Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-03-05
THE GOVERNMENT COMEDIES THE
DUTY OF INTERFERENCE.

IN item appeared in our local columns
Wednesday, that treated of the arrest of GER
tain people for attempting to cut across
bend of the Sacramento river in one of its
northern reaches, in order to shorten dis
tanee and prevent the stream wearing
away from landing used by a large agri-
cultural region. United States officers,
with the approval of the Washington au-
thorities, made the arrest, and procured
permanent injunction to restrain the peo-
pie Of that section from making the cut.
This action was based on the ground of in
jury to navigation likely to result from the
cut, by the creation of rapids in the pro-
posed new channel. The engineers say it
was a correct procedure. The Courts have
certainly so determined, though the people
restrained were honestly endeavcring to
accomplish what they believed to be good
end. But the lesson Of the action taken is
far-reaching one. 1t demonstrates the
power and right of the Federal Govern
ment 10 interfere with acts destructive of
navigation on inland waters The sig
nificanee of this action cannot be obscure
to any reader. 1t must be clear to all that
if the Federal officers were justified in pre-
venting the digging of the canal, they
would a hundred-fold more be justified in
interfering to prevent the destruction of
navigation by the artificial deposition of
sand, gravel and siickens in the stream. If
the engineers who procured the arrest are
TO be approved for securing a judicial in
junction against the people of Butte City,
whose intentions were good, why would
would they not be justified in like pre-
cedure against hydraulic mines? Cannot
orr Congress see that the cases would be
parallel? In fact the action of the Federal
authorities in the Calls Bend case clearly
IS confession of neglect in the case of the
destruction Of navigation by hydraulic
mining. Let any branch of Government
point out if it can, Congress or the en-
gineering corps, or the War Department,
what there was in the act OF the people of
Butte City, in doing that which the en-
gineers proved in Court would injure river
navigation, different in enect-save in de-
gree-from the act of hydraulic miners.
who drain slickens into the Yuba and
Feather rivers and thence into the Sacra-
mento, and thereby erect bars that obstruct
and at times absolutely close the naviga-
ton of the latter river? There is no dis
tinction whatever between the cases. IF A
erects stone dam in the stream, the
Federal Government, by its action in the
Butte City case, is now bound to say,
Cease work, and remove the obstruction.
Unless you do so, the whole power Of the
Federal Government exercised through its
Courts, will be invoked against you" But
here Is b, building sand and gravel and
cement dams in the river, and the Federal
officials sit quietly, unprotesting and un-
resisting 1t is impossible for any one to
draw the line of distinction between the
three cases. The Calls Bend canal
threatened the impairment of river navi-
CATION. The hydraulic slickens deposits
not only threaten, but are actually DESTROY
ing the streams. In the one case the Fed
eral arm is extended, in the other it is
withheld. What consistency is there in
departments of State that occupy such
irreconcilable positions? All the RECORD
UNION has contended for has been Federal
interference, precisely such as has been
had in..the Calls Bend case. We have CON
stantiy held that the departments at
Washington, Congress, the President, the
engineers in charge of the river-any of
these authorities can at any time, and
without involving any question of river
appropriation or remedial measures, dams.
levees, cut-ofis, dredging or what not, pro-
hibit the work of destruction and compel
the stoppage of the processes behind it.
The Government must do this eventually 4:
if We wait upon other influences to accom-
plish it, the ruin will be completed before
entirely effective measures can be applied a.