WSP04958 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 15 begun on the South Platte River. . . . The Colorado River treaty," he added, "[was] a subsequent understanding growing out of the preliminary work upon the South Platte. ,,31 He also noted in 1921 that his work with New Mexico's Stephen B. Davis on the La Plata River since 19] 8 had further prepared him for "better consideration of the greater problem of the Colorado River."32 He knew that a La Plata compact would be precedent setting. Although it was actually signed three days after the Colorado River Compact, what he gained from his association with Davis was not only the chance to think through some of the thorny issues with which he would have to deal in Santa Fe, but a feeling of confidence and respect for someone who would be an important member of the Colorado River Commission. One concern determining the direction of much of Carpenter's thinking was what he viewed as suspicious activities of the federal government. Colorado State Engineer Addison 1. McCune had already warned of the Imperial Valley's plan to ask the federal government to "shut off all development in the upper country until the whole scheme [of development on the Colorado River] is thrashed out, which might take years. ,,33 What Carpenter saw was a rivalry developing between the Southern California Edison Company and the Reclamation Service over which entity would occupy and develop power sites on the Colorado River ". . . all of which adds importance to the problem of setting up the rights of the states in advance of construction. ,,34 He was afraid that such a rivalry could easily lead to construction of a power producing dam at Boulder Canyon before the Upper Basin could get an agreement protecting its own rights at the headwaters.35 Litigation would surely follow such a course of events. At the first meeting of the Colorado River Commission in Washington