Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-29
TESTS OF RIGHTS TO WATER
Case Involving Important Point of Irriga-
ton Law In Supreme Court.
ECHO OF CAPITAL NATIONAL FAILURE
Members of Legislature Beginning to
Discuss Representation of the
State AT the st. Louis
Exposition.
From a stan correspondent.l


LINCOLN. Nov. 2s.-(Special.)-The au-
thority Of the State Board Of Irrigation to
make a grant Of the waters of a stream
to the detriment of a lower riparian pro-
prietor and the right OF the district court
TO Interfere directly without an appeal
having been taken from the appropriation
Of the board, will shortly come before the
supreme court for decision.
The case comes up from Sioux county.
Thomas B. Snyder owns a farm Of several
hundred acres on Sheep creek, a little
stream that for a few months in the year
manages TO keep above it's sandy bed.
Some years ago his neighbor. who lives
spove him on the stream. went before Che
irrigation board and secured the right to
irrigate a tract Of twenty acres from the
sstream. In pursuance Of the authority
granted he built a dam about four feet
high and proceeded to apply the water to
the land. Twenty acres OF the western
desert bloomed and blossomed and the land
waxed productive under the benign min
istrations Of the irrigation. Unfortunately
for the peace OF the neighborhood, the little
stream was not large enough to supply
the needs of the irrigating neighbor. whose
name is Joseph Sturdevant, and leave the
tiny current which had formerly meandered
through the Snyder acres. and as the
plaintiff alleges, what had been the re-
sort OF waterfowl. the habitation of aquatic
plants and a perpetual source OF pleasure
and profit vanished and the said stream
at the point where II flows across the land
OF the plaintiff as they have wont to do
from time immemorial became dry and
ceased to flow therein and stood in stag
nant pools. and the hsh and other aquatic
creatures In the stream died and the water
rowl Departed"
For the reasons recited the plaintiff
sought and secured from the district court
q temporary injunction against his neigh
Dor, which was finally made permanent,
despite the plea of the defendant that he
had secured a license from the State Board
Of Irrigation to use the waters of the
stream and had applied them to his land.
and was now dependent for support on
the land thus supplied with water.
Snyder failed to take notice OF the ac-
ton Of the board In granting the right to
use the water or In any way appeal there>
from as required by law. The court will
now be called upon to decide whether the
district court had jurisdiction where the
person whose land was affected by its
action had not proceeded in accordance
with the terms Of the law establishing the
board, which provides that the aggrieved
person has the right TO appeal from the
action Of the board II taken within forty
days.
Capital National Echo.
-Four cases that are echoes OF the old
Capital National bank failure were nled in
the supreme court today on petitions in
error. They are suits brought against
stockholders and directors OF the defunct
bnnk for funds on deposit in that Inflated
institution at the time that II went down.
These cases were tried originally in the
district court for Seward county and all
resulted in verdiets for the plaintiffs in
the following amounts: Bank of Staple
hurst $4,000; Jones National bank OF Sew
ard, 5000; Utica bank, 1929; Thomas
Bailey tlL,O52. C. e. Yates. as one menu
Der Of the board Of directors Of the Capital
National bank. appears as plaintiff in error
In all OF the cases. and In two o. them d.