Reuel Olson Papers on the Colorado River Compact, Water Resources
Collection
Russell Michalak (2008); Revised by Jamella Gow (2012)
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
800 North Dartmouth Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
Email: specialcollections@claremont.edu
URL: https://library.claremont.edu/scl/
© 2021
The Claremont Colleges Library. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Reuel Olson Papers on the Colorado River Compact, Water Resources
Collection
Dates: 1919-1967 and undated
Collection number: H.Mss.0584
Creator:
Olson, Reuel Leslie
Extent:
2 Linear Feet
(5 document boxes)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, The Claremont
Colleges Library, Claremont, CA 91711.
Abstract: Materials in this
collection consist of Reuel Olson's notes, letters, newspaper clippings, government-related
documents, and other research materials that became his doctoral thesis on the Colorado
River Compact: a seven state agreement on the allocation of water resources in the Colorado
River basin. Olson, a law professor at University of Southern California School of Law,
wrote his thesis to satisfy requirements for his doctorate at Harvard University. These
materials provide historical background on the Compact, signed in 1922, and present Olson's
personal work in constructing a history of the Compact.
Physical Location: Please consult repository.
Language of Material: Languages represented in the
collection: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to
Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Reuel Olson Papers, Water Collection (H.Mss.0584). Special
Collections, The Claremont Colleges Library, The Claremont Colleges Services, Claremont,
California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Acquisition information unknown.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processing Information
Arranged and processed by Special Collections staff in 1975. Collection rearranged and
re-catalogued by Jamella Gow in 2012.
Biography / Administrative History
Reuel Leslie Olson, A. M., J. D., Ph. D., was a law professor at the University of
Southern California School of Law. For his doctoral thesis at Harvard University, Olson
conducted research on the Colorado River Compact: a 1922 seven state agreement on water
rights in the Colorado River basin. Olson began his investigation of this topic to
encourage more study of the United States Constitution's clause (Article 1, Section 10) on
compacts which prohibits compacts between states without consent of Congress. Olson
published his thesis in 1926.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The collection consists of Reuel Olson's materials used in the creation of his thesis on
the Colorado River Compact and include various items such as newspaper clippings, essays,
briefs, articles, letters, and Olson's personal notes. Materials principally focus on the
Compact while some materials relate to other compacts formed during the time or to various
associations and commissions. Materials present a multi-faceted perspective of the Colorado
River Compact as it contains responses to the Compact by states, law-makers, and citizens
who were actively involved in the matter or contributed information on the issues
surrounding its creation.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is organized into the following series and subseries:
- Series 1: Associations, undated
- Series 2: Colorado River Compact Colorado River Compact, 1925-1967 and undated
- Subseries 2.1: Government, 1925 and undated
- Series 3: Other Compacts/Projects, 1919 and undated
- Series 4: Reuel Olsen Materials, undated
- Subseries 4.1: Colorado River Compact thesis-related materials, undated
- Series 5: Miscellaneous Materials, undated
Related Materials
Reuel Olson's thesis "The Colorado River Compact" is held in Special Collections, The
Claremont Colleges Library and can be found through the Library's catalog:
https://ccl.on.worldcat.org/oclc/3354198. Special Collections holds two copies with the
following Library of Congress call numbers:
HON SPCL WATER HD1695.C70 L8 HON SPCL MASON 627.1 OL8c
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library’s online public access catalog.
Subject Terms
Arizona
California
Colorado River Aqueduct (Calif.)
Colorado River Association
Colorado River Commission. Colorado River Compact --
Congresses
Colorado River Compact
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Water-supply
Series 1:
Associations
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Colorado River Aqueduct Association
Box 1, Folder 3
Columbia Interstate Treaty Commission
Box 1, Folder 5
Imperial District, organization of
Box 1, Folder 6
Los Angeles Board of Public Service Commissioners
Series 2:
Colorado River Compact
1925-1967 and undated
Box 1, Folder 12
Articles and papers written, [professor] Hocking, etcetera (personal file)
Box 1, Folder 13
Assessed valuation and population '67 irrigated Areas XXV (related to
water)
1967
Box 1, Folder 14
Bases of division, possible
Box 1, Folder 17
Certainty, element of, will be added by Compact
Box 1, Folder 21
Colorado Aqueduct for L[os] A[ngeles], city of
Box 1, Folder 22
Colorado Project - letters
Box 2, Folder 1
Colorado River Compact notes
Box 2, Folder 3
Engineering, diversity of views
Box 2, Folder 6
Hunt, [Governor George W. P.]
Box 2, Folder 7
Hunt's veto of supplementary conference 35672
Box 2, Folder 17
Political issues (Mexican question)
Box 2, Folder 20
Relative rapidity of development
Box 2, Folder 23
Suggestions (Regional Commission) etcetera
Box 3, Folder 3
Swing-Johnson bill-those who favor S[wing] J[ohnson] Bill
Box 3, Folder 5
Transmountain diversion, folder one
Box 3, Folder 6
Transmountain diversion, folder two
Subseries 2.1:
Government
1925 and undated
Box 3, Folder 9
Appropriation right, abandonment of
Box 3, Folder 10
Bills, Congress of U[nited] S[tates] (both houses)
Box 3, Folder 12
Constitutional questions, summary of
Box 3, Folder 13
Eminent domain of Federal Government
Box 3, Folder 14
Extra (taken from "Constitution" material)
Box 3, Folder 21
Senate Committee, new bill
Box 4, Folder 1
Stipulation in license of Federal P. C., effect of
Box 4, Folder 2
Uniform law: the next step in trade development
Box 4, Folder 4
Withold permits until ratified
Series 3:
Other Compacts/Projects
1919 and undated
Box 4, Folder 5
All American Canal Hearings
1919
Box 4, Folder 9
Compacts (other examples)
Box 4, Folder 19
Rio Grande
Note
Folder contains only one document related to the Rio Grande. However, rest of
materials consist of newspaper clippings that refer to proposed compacts between
states in the Northeastern United States and a document on state compacts.
Box 4, Folder 20
San Gabriel Canyon Project
Series 4:
Reuel Olsen Materials
undated
Box 4, Folder 25
Water - Olson, Reuel L. - articles by Olson
Subseries 4.1:
Colorado River Compact Thesis-related Materials
undated
Box 5, Folder 4
Letters re publication of Colorado River Compact thesis
Series 5:
Miscellaneous Materials
undated
Box 5, Folder 8
New Material (i. e., subsequent to thesis)
Box 5, Folder 13
Social Ethics features (extra)
Box 5, Folder 14
Newspaper clippings (1 of 3)
Box 5, Folder 15
Newspaper clippings (2 of 3)
Box 5, Folder 16
Newspaper clippings (3 of 3)
