The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-18
WATER WANTED.
Reasonable Proposition
Presented.

on behalf of myself and other res.
Ments of Heber's bench, 10 present
for the consideration of members OF
the City Council End others a sug-
gestion for solution Of the vexed
question of water supply for the
''dry benches" Of this city; which,
in the form of a petition, will
shortly be laid before the Council.
The suggestion in question forms
part of q petition for irrigating
water from he property holders OF
the bench referred 10.
AS is well known to most of your
readers, the long-standing objection
to the granting share of City Greek
WAter to the residents of the dry
portions of the city benches. as ex>
pressed by past City counc Is, has
been the fear that grants of su b
water to these localities in the sea-
son of ths year VIII n 1t Ia pie 1tiful,
might ebtitle them tc claim it in
the career periods to the de riment
of the so called sold settler-," whose
rights have been supposed to be
paramount.
AS many persons also know well
petition after petition has been ig-
nored or SET aside on these grounds,
and for so many years that ct least
one member of the present Council,
it appears. has had time
to grow up from a boy
to man in the interim,
with the probability that the gentle.
man in question will yet have time
to become an old man before the
prayer of such petitions Is granted,
unless future petitioners present
their applications in a form that
will. in advance, rule this stereo-
typed objection out OF existence.
The fault in past petitions ap.
pears to have been that the petition
ers have asked rather vaguely for a
water supply, leaving it open to
supposition that they expected to
obtain an equal proportion of City
Creek with the older settlers-a sup
position, Of course, always liable to
arouse antsgonism and provoke
opposition and delay as long as such
q construction of the petition is
possible.
To end this difficulty at once, and
eliminate entlrely from the matter
of water supply to the benches this
perpetual question about the super
Tor rights of the cold Settlers" the
present petitioners propose to state
distinctly that they petition only
for that portion of City Greek water
which goes to waste down Jordan
street.
AS simple method by which, as
it appears to them, this waste water
can be used by the benches without
a possibility of injury to the rights
OF the old settlers, the petitioners
will respectfully suggest to the
Council that the number OF
inches of water that is known
by experience to be sufficient
to meet the demands OF the
sold settlers" of Salt Lake City, in
moderate seasons, be definitely as
certained by their engineers, and
that that amount be set apart and
conveyed to them under all circume
stances; and that the surplus water
over this amount, so long as there is
any, be divided In fair PROPORTION
between the petitioning benches. In
other words they will simply ask
the Council to grant that just as
long as there is any water going to
waste down Jordan street, that a |
volume of water equal to that |
amount be placed at the disposal of |
the dry portion of the benches.
Inasmuch as an ordinance of this
kind cannot render the G ty Council
liable to demand for more water
than the amount which they spe.
officially grant, namely, the waste
water after the needs Of the older
settlers are supplied, aud cannot,
therefore, involve them in any con-
fict with pre-eXistiDg rights, it is
believed that this form OF petition
will remove this long-standing OBJ
lection out of the way of the Coun-
Gil, and that they will be only too
willing to respond TO the prayer of
such a petition. It is therefore
hoped that pstltioning parties from
other dry bench localities will con-
struct their applications upon this
principle, 80 as to avoid further 90
jections and delays.
OF course, it is we'll enough un>
derstood that such an amount OF
water as can be obtsined upon this
principle will not be as much as
would be desirable under better
circumstances, but it is as much of
City Creek water as can be had
anyway, and will be no small
amount of benefit If obtained. APP
plicsnts for water on this principle
will, moreover, waive no right,
which as citizens they may possess,
to share of any other water which
may come within the control OF the
CJuncij. While on the other hand,
it viii put at once within the reach
OF the distressed residents of the
bench lands very valuable amount
| Of present relief.
Thet petition framed upon the
principle II question will be granted
cannot be doubted. No uody of
reasonable men can deny TO their
fellow creatures that which no one
else wants, or can by any possibility
use. In utter default of q better
| Use it is now turned lonse every dav