what were in substance bankruptcy
proceedings by which the affairs of districts could
be worked out by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
and reviewed in the courts. They appointed as their
agent in working out adjustments the secretary of the
California Irrigation Districts Association. It
seemed to me that it was an unfair situation here in
California that the secretary of the Irrigation
Districts Association should be the one to work out
the refinancing.

Baum: In other words, his committments were to the irrigation
districts rather than being objective.

Adams: I never felt that was a satisfactory arrangement, but
I never made a thorough study of that refinancing.
A study of that was made by Wells Hutchins, and it
was published as a Department of Agriculture bulletin.

Increasing State Supervision Over Organization

Adams: There was another phase of state control which was
important. It was the phase which first intrigued
me. That had to do with the state engineer passing
on the organization of districts. It was easy, as I
explained to you, for a district to be formed under

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. tt/oo beweivei brus

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dl .acl^i? . ItoeeA 8 itfe-tG ncldBglinl
ni eierf not3&u3tc ilalnu ns EB.W it $Bd3 sm od bewe
no 'ct^slinl erftf "io \,t> ". ertt dBrld Blntcll.'

duo Arrowed eno ecti cf la noldjeiooeeA sdo.Hde.IG

SnlonBnllai erfd
ldflgif-. ' .f od e^^w Bdneifiddlaimco eiri t ab-row terido nl :ini/B8

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lo dneadiBqeG B a* berfellctoq BBW

r- Ccidnoo e^jeda lo seBriq Tsrfdona BBW

xlidnl dai' seBdq erfd *BW di ,dnBdioqaJ

gn.? re -mijjne edBde erld rfdiw ob o^ b*,rl dsrCT

BB t Y e ^ s BBW di .adolidelb lo noldjB.'JinBsno erfd no
tebrtu bjniol erf od dolidalb B tol t i fO Y o^ benislqxa

237

Adams

Baum:
Adams :

the Wright Act. Fifty or a majority of holders of
land could propose a district. There was no inves
tigation. That's why so many districts were formed
that w ere not feasible.

It was perfectly evident that the state should
exercise control over organization. Idaho had a
measure of control. Its law made it the duty of
the state engineer to make an investigation of an
irrigation district and file his report with the
district, so that the public would have full informa
tion as to engineering and other feasibility.
Prior to organization?

Yes. That law was drafted by D. W. Ross, who was
state engineer of Idaho and later the man who became
chief engineer of the Kuhn project in California.

How the change In California came about was this.
I was in Sacramento to attend a meeting of the
irrigation committee of the legislature and I met
several members of the Irrigation Districts Association,
including Mr. Dennett and A. L. Cowell, who had been
active in the formation of the South San Joaquin
District. They had in mind favoring a bill that
would give the Irrigation Districts Association
authority to pass on the organization of new districts.
That didn't seem to me a desirable procedure. Its

to Pieb.Co.rf to vcf R to Y-~' *A itrfgliW erfcf

- yfi.? on saw tarfT .^O/T^ - 9?cqoiq bluco bnal

eisw e^oJrt^elb ipiBtn oe t rfw B'tfjerfT .nolcfjegli

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blue erict #erf^ ^usbJtvs Y-f^ 06 ' 1 * 194 ? 8flW rfl

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lc Y*- U ^ 9ri * ^-^ sbjem wI ail .loTtfneo lo
n lo n cctesvnJ ns a^sin c ins

eri^ n r ilw tf' TJErl alll bns ^oii^elb

smio'inl llul evsrl bl rlcfuq sri* * Brief OE ,

ebA

saw c: . . -

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.BlmolllB * nl ctoe^oiq nriir?! srfd- lo is-
.gJtrf^ saw ctucffa entr ^olllD nl ftjirtarfo exitf

ari^ lo JBT B bns^^s ocf o^neniBio88 nl B

cferr I ins eir'rfjelBlael erfrf lo
t nolctflloc : id-eld no

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ne8 rf^jjoS arf^ lo ncicteimol srfct nl evltfo*

nliovBl bnlm nl sriT .ctolt'

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w olJsslnBS'io ed* no

. tq ^IdBtiesb B ear otf oieee o'ablb

sbA

238

Adams: constitutionality was doubtful. I suggested that
the state engineer be given the same authority as
the state engineer in Idaho had. I had with me the
Idaho law. So this group came up with me to my room
in the Sacramento Hotel and together we drafted a bill

providing that when a petition for formation of a
district was filed with the board of supervisors,
a copy should be sent to the state engineer, and
prior to consideration by the supervisors the state
engineer should report as to whether he found any
conditions within the proposed district which would
justify him in reporting adversely. State Engineer
McClure was heartily in agreement with that legislation,
and it was passed in 1913

Baum: Did Mr. McClure have an adequate staff to handle
Jobs like that?

Adams: He had one assistant state engineer, an accountant,
probably two or three other employees including some
stenographers. That's about all he had. As I recall
it, his duties were primarily with public institutions
and with roads. The state used to make appropriations
for construction of roads. That was before the Highway

Act.

Baum: I can't imagine how Mr. McClure could handle all that

work without a larger staff.

j betfesjyjm , Lu let duo b asw \31S.Bncl3u31

j& erase ' -rss ed^

WJtw barf I . cri-fibl nJ tseclgna a^s^e erii

:i 08 . *sl or
^nercsiosS srfct nl

B lo " . ;:rftf snlblvotq

,- 'sod t Iw fceJil BBW ctoii^elfc

r\ rt o *Y j C- Q *T D A i rt <4 9 A f^ rt T f """i O

^ 1 Li J < J JES

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enc ' slaw p^jtiub eld <1i

enc . "f^lw bfia

Y^-- ^rfd 9- aev* iBrfT . aoi 1

,lM s-r '

239

Adams: On receiving petitions for organization, Mr. McClure
in the majority of the instances personally went over
the area, sometimes with the assistant state engineer.
In other districts he assigned the duty to the assistant
state engineer. In either case he almost invariably
asked me to go along and at the conclusion of the
field trip to give him ray views in writing. I
gathered available data regarding the economic and
agricultural feasibility.

In 1915 that law was made a little more specific.
We went as far as we thought we could in the 1913
wording. In 1915 we got a little bolder and instead
of providing that the state engineer should report
as to whether any condition existed which warranted
him reporting unfavorably, it definitely required
the state engineer to report on the feasibility of
the project, which was a little stronger language.

Baum: Including economic feasibility?

Adams: Economic feasibility wasn't mentioned. Of course, the

state engineer always considered all phases of the
project.

That law eventually was strengthened to require
the districts to file with the state engineer their
engineering plans. It gave the state engineer authority
to make such inspections of their construction program
as he thought necessary, and to approve or disapprove.

eKJlOoM .tM t nol^BSlnBgic to! i~nol31i9q gnivlaoaT nO
lave *fl9 ^llsnc 5!sonjs. -cftf Jo xiltolBm drfct nt

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exict o^ Y^ L '^ er ^^ *-" Jfl 9J ^ scfolrrdalb isrfjto

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baectenl fens tsblod *I P cto^ nl .gnlfeiow

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sIJ^J 1 ! a sew riolrfw ,dno(;<q 9rf *
^Y^-f-fi^^ 8 ^* 1 ^ r/lonl

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~ '. 9*3 rfctlw elil c 'tizlb

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n ! "to anolctoaqsal rfotre 8>J[fiff:

efb to evortqqa o;t bna t vt f " d'Sfodi erf r

Adams: He had that authority also as a member of the State

Bond Certification Commission. So the state engineer
came to have very definite authority over districts.

There was one thing we had to include. The
districts objected to the state engineer having
complete authority over organization so an insertion
was made providing that if the state engineer found
the project infeasible, the supervisors should dismiss
the action unless petitioned by three-fourths of the
owners of land in the district to approve the petition
for organization. I think only one district, that
was out on the Mojave Desert, made use of that pro
vision. The district was formed, but didn't succeed.

Withholding of Water from Appropriation
Pending Formation of a Proposed District

Adams: An amendment was adopted in 1917 that brought the
state engineer into even closer relationship with
the irrigation districts. The idea for this occurred
to me while working with a local committee planning
the formation of what later became the Nevada Irrigation
District. The amendment provided that when he con
sidered It in the public interest the state engineer
could make preliminary investigations and surveys of
a proposed district, and that pending completion of

eri;t lo ledmem & BB oefs Y^iio^^ifja ctflftt bfirf aH sbA

is ^ ejJB^R en"} o2 .noJte; ^ollltfieO bnoS

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S/ilverf is^nl^na e^Brfe ^^ bsdoatcfo s^oli^eib

?:;J-i98fli rtB oa nof^eslnssto Ttevo tfliori3u6 etelqrroo
bnwc 'ie eis^E arfo 11 ^sf: - sbsm BBW

' -?ib blxforfp PionJtvrtft'. ,8ldlr:e^lr!l ^ost * 10 ^^

"Jo rtf yd benolti- \\u noictOB

ad^ svotqaa oi ctoltctalb erf^ nl bnel lo
, J-oit^eib eno ^Inc linlri : . iaslflBgto ^ol

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lc a 'eevnl ^tBnlaills'-ic 93iBm blr

aolcfer :bneq tferf* fonB beaoqoic B

Adams

Baum:
Adams

these investigations and surveys, he could withdraw
from appropriation any unappropriated water that
might be needed in that proposed district.

There had long been a feeling in the foothill
areas that they were likely to be deprived of their
water supply by its adverse use for power development.

This was the primary reason for including the provision
authorizing the state engineer to withhold appropria
tions of unappropriated water pending the completion
of his preliminary investigation.

That same principle has been followed in connection
with the State Water Plan. Rather than w ithdrawing
the water from appropriation, the state files on
the water and holds those filings for ultimate
disposition. The major supplies for the Central
Valley Project and the State Water Plan were filed
on by the State Department of Finance and then held
for assignment when the projects were undertaken.
I'm not sure of the extent to which this amendment
providing for withholding water from appropriation
was used. I do remember that the state engineer made
such an investigation in the Nevada District.
Where did you get this idea from?
The way you get ideas is to be on the ground and
study the situation and things occur to you. You
don't get them in the office, you get them out in

bluoo &jd t ey;9vujB bn isglrfaavni es :eniBbA

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Illitoool ertt nJ ^1 B : M fi

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^w o* ^nsctxs r o'8 tfofl xn'I

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Adams :
Baum:

Adams :

0.1.

the field.

Well, many ideas come from studying what other
areas have done about similar problems, don't

Oh, certainly, and my business was to be familiar
as much as I could with affairs elsewhere.

Making Formation of a District Easier

There was one change in organization that I
thought was important at the time and which I
did not like. It came up when Merced District
was being promoted. The 1897 amendment to t he
Wright Act required a petition for organization
by a majority of holders of land representing
a majority in value of the land and it required
a two-thirds vote for organization. When Merced
District was being proposed, they knew they

were going to have difficulty getting the

required signatures representing a majority

of value of land. The Crocker-Huffman Land

and Water Company had a small system, and they

were interested in selling their system to the

district. I think they suggested the man who

was appointed to conduct the eampaign for formation,

. IsJl
.

srf a**
?Y

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}fu:

.
.

\ tfrfg'

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: BK .

-!b A

Adams: Walter Wagner, who later became secretary of the
Irrigation Districts Association.

The change was this, 500 owners of land
representing 20$ in the value of the land could
propose the formation of a district. It was proposed
that a majority vote on organization could carry a
district and it resulted in quite a fight in the
legislature. A law was passed providing for a
majority vote. It went to referendum, it was that
important, but it carried.

Baum: Who took it to referendum? What interests were so
opposed to the change?

Adams: I don't recall. It was not only voters in Merced
District, but all over the state. Other districts
which were not anxious to see too many districts
formed.

Do you mean some districts were opposed to competition
from other districts?

Adams: I think the feeling was more that if the law made
it too easy to form irrigation districts, more
infeasible districts would be organized and the old
troubles of early days might be repeated and the
market for irrigation district bonds again upset.
However, I am a little hazy about the arguments
pro and con.

Baum:

13391098 9OTB09d ISCtsl Ofiw <

.ncl3eioc58A B^oiic^aiG

5nel Ic re OOc? t e.trf3 a-- rfT

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8 Y' 1 " ' ' /ct3i;i a^ov Y* -tic (;sn B

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lisa Ic B9lrfiroi3
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^.tnai. ?ri3 3jL?cc r 8 TjsprI e!33il e n-r,

.aco bne oiq

:mr

210*

Adams:

Baum:

Adams:

Incidentally, several years later someone in
the Irrigation Districts Association proposed that
the association should be made a state body with
authority to tax irrigation districts and assess
new districts to gather funds with which to guarantee
irrigation district bonds. But that wes not passed.

Other Legislation

In 1913 a constitutional amendment was adopted
authorizing the legislature to exercise such control
over irrigation districts as in its judgment was
in the public interest. It was that constitutional
amendment that really gave the state engineer and
the Bond Certification Commission the control
thev had

Did the districts take kindly to this state
supervision?

There was some opposition from time to time. They

.
liked to take care of their own affairs, but the

benefits from this regulation were so obvious that
the opposition was overcome. I doubt if any legis-

lation was passed over the opposition of the Irriga
tion Districts Association, so I think It was a
few individual districts that voiced opposition.

What we've been talking about mainly so far

' , ibloni

3..: aci^eiooBsA zJoiits' ^egJtii

^ blx; sioceae

BP^EJB bae e^oi r ' 3 ^licti^UB

r? c-i ' -lictaib wsn

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t ' 'tl

cff?ri.1 auciv ncl^r

saw ncictel

T- r e ^ni/fisct naecf

Adams :

Baum:
Adams

are districts organized under the California
Irrigation District Act. At the request of state
engineer McClure, I generally went over some of
these other acts while they've been in the legis
lature and made comments on them, but had no
important part in them. In fact, I don't want to
leave the impression that I had too much to do
with the irrigation legislation, although of course
I was interested in it and I devoted much of my
time to that study. I was primarily Interested in
obtaining state control.

I remember our Commonwealth irrigation section
used to review every act introduced in the legislature
with reference to water. That was before and early
in the 1920' s. As chairman of the section during
that period, I would transmit the conclusions and
comments to the irrigation committees of the
legislature. At Mr. McClure 's request I used to
attend almost all the meetings of the irrigation
committees of the assembly and s'.enate during that
particular period, so I was on intimate terms with
the new members of the committees and especially
with the chairmen.
Who were the chairmen?

Well, Mr. Dennett was chairman of the assembly
committee and then he went up to the senate and was

O erit lefanw baslr
lo rfesupanc sriit cfrA .tfoA tfo/c-ntaJtCI

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lo " i^Bgliil er

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bnB asa^^^faRoo arfJ lc ei?>cfi^^n! won erf;}

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erf^ lo neicilerlo saw tf;t&. . ,

ctnow erf

Adams :

Baum:
Adams

Baum:

21*6

chairman of the senate committee. P. H. Griffin
of Modesto was chairman of the senate committee
at one time. We'd work out our ideas. Sometimes
Mr. Cowell and I would frame the legislation and
take it up to the committees. Ultimately it
would get into the hopper and it would g enerally
go through.

The Irrigation Districts Association in the
early days had little to do with the legislation,
but individual members like Mr. Gowell and Mr.
Dennett did.
T .vhy was that?

It was a small association, there were not so
many districts. Later the attorneys for the
various district* were very active in the
Irrigation Districts Association and legislation
was referred to them and in some cases drafted
by them. After they became very active I had
very little to do with the matter. It was
during Mr. McClure ' s administration that I was
active.

How likely were the senate and assembly committees
to accept the recommendations of the Commonwealth
Club?

...

co e3i lc OFxi

I i 9CIC

briB lit

cfni rf

eri: lf fT

rtC ' B^Bb Yl'

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I

til
CtSlei 8BVf

.
.

Adams: Oh, they received them. They were very cordial

about it. Sometimes I think our section took itself
a little too seriously. We had a good batting
aver ace.

I remember one time, there were quite a
number of bills dealing with closely related
subjects introduced in the Assembly or senate, I
don't remember. I was meeting with the committee,
Mr. Dennett, the chairman, said to me, "You take
all these bills and put them in one bill." And
I did, it was simply a routine matter. That shows
our cordial relations.

Baum: Where did these bills originate usually?

Adams: Prom the people who wanted to make use of the

legislation. There were many amendments to the

act to meet some particular situation which couldn't

be met under the law.

I remember one amusing incident. Under the
California Irrigation District Act, land is supposed
to be assessed at its full cash value, not including
improvements. Incidentally, there's a field for a
very interesting study there in connection with the
wide variation in the way they interpret that law.
In some states irrigation district assessments are
made on a basis of benefits, as they are in our

V4S

bioo VT.=>V 9tw Y^riT .marfcf bsvlooei vartj rfO
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2U8

Adams: reclamation districts. A little district up in
the northern Sacramento Valley had a situation
which they thought could be improved if they could
levy assessments according t o benefits. Mr. McClure
and I w ere going over that and he suggested that
I prepare an alternative method of assessment
allowing districts under certain conditions to
assess on a benefit basis. I did that. I consulted
a number of attorneys on the thing before I had it
In final shape.

Then Mr. McClure asked me if I wouldn't take
that before the Irrigation Districts Association
and get their endorsement because it was very
difficult to get a bill through that they opposed
and quite easy if they approved it. So I did that
at a meeting up at Sacramento. There was present
a very interesting character by the name of Judge
John Pairweather. He lived in the area and had,
I believe, a part in the formation of the Alta
Irrigation District, in Fresno County, under the
old Wright Act. He was one of these archconser-
vatives regarding changes In the Irrigation District
law. He ran a little newspaper down there, was
justice of the peace, always went to the meetings
of the Irrigation Congress and later to the meetings
of the Irrigation Districts Association. He always

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Adams :

Baum:

Adams :

Baum:
Adams :

had something to say and he usually was opposed.

When I outlined this proposed alternative
method of assessments, he was on his feet immediately
opposing it. There was quite a discussion and the
judge moved that the association do not approve it.
That was carried. Then he got on his feet and said,
"Now I want to move that this association disapprove
it." That was carried. That was just a little
incident. Itwasn't too important that it be passed,
but it would have helped the situation in that district
and might have helped some others.

Helping to Organize Districts

When was the increase in the organization of new

districts?

The big increase started in 1915 and reached its
peak in 1920. It seemed to me everyone wanted to
form an irrigation district then. Many communities
asked me to meet with them and because I went on so
many field trips with the state engineer I w as pretty
busy trying to keep up with the job. Many of the
requests to meet with communities came in those
days through the local farm advisors.
Was this part of your official job?

Yes.

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Baum: Did these communities want you to advise them on
how to organize a district or..,

Adams: Yes.

Baum: ...or whether it would be feasible to form one?

Adams: Well, sometimes both. The farm advisors were very
active in promoting the welfare of the communities.
Where they found they needed irrigation development,
they began to emphasize that. They would invite me
to come in, meet with the committee, go over the
ground, consider what their water supply was, and
so forth. Gradually interest grew and we'd have a
general meeting and I would explain fully the proce
dure.

I remember up at Woodland, a committee there
wanted to form a district to get storage. Cache
Creek was dependent on the flow from Clear Lake and
that was insufficient many seasons, especially with
the increase in rice growing in that area. There
was a reservoir site available. The chairman of the
local water committee and the farm advisor asked me
to meet with them. We had a general meeting. A
committee was appointed and we went over the whole
area to be included. I remember sitting down and
writing sub rosa a good deal of their newspaper
publicity. The state engineer had asked me especially
to go over and assist that community.

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251

Adams : That was the type of work I had a chance
to do. It was a privilege, very interesting.

Baura: Was your work in the area of promoting the district?

Adams: No, I absolutely had nothing to do with promotion.

Helping a community with their publicity was as near
as I ever came to promoting a district. I stayed
strictly away from promotion, I limited myself to
outlining the procedures under the district law and
the opportunities under other laws. There were by
that time a number of other statutes under which they
could organize.

I did go a little farther in the case of Merced
District. That was brought to my attention by the
local committee and by the chairman of the irrigation
committee of the assembly, who lived in that area,
He published a little paper down at Livingston. I
met with him and a local committee and wrote a resolu
tion, which was passed by the committee, calling on
the state engineer to make a preliminary investigation
for the formation of an irrigation district there.
In preparing this resolution I had in mind the 1917
amendment authorizing the state engineer to make
preliminary examinations of proposed irrigation
districts. This was done and the state engineer
passed on to me the preparation of the report on

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2SJ2

Adams: which the organization of the district was based.
With a district formed, money could be raised by
assessment to pay for a complete engineering in
vestigation, preparation of plans, and estimates
of cost.

Irrigation Districts Compared to Other Districts

Baura: I take it that you were pretty enthusiastic about
this method of organizing irrigation facilities.

Adams: I was tremendously interested in irrigation districts
and anything that would advance agriculture in the
state, and I was fully committed to the district
as a means of accomplishing that.

Baum: You preferred it to other types of districts that
might have been organized?

Adams: Not necessarily. If there had not been a need or

a desire for other types of districts, laws providing
for them would not have been passed. The pattern of

land ownership or the extent of urban population
are among the factors that determine the type of
district to be used. I never expressed a preference
for one type of district over another. My activities,
however, were primarily concerned with districts
organized under the California Irrigation District
Act, although I had some contact with other types
of districts.

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Adams: Of course, In the south the usual procedure
was through mutual water companies. In the San
Joaquin Valley in Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties
there were many farmers' cooperative irrigation
companies, mostly organized at an early date. In
the Kern River area public utility was the principal
form. In the south a few of the mutual water companies
changed over to Irrigation districtsImperial
Valley being the largest area in which this was done.
In the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys some of
the utilities and cooperative committees were
gradually changed over to irrigation districts.

In early days cooperative and mutual companies
involved a very low cost and could easily be financed
by the farmers or, in the case of mutual water
companies, by the land development company. Irriga
tion districts provide a means for financing new
construction or buying out utilities not available
to mutual water companies and utilities because of
the authority given to districts to levy taxes or
assessments.

Baum: Why couldn't privately-owned public utilities do
the Job adequately?

Adams: That's a long story. The constitution made water

available for appropriation and sale for public us*.

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251;

Adams: In early days public utilities usually disposed

of water under water right contracts. That method
caused a tremendous amount of friction. Many of
the contracts were unfair. There was a good deal
of litigation about them. There was no adequate
state regulation of those utilities at that time.
Agriculture can't stand too many people making a
profit on the side out of the irrigation system.
I always felt there was no place for profit to
anyone other than the user of water, and that was
the basis of my feeling that the district form of
organization was the superior plan.

Baum: It sounds like the farm advisors also were enthusiastic
about irrigation districts.

Adams: Perhaps I have overemphasized the part the farm
advisors had in the organization of irrigation
districts. Probably only seven or eight of them
did, as I remember. All of them, however, were
interested in the irrigation problems of their
county. Whenever I went Into a county in connection
with the organization or operation of an irrigation distri(
I always kept in close touch with the farm advisor
and found him much interested.

There are other reasons than those given for
organizing under the California Irrigation District
Act. Under this act the procedure for financing,

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255

Adams: construction, and management has been worked out

over the years much more fully than the other types
of districts. In some districts the procedure was
much more simple than under the California Irrigation
District Act. For instance, some made use of
county officials to levy and collect assessments,

Baum: I understand that now other forms of districts

are often preferred because voting is proportional
to value of land held.

Kern River Water Storage District

Adams: Well, an example of that is the situation in Kern

County. In 1919 I was asked to go d own to the Weed
Patch country, south of Bakersfield, principally the
Arvin area, to discuss the organization of irrigation
districts. I made many trips down there, had numerous
conferences.

The situation was this, the canals carrying
water to the irrigated fields north and south of
Bakersfield, except at the extreme lower end, were
all controlled by Kern County Land Company and
operated as utilities. At the lower end, around
Buena Vista Lake, Miller and Lux had large properties.
The supply was inadequate for the entire Kern River
area and they looked forward to storage on the Kern.
-

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, .vcb eqlirf Y fljSW bBt I

256

Adams: They knew there was a good site available at

Isabella. Some of the ditches had early priorities,
some late, and farmers under those having late
priorities were agitating for some movement that
would bring storage. What was being discussed at
that time was a district under the California
Irrigation Districts Act.

A little later Mr. A. Lincoln Fellows, who
was then in the Irrigation Investigations office
under Dr. Portier, made a general study at the
expense of the Department of Agriculture and proposed
the formation of an irrigation district. That
was turned down, never went to a vote.

There were in the area a number of communities
subdivided into small holdings. Edison was one of
them. The irrigation district law provides that
all electors shall vote, not only landowners. The
Kern County Land Company owned a lot of land that
would be brought into the district and there were
many others who owned large areas. Finally a meeting
was held for them to reach a conclusion as to whether
they should form under the Irrigation District Act
or under the Water Storage Act. Professor Etcheverry
had made investigations down there, I think, for the
Kern County Land Company and he had proposed a water
storage district. He was at that meeting to outline

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gnl;f9fi: ^firict *B aaw sH .^olitfalb

257

Adams: the procedure of a water storage district; I was
invited to be there to outline the irrigation
district procedure. After careful consideration
they decided on the water storage plan because they
had one vote per each $100 In land value.

Baum: At that time did you think a water storage district
was better for that particular area?

Adams: I had had no direct experience with the Water Storage
Act. I think I showed no partiality for the
Irrigation District Act at the time, but I had the
general feeling that ultimately the community
would be better off If all of the people had a chance
to pass on what was being done. I realized that
the local people had to determine what was to
their best interest, but I think I would have been
more satisfied with an Irrigation district. I
might say that some of my best friends down there
In Kern County preferred the water storage district:
Forest Prick was one of them, he's still a leader
down there; Mr. tooodworth, son of Professor Woodworth
who In early days was head of entomology in the
College of Agriculture; and Hugh Jewett, a very
Important man, all large landowners. Then the
movement lay dormant for quite awhile.

Yesterday I saw Forest Prick over at the
Commonwealth Club meeting. I asked him Just what

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,IlriwB etfli/p mol
tevo

258

Adams: year the district finally got organized. 19lj.l

And they don't yet have their water supply arrange-
ments made. The Bureau of Reclamation has built
Isabella Reservoir, but the district has not worked
out with the Bureau of Reclamation any plan for
obtaining water. The 160-acre limitation has held
them up.

There's no question that they made the right
choice in organizing a water storage district.
That's wonderful land down there.

I might mention with reference to those early
negotiations that Mr. Alfred Harrell, who was editor
and publisher' of the Bakersfield Californtan, was
very cooperative. I had a number of conferences
with him. He knew the public sentiment.

Large Farms, vs. Small Farms

. .

Baum: Did you find that the effect of Irrigation districts

was to reduce the size of landholdings in the district?

Adams: When any area of unirrigated land is brought into a

project the result is always to bring about a reduction
in the size of holdings. The charge for irrigation
can rarely be paid on unirrigated land. Besides this,
when a project is opened there is generally a move
ment into the area by those desiring to take advantage
of the new enterprise. This is true whether the
project is a district or some other type. I think
subdivision is more rapid in irrigation districts

.beslrtBgio rfo? Y^^il ^oli^slb edJ lae^r : arnabA

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tfon ear! ^oJicfelb 9^ ctyd ,ilovi389fl
tol nslq -jnB nolctBinaloe :i*lw

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,qu fli9/i^
eb&cn Yrf^ ^srid 1 nol^soup CA s'sTsrfT

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isbnow e 'isrfT

ori^ orf eonei 1 *'- 'lv nolctnom idglm I

rroilbe cw O- : >? , IletiJpK bsilIA ,*iM 3fsd3 anol^filctogsn

BflW ,a9ln j IO'llJ[flp bl9l^B193fB<:f 9Ci$ lo IQffalldtfq bOB

Beo^^^e'i^ro lo T3omt/n B .evld'fi'iftqco-j

H .1

|Iam8 _ ? a M V

ctoa'ne ^rf^ ^.srfd be v- blQ

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^ ?.

-9vojTr B yllaiar :' beneqo el ^oe^oiq a nsriw

gnlileeb saorid 1 ^d Beta ^ri^ o^nl ctnam
outd' B! elxiT . .Itqaaons wen &rt3 lo
TsrUc SfTjce 10 ^olTcfelb a B! ^os^oiq
nl blqfit S' nclelvlbdwB

259

Adams: than in other types, because the district assessment
is levied against all the land in the district,

Baum: I have heard people who favor irrigation districts

say that one of their major beneficial effects is
the breaking up of large landholdings. That implies
that they favor small landholdings. I think many
other people feel large landholdings are more
efficient, more economical, and a better system
for agriculture. What do you think on that matter?
Adams: I've heard that question discussed a great many

times. I presume you mean the family farm as opposed
to the large corporation farm, because pro and con
arguments generally relate to these two types. I
can't answer your question categorically yes or no.
I grew up on a family farm, and the life there was
one of my greatest experiences. The only trouble
was that like so many other "family" farms it wasn't
large enough to support the family. Speaking sen
timentally, I would like to see all of our farm
areas made up of farms of that type, but that will
never happen. At present many of our farms are too
small to produce satisfactory income.

Agriculture is now generally a business no
longer merely a mode of life. There is no question
that the large farms in California have made a great
contribution to our economy. Many of the abuses

f.lb arftf sei/sosd e- Tsrtto ni n*

ett nl basl ertt Ila cfenla&B belvel el
ectolntfalb nclJBginl tovcl odw elqoaq brtaed evBri I
el ectoall* Ifi.foilsned lot^fn ilsrf^ lo sno

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. nlblorfbnBl IlBme IOVB!

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'I vilme.";. sstt n&etn uoy eicwas'iq I ,3rnlJ
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,eoqy;u cwi aRafirt c3

; C

bna .

R!"

.Ylto-8*i srfct ct'ioqqua o;t riguone
an '.IB see od^ >3(JtI bluow I t

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.emconJ Y* 10 ^ *^ 8 ^^* 8 o^bcr[q .orf UBXHS

B Y-C-CfiT^T ^ W0f ^ B *

noloesup or el .elil lo sbow B

3 *>,- ob&m vBd Bjn-iolllBO nl amiB"

irdB srt^ lo

:anabA

260

Adams: attributed to large corporation farms have been in
connection with the status of the laborers. If
there are such abuses, they can be corrected as
many have been. There are some areas in California

where family farms CD uld not be established. An

example is to be found in some portions of our
Sacramento -San Joaquin delta. Another example is
on the west side of San Joaquin Valley in Fresno
County where the cost of supplying water to the
land is prohibitive to the man of small means. This

is because the only water available is underground
water which must be raised from great depths, at
a very high cost for wells and pumping equipment.
Ultimately, when water is made available under the
state water plan the situation may be different.

There are areas in which individuals have
acquired large holdings and have gradually developed
them under irrigation or plan to do so. In Kern
County there are many instances of this situation.
I have a general feeling that many of these large
holdings up and down the state will ultimately b

further subdivided, but no one can make really

accurate predictions, especially with regard to an
industry that is governed by so many forces as
agriculture is.

nol^eioqioo esijal o*
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. i

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^m OE Y^ bennevog ai

sbA

261

Difficultiea in Developing Irrigation Districts

Baum:

Adams :

Baum:

Adams:

Many irrigation districts were organized in the ^O's
when there was already an agricultural surplus in
the United States. Was there any opposition to
irrigation districts on the grounds that they would

just increase the surplus?

I'll give you an example of that. I would say it

was in the late '20's, Prank Swett, whom I have
mentioned to you before, was then general manager
of the Pear Growers Association, which was a marketing
agency for pears. He was raising pears over at
Martinez and he purchased land down in the South San

Joaquin District and had plantings there. He made

-
rather bitter attacks on those of us who were interested

in aiding irrigation development through districts.
That was on the basis that they had more pears being
grown than they could market and we were constantly
increasing the areas that were being put into fruit

and causing growers that much more trouble. So there

.
was opposition in certain segments.

Did this factor of the agricultural surplus come
into your mind or the minds of the communities that
were interested in organizing irrigation districts?
We considered all phases of the thing. We certainly
were conscious of surplus, but you couldn't determine

f L eyeCI nl es.frt.DjQ 11 lid

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nl si/Iqine iBitr^IaoligB OB ^besiijs ew sis/itf neriw

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:' . tBal erfi lo

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'Sri brtB ^ol^JBl

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so nl nol^laoqqo saw
ari^ lo notfor elrict blQ
erf^ 1o abnlm arf^ 10 fanlra
/irfnlb ar.i^agii'il gnlslnB^no nl
a^tdo - .pnlsii erf^ 1o p.ea^rfq HB be-xsblenoo eW :amfibA

^'nblyoo uc^r ^trcf ,81/lqii/E lo saoloer ,sw

262

Baum:

Adams

Adams: a matter of irrigation development on the basis of
agricultural surpluses at any one time because the
development of an irrigation project is a slow
process. It takes many years sometimes.
In other words, you were taking the long view, that
the surpluses would not last forever.
We had to take the long view. One of the problems
that did conern us was the matter of settlement of
the land. A project isn't a success until the land
gets irrigated. If you have a large amount of
unirrigated land not earning enough to carry the
load, why, you're in trouble. That was the cause of
failure of many irrigation projects in the West.
Settlement became a problem about 19!l| or 1915. The
settlement had really become a problem in the West
much earlier, even before the passage of the Reclama
tion Act in 1902.

Baum: Why weren't there settlers?

Adams: I remember someone remarked, along about 191^, "The
species settler has become extinct." It's not easy
to get established on a farm. Once it was a matter
of a few hundred dollars to get established on a
farm, but prices increased and It became several
thousand dollars and it was not long before it
became $10,000 or $15*000 to establish a farm and
it must be much more than that now. Because of the

sas

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aeuaoed ewaicf <?no ^rus ^s esawlqius
wcls B el cto9f 4 oiq nol^Bslml o tfnwnqoleveb

.a? .a 8-TCB9Y Yttarc astffl* .aBeooiq

,welv snof erf* jjnJjLs* etaw j < w ieri*c nl

.i9Vf- ^B! cfon bltroirf adeuJqiife -

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' ' \ bnsl

lo im ^IJB! B svaii COY "**

ericf Y^^f" on smlnrta cton &

Vtt 1

nq A WHBOd itnsxnsic:
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^BB^flo eriJ aioled nsve t 'Xf'lltB6 r

I rfoA

9nr

". '*! ".^cnjt^xe am coed earf t Ql j; ^ o e
.mifll no berialldB^e
aild*ee ctojn o^ etBlIob be-xbm/rf wel B lo
iB-tevsE emo9<f *1 bnB beeaeioni esolnq tod ^

8JBW *^ bn * eifilJ

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"io scuBoeS , a 3Brtt ntrtt e-. W/P ed *BOBJ ;*!

'EG

Bfllfi

263

Adams: difficulty of settlers getting established, the

state land settlement plan was adopted. In addition
to the cost of the land, buildings must be erected,
equipment purchased, land must be prepared for
irrigation, planted, and there must be money available
to carry the enterprise until it becomes self-sustain
ing. The Federal Farm Loan Act made the establishment
of farms much easier of course.

Baum: It seems that one of the problems, then, was that the
cost of land had risen higher than the agricultural
production warranted, at least for beginning settlers.

Adams: Let me cite the West Stanislaus District. Some of

that land was sold, after organization, at somewhere
in the neighborhood of $200 an acre. It was a high
figure, very much over its value for dry farming.
I was talking to one of the farm advisors about that
increase in price. He said, "If they pay that much
for their land, they're working for nothing,"
However, I doubt if our predictions were borne out
because I believe that has been a very successful
farming area, whatever they paid for land.

It seemed to me very significant in the formation
of districts that there should be an immediate
increase in price of land after a water supply was
made available. Right after Merced Irrigation

9ftt tberfeildBctae gnltftfev eisl^^a lo

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t be;to9Tia 9d ^sum egniblltrd , baBl er ;)oo erfi otf

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beoisM le^lr T .sldallBVB

26k

Baura:

Adams: District was organized, I spent several days finding
out what the price had been before and what it was
after the formation of the district. There was a
great increase.

The irrigated land has to pay assessments, which
I should think would tend to keep the price of the
land down.

Adams: That's something that should enter into the price
of land, but so far as I can see, it hasn't.

Baum: I can't imagine a farmer buying land without consider
ing the cost of the water.

Adams: I suppose they do, but if they want the land they
have to pay the price. In an irrigation district
they don't have to pay for that water right away.
Speaking academically, as the price of water goes
up, the price of land should go down, but I haven't
found that true.

Baum: I should think the cost of land would go down when
the cost of other factors goes up, as water, taxes,
or even fertilizers and seeds.

Adams: Yes. But the question of scarcity of land must

enter into that, and the desirability of location.

Desire to live there enters into the situation.

32 tfneqc BBW

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^nl Bieins ierict BV! r o^ eolsed

265

Santa Clara Valley Water
Conservation District

Adams :

Baum:

Adams :

Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District
furnishes an excellent example of the long period

frequently Involved In developing a plan and system

of control of water.

When did you become Interested in the Santa Clara

water problem?

While I was still located at Cheyenne in the old
Irrigation Investigations office, I came to California
for a holiday. The man who was in charge of Irriga

tion Investigations in California, Mr. Wilson, had
had a serious illness and I was asked to look after
affairs while he was ill. That was over a two or
three month period. One thing I knew he had had in
mind was an Investigation in Santa Clara Valley.
So I went down to see some people down there about
the possibilities of an investigation. Mr. Wilson

died and was succeeded by Dr. Portier and I went

back to Wyoming.

In 19014- Dr. Portier sent a student who had
just graduated down there to make an investigation.
That student was Fred H. Tibbetts. I made several
trips down there to go over the ground with Mr.
Tibbetts.

pVf y&llmV a'ifllO

visenc

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.tM rfcfjw bni/ots rict tavo os. cxt eisri^ nwob

266

Adams:

Baura:
Adams:

Baum:

In 1912, in cooperation with the State
Conservation Commission, we carried on studies on
a number of streams. One of the areas was Santa
Clara Valley. Here is the report.

(reading) This is from Office of Experiment Stations,
Bulletin 25U 1912. (They look at report.)
In about 1920 Fred Tibbetts and Stephen E. Kief for,
another well-known engineer, laid out a plan for
Santa Clara Valley which provided for replenishment
of underground sources primarily, but with some
surface distribution. In 1921 a special act was
passed creating a Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation
District which extended from Morgan Hill neighborhood
to a line midway between Mountain View and Palo
Alto, in other words, almost the entire floor of
Santa Clara Valley in Santa Clara County. That was
subject to approval in an election. That election
was held in the fall of '21.

We were having a home built in Los Gatos at the
time. I went down there and spent a week just prior
to the election and went to the meetings each evening
in different areas where the subject was being
discussed. I took no part in it, I was merely an

observer. It was defeated.

What was the opposition?

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26?

Adams :
Baum:
Adams :

Baura:
Adams :

There was very bitter opposition.
Why were they so opposed?

Farmers are conservative when it comes to spending
money.

It was the expense?

As I remember it the plan the district was to
carry out would cost around ten or eleven million
dollars. For an area that never spent any great
deal of money on irrigation development that was a
lot of money. There were already a good many pumping
plants in the valley and I think the farmers generally
didn't appreciate the dangers of the impending over
draft. There was also opposition from the owners
of several small ditches from Los Gatos Creek which
supplied water for irrigation in the winter.

After this defeat the law was amended eliminating
the southern area around Morgan Hill. Again the
matter went to the vote of the people and was defeated
once more. Following this second failure the matter
was dropped until about 1926 when Dr. Leroy Anderson

undertook to revive the project. He didn't want
me to call him Doctor down there because he was a
farmer then, but he had been formerly in charge of
the farm school at Davis and I had known him intimately,
we were very close friends. Sometime in 1926 he came
to see me, he was anxious to get things started again.
I had many conferences with him and I talked to at
least one large mass meeting on procedure in forming

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268

Adams: a district. Fred Tibbetts had loaned me a copy of
the 1921 Tibbetts-Kieffer report and I had analyzed
it for Mr. Anderson and had given him a memorandum
setting forth the main features of the project. I
had informed myself as well as I could on the physical
side as well as the organization side.

Mr. Anderson formed then a little association
which was known as the Valley Water Conservation
Association. He interested a number of others in
scattered areas. I have here a newspaper clipping
giving an account of the twentieth anniversary
meeting of the association, from the San Jose Mercury.
In those early years they raised about $10,000 from
the farmers and chambers of commerce.

One of the first things they did was to build
some little check dams on some of the little
tributaries on the Almaden and Guadalupe creeks.
There was much propaganda then about the advantage
of these little check dams. You will find that in
all these early discussions of districts, every
farmer is an engineer. He has his ideas as to what
should be done.

Baum: Was the idea of these little dams for storage or
underground percolation?

Adams: Just to slow down the flow of water. They also

bought one of the old ditches, the Page Ditch, and

erid ri^tol
SB II*. 'molni

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:jruj

269

Adams: ran water out in It primarily for percolating water
into the ground, but they did it by running it out
on the orchards. I think they gave it to the farmers
almost for nothing. The main thing was to get it
into the underground.

But Mr. Anderson and his associates came to
realize something else was necessary.

Baum: Did Leroy Anderson own much of this land?

Adams: He had a very nice orchard on the road between

Congress Junction and Saratoga, probably 2$ or 30
acres.

Baum: Was he quite a wealthy man?

Adams: No, I think he had very little capital. I know that
he assumed a rather heavy debt and paid a high price
for the land. One of his friends told me that he
didn't think that Anderson could carry the financial
burden which he assumed.

Baum: He couldn't afford to contribute much money personally.

Adams: Their contributions were 50^ an acre on that prelim
inary investigation.

I ran into this little item Dr. Anderson sent
me at the time of this anniversary meeting.

Baum: (reading) A certificate of membership in the Valley
Water Conservation Association, signed December 1,
1926.

Adams: He predated it.

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2?0

Baum: Signed Leroy Anderson and Max Watson. And on the

back, "We are sending you this certificate of member
ship in the Valley Water Conservation Association in
consideration of the splendid assistance which you
gave us in the spring of 1926 when we were struggling
to find what should be done to save the flood waters
of our valley, and also for the good advice that you
gave so freely in succeeding years."

Adams: Dr. Anderson interested Senator Herbert Jones
in preparing a new act and this act was passed in
1929. It was under that law that the present district
was organized.

Baum: Did your wife and children live in Los Gatos?

Adams: Yes, off and on for about ten years. My oldest boy
suffered greatly from asthma and we moved down there
in '21, He never wheezed once after we got there,

Baum: Did you take any further part in the Santa Clara
district's affairs?

Adams: No. They had employed Fred Tibbetts after the act
of 1929 was passed. In fact, I'm sure Mr, Tibbetts
had given Dr. Anderson a good deal of advice before
he was employed. They had that act amended in 1931
to take care of some deficiencies. I went over the
law at the time at the request of Senator Jones, and
made my comments, but I don't recall what suggestions
I made.

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an;;

271

Baum: What kind of a man was Leroy Anderson?

Adams: He was a wonderful man. He was primarily an educator.
His interest originally at Cornell was dairying. He
came to California first as principal of California
P'olytechnic School at San Luis Obispo. I met him
Just as he took that over. He was visiting Stanford
campus with some of my friends there. Then when I
came back into the work in 1910 he was at Davis,

Baum: Did he get along well with people?

Adams: So far as I observed, he never antagonized anyone,
although there had been some conflict between him
and Professor Major at Davis while Dr. Anderson
was there. When the district was finally organized
and got going in '31 he wanted to be secretary.
What I'm telling you now came out of the mouth of
Pred Tibbetts and was a great surprise to me. That
Dr. Anderson wanted a good big salary, and that he
wasn't a good businessman. And they replaced him.
He felt very, very badly about it. I don't think
they treated him fairly. They finally honored him
by naming a big reservoir the Anderson Reservoir.

Baum: I know there was a lot of opposition to Anderson

and I wondered if he were the type that antagonized
people.

Adams: He was very gentle, very much of a gentleman. Very

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2?2

Adams

Baum:

Adams

Baum:
Adams :

qufet. But he had single-handedly restarted the
movement that led to what followed. Above any one
individual he was entitled to credit for that.

He must have been single-minded, to keep working

at that when everyone else gave up.
Yes, but I hardly think everyone else had given up.
I enjoyed my contacts with him very much. He was
really a very close friend. I stopped to see him
almost every time I passed the farm. His wife was
a very brilliant woman, also a Ph.D. They were
very active in the community church at Saratoga.
When I attended his funeral there was constant
reference to his contributions to the community
down there. The church was just filled with people
at his funeral. He was very highly regarded among
his friends.

But if he had an idea and someone opposed him,
he wouldn't back down.

So you would describe him as gentle, but persistent.
Yes.

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.aeY

273

Baum:

Adams;

WORLD WAR I
Increasing Food Production In California

You mentioned you did some troubleshooting on water

problems during World War I,

Yes. There was a serious shortage of water in the
Sacramento Valley and in some other areas. The
great emphasis of the Council of Defense and the
Food Administration was to increase food production.
The need for food in Europe was paramount. The

Council of Defense and the Food Administration cam*
to us for help to speed up food production.

We took over, with the consent of the local
people and under the moral suasion of the times, control
of water distribution in a number of areas. One was
the Woodland area Professor Beckett took over that.

The purpose was to see that no one received more
water than he needed. One of his main objectors
was George He eke, who was later state director
of agriculture and quite a prominent man and who
later received the LL.D. from the University largely
for his leadership in stamping out the foot and
mouth disease in California. Mr. Hecke almost cried
when Mr. Beckett w ouldn't let him have as much water

as he wanted. Said his orchard was going to die.

I RAW (UflOW

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