Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-04-29
water RigNs.

water RigNs.
The fourteenth article of the new
Constitution declares the use of all
water now or hereafter appropri.
ated for sale, rental or distribution,
to be for public use. One slight OBJ
lection to the section is, that many
rights to water were acquired un-
der the laws of this State, and
others under the laws of the United
States, and 10 both cases they were
acquired and are now held for pri-
vate use; and these rights being
vested rights of property, no one
outside of tribe of Indians which
re CARDS stealing as cardinal vir-
tue, ever imagined that vested
right Of property could be taken
away from the owner and turned
over to the public, by a mere edict.
The Constitution or the laws of
every civilized country provides
that priv ate property shall not be
taken for public use without just
compensation, but the new Consti-
tuition makes no express provision
for ascertaining or paying compen-
satlon to the owner for his water
right.
If the Constitution does, in truth,
mean what 1t says-and its advo-
Gates say thatin many particulars
1t does not-and If it appropriates
those water rights to public use, it
must necessarily follow that the
State, or the several counties and
cities, must pay for the water
rights, their value to be ascertained
in some proper manner. Who
knows but that this Is cunning de-
vice of water corporations who are
anxious to sell out to the State, or
some city or county, their unprofit-
able or dilap.dated works for what
they can get jury or commission
to value them at? One of these al
ternatives must be true-either
those rights to water do not become
q public use, or if they do, the pub
lie must pay for them.
But if the article respecting water
rights does not mean what 1t says,
but only that water rights are sub
iect to the regulation and control of
the State, leaving the ownership
what it is, let us see how they are
regulated and controlled. The
rates or compensation for the
water are to be fixed by the Board
Of Supervisors or the City Council;
and the ordinance or resolution fix
ing the rates must be passed in
February of each year, and take eff
feet on the first day of July there
after. Ifa person or company shall
collect rates otherwise than
as established by ordinance
or resolution, the water works
and franchise shall be forfeited
to the city or county. 1t follows
from these provisions that from
January to July, 1880, no rates can
be collected, for the ordinance or
resolution does not take effect till
July. Could the company cut off
the water, or would it have to sup
ply water without pay? Who can
tell ? What would neV company
do that was organized and ready to
Introduce water after February of
any year? Could it collect any.
thing before July of the following
year? 1t is well known that many
ordinances and resolutions are il
legal, because of a failure to OBJ
serve some prescribed form or mode
of procedure; and, if the company
doubts their legality, it must await
the final decision of the question,
and more than year may elapse
before 1t is decided, and the COM
pany will, in the mean time, lose a
part or perhaps all Of the rates for
that year. If the company takes
the risk of their validity and COL
lecte rates accordingly, if it is de-
oided, In case brought by rate
payer, that the ordinance is Illegal,
the works and premises of the COM
pany are forfeited.
In many instances agreements
have been made between com.
panies and individuals. Are they
swept away by the ordinances and
resolutions In some cases water
IL supplied by persons or companies
with thesubdivisions of land as they
are sold, are they subject to such
ordinances and resolutions In
other cases q number of land own
ers unite in bringing in water to
irrjgate their lands, the water be-
ing appropriated by agreement.
Are they subject to all these pro-
visions :? Can the farmers, or the
citizens of towns that are supplied
with water, ,or the water companies,
or associations, afford to have the
present systems broken up and
themselves become subject to the
delays, the litigation and the loss
incident to the establishment of a
new system While they are
quarreling over the resolution of
the Board, the crops will perish for