The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-03-12
Sunday. March II. 1898.
THE DllS CASE.

Without having any intimate knowl-
edge of the merits of the suit for dam
ages against the Miles City Ditch com
pany. which has peer in court for the
past week. and which was terminated
yesterday by a verdict for damages
against the company, We cannot refrain
from remarking that it is a serious state
III affairs for a locality whose prosperity
is SO largely dependent on the rcdemp-
ton of the land 10y irrigation. to nave IA
precedent established in our court under
which a ditch company can be harrassed
and brought into court 10 defend suits
for damages when land has been dam
aged o. by an overflow from the ditch.
There was IA time. and il is not remotely
distant either. when oyeriiows we're re
garded as god sends II there were grow
ing crops in the field. but in those DAYS
very few of our granger ranchers had
the temerity to put in a crop. and it is
only since the opening of the Mites City
ditch for service tlat farming has been
attempted TO an! large extent in this
locality. The history Of the Miles City
ditch is well known To nearly all the
readers of this PAPER. 1t is an enter
prise that. started in 1851. was by a
series OF misfortunes. some avoidable
and some not. SO plunged into debt and
disaster that for nearly if not quite ten
years. its promoters experienced a con
tinual outgo, and not one cent Of in
come. and the great wonder is that CAPT
tai and determination to make it a sue
cess were found linked together. Even
during the " years which the ditch
may be said to have been in operation
and in receipt of an income for water.
it's receipts have fallen far short of pay
ing an annual interest charge on the
large sum expended years ago in its
construction. On the other hand. what
has it o for the owners of lands un-
der its beneticent influences or rather
what has it not done: Lands that be
fore were not worth the taxes are now
valuable properties. The productive |
character of our soil. and its vide range
Of agricultural products. not dreamed
Of by the most pronounced optimist. are
now cold facts. and by reason of the ex-
Istence and operation of this debt ridden
enterprise thousand of acres along the
twenty-five miles of its course. that have
been given up To Il desOlate growth of
sagebrush and cactus. will this year he
rns1.lnntant mith ,ln ,,,;.1 -
ripening harvest that will bring hand
some returns to the man who rivalled
the patience of job in waiting for the
blessing that has come at last. Can il
be that an enterprise so widesprcading
IN its benefits is To be made the target
for every hunter of damages alonp-its
line! We do not propose in this article
to try the case just disposed of by the
court. II may be that the plaintiffs
claim for damages Was technically legal.
but the question that must present itself
To every sane man is. how long can the
ditch company stand these assaults up-
ON their property. and if they decide not
to stand it and quit. what then. There
are some arguments that are possibly
not admissible in a legal sense. but
which nevertheless must appeal to an
equitable and reasonable mind. For
one, the ditch company. for reasons
explained. has no money To
pay damages. its property is not worth
one-fhird of what IT cost and its efforts
Tor years to come will only suffice To re
coup the large amount sunk in mis-
efforts to build up an ENTERPRISE
the redemption of this locality.
Again. a m%ischance such as occasioped
this suit. has happened time and again.
where the lay OF the land was favorable.
through cioudbursts and other acts of
Fertile land has been rem
dered barren by washouts. and men
have accepted the results as inevitable.
But when the hand of man steps in to
what nature has apparently
todesolation and unproductive-
ness. and fails to provide against the
that nature itself seems powerless
10 prevent, the pocket Of man must pay
The damages. even in the face of the fact
that his enterprise has made valuable
that which had no value. and built the
on which the structure of
manages is reared. II the law permits .
this. and the precedent thus established I
. followed the days Of agricultural de-
veIopment for this county are numbered.