Arizona republican., 1896-02-01
THE CASA GRANDE CANAL Continuation of It's Many
 Woes.
Judge Kibbey Threatened by
 Judge Rouse.
Peculiar Legal Developments that Have Come from the Florence
 Water War.

Judge J. H. Kihbey returned yester- day morning from Florence, where for ten days he has been in attendance upon the interests of his clients, the farmers. who own lands under the mo- torious and ill-favored Florence canal.
 But the judge has not been in jail, nor even under arrest. Neither has been his colleague in the case, Attor- ney w. R. Stone. Dan Stevens, a county supervisor, and probably the leading citizen of Pinal county, was found guilty of contempt, admonished and mildly fined by Judge Rouse, and a citation in contempt was threatened over the two defending attorneys, but it as yet has not been served.
 The cause of all this, the immediate cause, lay in the order of Court Com missioner Miller in releasing the tenn porary injunction wherein the farmers were prohibited from interfering with Manager Hammond or the Casa Grande canal, as the new incorpora- tion is called. The attorneys, pointing to sections GAY and 64S of the revised statutes, aver that a court commits sioner has, temporarily, in legal or ders, etc., the power of a district judge during the absence of the judge. Judge Rouse thought otherwise. He fired Judge Miller by mail, and appointed in his place Thomas Weedin, clerk of the court at Florence. Then he upset the Miller rulings, and in answer to prayer of the farmers, placed the canal into the hands of a receiver, but, in deference to the canal company, made Manager Hammond the receiver so authorized. Then it was that came the action in contempt above noted
 There had been sixteen irrigators, very roll of the most prominent men in the county, arrested for riot in talk ing the canal aWGy from the receiver Three of the sixteen were tried, with a result of verdict of not guilty in each case, and then the district attor- ney moved to dismiss the cases against the remainder.
 Thus rests the Florence water war, but there are individuals who aver that it is sure to break out again in added force. The trouble had it's rise in the following circumstances: The Florence canal was built in 1887, with rated capacity of 10000 miners inches. It passes through a vast body of as fine land as is known in Arizona. This land was located by settlers and rights were bought to large portion of the canals capacity to furnish water. The canal company got into financial straits and the ditch was neglected till it would carry less than 5000 inches. Then the canal was sold under foreclosure and purchased by the Casa Grande Valley Canal com pany, which sought to issue new deeds to holders of water rights. As the new deeds contained provisions ob- noXious to the farmers they were re- fused. The canal shut off the water at the headgate on the Gila. The farmers seized the cana. and trouble promptly began. How it will end will assuredly be topic for another tale. | Meanwhile one of the most fertile sections of Arizona languishes, one of the most valuable of canal franchises is unproductive and the business in- terests of one of Arizona's prettiest towns are paralyzed.