Arizona republican., 1891-09-15
THE WRIGHT LAW.

Dr. Hurley, of Florence, A. T., has large interests in California, and is an exceedingly well informed gentlemen. In the course oi an extended conversa- ton with him We inquired his opinion of the Wright irrigation law" and its practical workings in California.
 Yes, said the doctor, 1 have given the Wright law very considerable thought: and have inquired into it practical workings. Theoretically its sounds all right, and had it been carried out just as it's author intended it should be It would be {, fairly good law. Practically it is anything but good law. For in. stance, a dozen or more people living in q thinly settled district, and owning very small tracts of land, conclude that they want an irrigation district organ ized and they call on the County Super visors to call ar election, within a cer- tain described and defined land dis trict. and under the law it is the duty of the county authorities to order an election as called for. This dozen of small land owners may constitute ma jority of voters in the land district named, though they may not own one tenth of the land. Yet, being majority of voters, the district is created and the owners of nine-tenths of the land find that their land is mortgaged to pay for irrigating the other one-tenth. Nor would they be relieved even if they had artesan wells or other private means wherewith to irrigate their nine-tenths of the land. This is not a theoretical case, it has happened in several in- stances. As means of fraud it can be and has been most extensively used as follows; A large tract of waste land is found and few bogus settlers are col onized on it and a district organized, and bonds issued aud placed on the market with glowing descriptions of what is claimed for the district and these bonds are often sold. In fact for tune many of them were. and only by combination of the California banks was this system of fraud cut down.
 There is lawyer in San Diego who had tract of land and his own private irrigation system. who was voted into an irrigation district against his wish or his necessities. and he is now con testing the constitutiouality of the act.
 These are few of the serious objec- tions to tine Wright law," said Dr. Hurley.
 To us they seem objections serious enough to prevent forever any future passage of the law in any other States or Territories. What sense of right or justice is there in law that forces a man to contribute to the irrigation of thousands of acres oi land when he has no need of irrigation for his own land.
 We believe that the San Diego lawyer will win his suit. By the way, said the doctor, have neglected about it's worst feature, which is, that if you pay your taxes and do not and there is not enough money raised to pay the interest your property is just as much liable to be sold aS mine is, and the courts of California have sustained that con struction of the law that is the mort gage given is just as binding as any individual mortgage would be and can equally sell any or all the land for de- linquent interest, regardless of who has or who has not paid their taxes. Californians are said to be very anxious to have their Wright law amended, but if it is amended then the value of the bondsat once very materially decreases. For ourselves we gre under obligations to Dr. Hurley for this timely inior- nation.