The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-27
THE JUDGES SAT UPON BENCH HOLLoW-EYED AND PALE
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dreaming or whether you really met a man
responsible for the death of a nation; man
who has been doomed to wander over this re-
gion until people shall come capable of max
ing laws for their own government and preser-
walton. Shall tell you the storyY'
Wondering if had not been thrown in with
lunatic or whether l was not really in a
dream, L nodded assent, and he continued
''This country was inhabited by people civil
lied to high degree. Comparing dates with
your chronology, l think the occurrence l am
about to state took place about the time Moses
was leading the children of Israel out OF
Egypt The ownership of the land was abso-
lutely in the individual. l was an ambitious
man and sought to be the ruler of my people,
but did not succeed end became morose. The
people lived by taking the water out over the
land through the canals, the ruins OF which you
see here. l owned the land at the very mouth
of the stream. Reading one day the musty
volumes OF antiquity, l found that it was law
OF the people from whence our ancestors came
that any man owning land on O stream had a
right to have the water flow on past his land
undiminished III quantity. l said that the
people should no longer take the water
out of the stream TO water their lands.
1 took the musty volume to our court,
and the court said had a right to enforce the
ing ditch was closed drought came to help
me on in my punishment of the people. Vines
and trees died and crops did not reach the
harvest. They passed law to pay me for the
use of the water, but the court said that water
for irrigation was not public use and my
right could not thus be condemned; that had
right to see that water flow past my door I'M
impaired in quality, undiminished III quantity.
Death by starvation began to come. Some
people said they would take it by force, but the
soldiers, starving themselves for want of food,
shot the excited and unreasoning down. The
Judges sat upon the bench hollow-eyed and
pale
"They appealed to me, but I knew no re-
morse until every living creature was dead,
and then l heard a voice as from the clouds
pronounce my doom. Then I found that had
been crazy. but it all too late yes, too late,
too late.'
"Will your wanderings cease" I asked,
"when water may be taken from the stream
without the consent of the lowest man down
the stream; in other words, when taking
water for irrigation shall be declared a public
use?"
eyes but that fear me is q long, long way
off,
"No,"I said, and said it with some pride,
1--WE of California have such law and our
courts have declared that such taking is a
public use. You may soon be at rest. You
may order your coffin as soon as you please"
81 had some hope in that decision," he said,
'fbut you will find that my hope was not well
founded. In the meantime let me pour another
drop or so of this elixir on your tongue; you
need rest.
When 1 awoke I felt refreshed and I thought
that it had not been all dream. made my
way to small railroad station and took the
train. From the newsboy 1 purchased copy
of THE CALL, and the first thing that attracted
my attention was telegraphic account of the
decision of Judge Ross, declaring the Wright
act unconstitutional; declaring that water
for irrigation was not public use; that there
could be no legal diversion of water. And then
the picture of those ancient Judges, "hollow-
eyed and pale,' still UNFOLDING the law, re-
turned to my mental view. I thought of that
unhappy wanderer still longing for his coffin.
WILL S. GREEN.
San Francisco July &c, 1895.