The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-01-01

ere long our farmers viii adopt the
economical and Surer check method
Of the Mckee Co.
1t is predicted that before long these
little bitches about the city OF North
Yaki,na will be bought out and con-
solidased and the 1lo.esa acres of arabic
land about the city brought under one
large canal, an end 10 he hoped TO- and
. contamination which viii richly re
paw the investors. Just opposite the
site OF Old Yakima, IS the initial point
Of the TO be- canal OF the Sunnyside
Ditch Co. This company proposes
next spring taking out the waters OF
the Yakima At this point, and con-
Quoting il in canal 70 the rich plains
immediately back Of Prosser, II done,
$4,000 acres of good farming country
will thus be thrown open The Sears
brothers OF Tacoma and some St Paul
capitalists are backing this. scheme.
Thus far nothing has been done other
than the preliminary surveys. which
have demonstrated the feasibility.
Still on down the Yakima, we come TO
the kounriwoek canal which
affords the settlers along its line n
chance 10 show what this country
win do under the influence of irriga-
ton. as field after field of alfalfa and
orchard after orchard amply attest.
= small local ditch, which must give
place TO the magnificent canal of the
Sunnyside Company, which We hope,
next New Year, not TO be- on paper
only Just above kiona, still lower
down the Yakima. the Yakima Inn
proyement and Irrigation Company
are going right ahead, ronstrIct-
ing canal for irrigation
end commercial purposes This canal
Is intended 20 cover some I9.oee acres
Of the company 5 ewn lands and twice
as nIuch more, open TO the pre-emp-
ton and homesteader. The location
surveys have been made and the COM
pany are going right en- with eonstruc-
ton. The lands, like all others in
Yakima, are fine. rich soils. and from
their peculiarly favorable situation
especially adapted for Embarrassing,
which we understand the company
propose TO make a speciality. This
canal is to be constructed of sufficient
size and depth-six feet in depth-for
canal boats 10 transfer freight to and
from the shipping point at kiona, on
the \. z. L. r., and when completed,
which will be in the next is months,
will be large addition to the constant
ly increasing resources OF Yakima
county. This crude account of "Irri-
CATION in Yakima" induces the retlec-
ton of the great need of water legisia-
ton. Each ditch and canal company
appears 10 have its own peculiar meth
cd of appropriation and measurement
of water. Some sell water by the
square and some by the cubic inch !;
some under pressure. others without !;
some still stick to the miners inch,
while others deliver by the gallon-a
tangled mass of ineongruities which
must some day be rich field for at
torneys 1t is to be hoped that with
coming statehood one of the first
things to be decided aad, established
will be a definite, legal measure of wa
ter for irrigable purposes. These
water rights are very valuable. At
present each company or person APP
pears to hold by sort of prescriptive
use. Our statute books have no con-
Germ about the rights of private ap-
proprietor. 1t is an end to be earn
estly desired by the residents of East
ern Washington that, although the
new constitution so soon to be formu-
lated may declare 1.-The riparian" doc
trine to obtain in Western Washing
ton, yet from the divide of the Coast
range eastward to the state line of
the new commonwealth, the waters
flowing in the rivers and streams OF
this section should be declared TO
be the property of the state and its
citizens, under reasonable regulations
allowed to appropriate the same for
particular uses, OF which irrigation is
the most important and beneficial,
and then be protected in that appro-
DriatiOn