Before the Honorable Secretary of the Interior of the United States of America: In the Matter of the Order Issued by the Honorable Secretary of the Interior, to the City and County of San Francisco, to Show Cause Why Certain Portions of the Garfield Permit Should Not Be Revoked (with maps)
San Francisco: James H. Barry, [1910]. 1st. Leather bound. First Edition. Large 8vo. iii, 176 pp. 2 color maps dated March, 1910 by J. H. Dockweiler, consulting engineer to the attorney for the city of San Francisco from 1904-1916 - one large folding map is titled "Map showing Location of Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley (Scenic Park) and Lake Elsinore in the Yosemite National Park." The second map (singled page) is titled "Map showing location of the Proposed Municipal Water District to be served from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Site." Includes three sections: Written Return of Respondent to Order to Show Cause by Percy Long; and two by J. H. Dockweiler: Report on the Domestic Sources of Water Supply and Report on the Tuolomne River source of Water Supply. Red leatherette with floral endpapers. Tape repairs to spine; chips to front edge; 2 restored short tears to folding map where affixed to inside rear cover; else a very good copy of an uncommon title (not in Cowan nor Rocq). Item #17572
Beginning in the 19th century, the Hetch Hetchy Valley was viewed as a potential source of drinking water for San Francisco. This interest generated a tremendous amount of controversy and resistance, in the early days led by the Sierra Club and its founder, John Muir who saw the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a prized natural resource calling it "one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples". As early as 1890, the first proposal for damming Hetch Hetchy Valley was made by San Francisco Mayor James Phelan. Appeals and denials of appeals ensued. In 1908, the City of San Francisco filed a petition asking the Secretary of the Interior, James Garfield to reopen San Francisco's application for water rights, requesting both Lake Eleanor and Hetch Hetchy Valley. Subsequently, the application was approved by Garfield only four days after he received it. Sierra Club leaders form a new organization, "The Society for the Preservation of National Parks" with notable figures across the country as leaders, to further publicize the campaign against the dam. The new Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger suspended the Interior Department's approval for the Hetch Hetchy right-of-way, and on Feb. 25, 1910 requested the City of San Francisco to "show cause" why Hetch Hetchy Valley should not be removed from the Garfield grant. Here is the city attorney's response to such request. And the battle for Hetch Hetchy Valley continues to this day.
Price: $950.00