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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. CITY ATTORNEY (FRANKLIN K. LANE). Appendix A. In the matter of the application of James D. Phelan for rights of way in Hetch Hetchy Valley and Lake Eleanor, within the Yosemite National Park. Petition for review by the city and county of San Francisco [cover title]. N.p., n.d. [1907]. 23.8x16 cm, pp. [1-2: blank] [1] 2-36 [37-38: blank], white wrappers printed in black, side stapled. First edition. Secretary of the Interior E. A. Hitchcock denied San Francisco's application for Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor reservoir sites on January 20, 1903 and again on December 22, 1903. Subsequently City Attorney Franklin K. Lane directed this "Petition for Review" to Hitchcock, who once again denied the city's application on February 20, 1905. This document was printed to supplement Marsden Manson's "Brief" (1907) prepared for the rehearing on the application held on July 27, 1907. Collected in Marsden Manson [and others], Efforts to Obtain a Water Supply from Tuolumne River (1907). Marsden Manson was a member of San Francisco's Board of Works and later City Engineer. According to Manson, Hetch Hetchy was chosen over all other surveyed sources because of the following unrivaled advantages: "Absolute purity by reason of the uninhabitable character of the entire watershed tributary to the reservoirs and largely within a forest reservation; ... abundance, far beyond possible future demands for all purposes; ... largest and most numerous sites for storage; ... freedom from complicating 'water rights'; and ... power possibilities outside the reservation" (Marsden Manson, "Outline of the History of the Water Supply of the City of San Francisco" in Reports on the Water Supply of San Francisco, California, 1900 to 1908, Inclusive, [1908], p. 7). San Francisco recognized the value of Hetch Hetchy as a dam site only after prolonged friction between the city and the monopolistic Spring Valley Water Company. Hetch Hetchy Valley's potential as a city reservoir site was brought to the attention of Mayor James D. Phelan who made personal filings for rights of way and reservoir sites at Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor on October 16, 1901 under the Right of Way Act of February 15, 1901. This act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to grant rights of way through government reservations of all kinds provided the permit was approved by the Secretary and was not "incompatible with the public interest." Secretary of the Interior E. A. Hitchcock denied Phelan's application on January 20, 1903, and a month later Phelan formally transferred his "right, title, and interest" in the two reservoir sites to the city and county of San Francisco. Subsequently a petition for rehearing was granted, and the application was again denied on December 22, 1903. The City Attorney, Franklin K. Lane then directed a "Petition for Review" to Hitchcock, who once again denied the city's application on February 20, 1905. In 1902 the Phelan administration was replaced by that of E. E. Schmitz. During the first three years the Tuolumne filings were kept alive, but following Hitchcock's denial of February 1905, the Schmitz administration lost interest in the Tuolumne supply. Meanwhile, the Phelan group continued their efforts to obtain Hetch Hetchy while waiting for the opportunity to return to office. As a result of encouragement received from federal officials, Manson renewed the city's application for the Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor sites on July 27, 1905. Attorney General Purdy rendered a decision in October 1905 on the reopening of the city's rights, concluding that the Interior Secretary had the power to grant the right if he wished. Encouraged by Purdy's opinion and the support of powerful members of the Roosevelt administration, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1907 determined to fight for the Tuolumne supply rather than honor the resolution passed by the Board during the Schmitz administration which asked that the city abandon its attempts to gain access to Hetch Hetchy and investigate other sources of supply. Secretary Hitchcock, who had steadfastly refused to grant the city's application resigned in 1907 and was replaced by James R. Garfield. A rehearing on the San Francisco application was held on July 27, 1907. As a result of testimony brought forth at this hearing and the official support in Washington, Garfield decided in favor of the city on May 11, 1908. For a detailed account of San Francisco's efforts to obtain water from the Tuolumne River through the Garfield decision see Holway R. Jones, John Muir and the Sierra Club (1965), pp. 83-93, whose history forms the basis of this summary. Mild tanning and soiling to wrappers, a very good copy. (#168345).