The Rain Wizard: The Amazing, Mysterious, True Life of Charles Mallory Hatfield
during the past 43 years Considering the city’s rainfall totals the article wasn't exactly accurate However the San Diego Union and its sister newspaper the Evening Tribune were owned by John D Spreckels At one time or another he counted among his local holdings large swaths of real estate the city’s electric street railway system the Southern California Mountain Water Company which built Morena Reservoir and was the city's largest privately owned utility until he sold it to the city for 4 million in 1914 and several downtown buildings A millionaire many times over and son of Claus Spreckels who had made a fortune in sugar John Spreckels didn't hesitate to use his newspapers to promote his views and for his own financial gain Spreckels was one of two of the most prominent and powerful businessmen in San Diego The other was Elisha Babcock who owned four thousand acres of oceanfront property and built along with Spreckels the city’s grandest hotel the Hotel del Coronado Spreckels's views and his newspapers opinions were always considered by local politicians Both Spreckels and Babcock knew there was money to be made if only San Diego had water and lots of it and talk of drought was one way to spur the city's political leaders to look for sources other than those already in use Almost immediately Shelley Higgins the assistant city attorney echoed the Union saying the water supply
in the reservoirs had dwindled to an alarming degree One reservoir was described as being as shallow as a pane of glass Rural ranchers regularly drew off much if not most of the water flowing in the San Diego River leaving it a mere trickle by the time it reached the ocean Terence B Cosgrove the city attorney filed a lawsuit against the ranchers He claimed that on the basis of an old grant from the king of Spain the full flow of the river belonged to the city and not to rural landowners Legal battles over water in the American Southwest were common and plaintiffs often suggested their wells were dry even when they weren't
OFFICIAL SEAL KFORNIA IC 15 THE COMPLETION O 0 OF THE AMA CA SAN D THIS Pould kee for Enos Mattoon San Diego The Panama California Exposition was meant to show off the port city of San Diego at its finest Because the exposition featured exhibits from other countries it was renamed the Panama California International Exposition in
The recent surge in growth had placed new demands on San Diego's water supply and this worried businessmen like Spreckels and Babcock therefore it worried politicians The town's future depended on water With plans to extend the exposition another year and memories of a seven year drought in the 1890s the city council seemed close to desperation A down on his luck Englishman Frederick Fred A Binney believed in science and in mankind's ability to mold and control nature He had lost his own citrus orchard a short distance east of San Diego to a winter dry spell Having followed Charles Hatfield's rainmaking career over the years he was convinced that Hatfield held the scientific key to ending drought With a keen sense of how he might make some money he appointed himself Hatfield's promoter and began taking out advertisements for Hatfield's services in newspapers throughout California Hatfield who always prided himself on his integrity and honesty accepted the help despite Binney’s shady reputation Binney was known in real estate circles for being less than honest sometimes placing his crude handmade For Sale signs on property that wasn't his to sell Expecting to receive a percentage of any deals Hatfield struck Binney contacted the city council in 1912 on behalf of the rain coaxer He was turned away His reputation had preceded him and he met with a skeptical
