The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-03-24
THE CANAL,
Judge Snow Gives More Facts
and Figures on the
Subject.

Editors Herald:
On looking over my remarks in n
letter of the Goth inst. in tn HERAI
of the 21st. 1 discovered I have no
In a few places, made myself {
clearly understood ss [ ought. So
am guilty of leaving undone som
things which l ought to have done
In that letter l find the following
1T is not a recognized principle {
law that an exclusive right 70 The ue
of water may be acquired by apprC
priation aud lost by abandonment.
l was speaking in general terms. M
mind Was on the Utah Lake and th
Jordan, the outlet to that lake. Tn
waters of this lake are common prop
erty, and no one can have an ex
elusive right thereto. These water
| are common to all. Not that a par
may not be appropriated to one anC
a part TO anotber'a use, as the water
come to, lie in and flow from the com
mol fountain. l intsnded to say
that all have common right to ap-
proprlste the water to q reasonable
use for a reasonable time. That this
use in its very nature is not SO easily
segregated as land is, complications
necessarily arise.
Again, find myself to have said
near the close of my letter Chat
right, go far as this town is con.
cerned." l ought to have said lean.
It then would have read $50 far as
this loan is concerned" There is
something in leaving the mind to re.
fleet, or, at least, it so appears to me.
l pnrposely computed the tax on the
taxable property of the city at So per
81, eco, as tha. would pay the interest.
It would raise $21 200 per annum,
which was the interest on $3.50, 600,
at s per cent. per annum, and 81 600
for collecting and discussing.
In another part of the letter l sup
posed-ststing 1 did not knoW-that
the revenue OF the city might be
$150,0 per annum. and if so, one
fifth would be $4,000. Now this
$4,000 will be 8 little in excess of 81
per $1,000. while S2l 900 will be
what I wrote.
Che city charter provides many re-
lor city revenue, among them
it may levy taxes 10 the amount of a
little 10 excess Of eleven mills on the
dollar. This, if exercised to It's
fullest extent, will be $1,000 per an
mum, though l sm told they do not
generally exceed five mill. Five
mills only amounts to, speaking in
round numbers, $50, 900. Tne bal
snce of the revenue is from licensee.
The liquor dealers constitute part
l will make a little computation Of
this last sum in connection with our
present tax law.
Our present Law taxes the property
of the taxpayer outside OF the city, in
GLIDING territorial, school and county,
$12 On the 5000; nut With this the
city tax on the taxable property in the
city Of five m..ls on the dollar and it
makes ST per 81, 600 live add to
this g water tax Of 81 per 81, 900, it
will make S2l on the 81 600 tor tori
torial, county, school, city and water
tax; but if the city Is able 10 get along
without increasing the tax to raise the
$50 per annum, no persons taxes Will
be increased by the borrowing.
Nov to the benefits: nave before
said we must have water and land to.
gether and that We can not depend
on rain. Whatever may be said about
Gods sending rain on the just and
on the unjust, neither the just nor the
unjust in this county got as much
water last summer as they thought
they needed. If they asked for it they
asked amiss-they did not get it.
They now seek it pursuant to scien-
tifc rules
Assuming for the present, that no
prior rights exist to prevent US from
appropriatiDg these waters to our use.
what benefit is ID be derived from our
doing il, in whole or IN part?
This leads me to the canal, which
I am told Is to be O little more than
twenty-five miles in length, extend
ing from the Jordan to the eastern
part OF the city, to be of sufficient
width aad depth d contain large
volume of water. Whether this can
be done or not over land that We all
know to be porous is a question for
the engineers. am not sufficiently
well versed in that class OF business to
enable me to form an opinion. Still,
on general principles, We all know,
myself among the number, that water
in porous land percolates through the
soil. and In sill lands that the sun
sends forth light upon it evaporates
If the canal can be built, and l am
told It can, SO as to prevent parcola-
ton of the water, well. this part vii
be saved, but ii not. the soil and the
water will be together. and, for aughl
know. in sufficient quantities II
raise crops; so gCod may thereby
grow cut of it. But suppose this Il
| be an error, is there any good t
grow Of It by evaporation ? 1 an no
able to state the quality OF waite
which eyaporates st any given perlo'
| from the square foot or square yar
| of surface, yet it is quite considerable
! very likely enough to justify the belle
that in one gear TO, eco, 600 soil
feet of water may pass into yapol
But where will this vap0r go ? Scier
fists tell us that vaLOr ascends IN tn
sir till it reaches an atmosphere @
equal heat and equal density
itself, then cools, returns to watt
and the water returns to the lanC
Take this statement as correct an
apply little intuition to it and wis
then? This canal is southeast Of Il
civ. The mountains east OF
, covered with snow nearly every ye'
= till August, will, it appears to mt
have a tendency to attract the vspo
cool it of, condense 1t, and return
| in the shape Of rain, but this is on
: auxiliary 10 the main benefits; yet
something. The main benefit Is
t be realized by the inhabitants OF u
: CITY. Suppose that the money
borrowed and laid out on the cana
This requires lsborers. Men VII
under other conditions, would not
work find employment, get their pa
the money Is paid them, and the CT
now has the canal, but 1t Is no rich
than it vas before. 1t has the car
hut il owes for the money that 90
. lii. II the canal be good the city
" neither the richer nor the poorer
= the operation. TIE question now
% can The inhabitants Of the city