The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-02-03

perfect as it's friends claim 1t is, one
would expect to find each right to the
use of water clearly defined and re-
corded and the wner protected in
his right. He would also expect to
find the Appropriated waters put to
a good use and waste prevented; each
rightful owner receiving by measure
his legal share and no more The new
settler who acquires a quarted section
of land and wishes to obtain a supply
of water from the neighboring stream
has a right to know whether the
stream is wholly appropriated, or not.
If another intending settler wishes to
purchase the land and water right of
a Montana farmer he should be able
II, find some place of record, wherein
was filed a description of the water
right and a guarantee of it's validity.
These are a few of the essential re-
quirements of a good irrigation code,
efficiently administered. The Montana
law may be said to have utterly fail
ed to provide any one of these. At
the end of a forty year period under
existing laws the following conditions
prevail:
1. Whenever the water supply be-
comes in the least degree inadequate
to meet the demands of all claims,
whether valid or otherwise, controver-
sizes are likely to arise.
2. The flow of creeks and smaller
streams as we'll as the quantities d.
verified by canals is seldom divided
equitably among the various claim
ants.
3. Even when water is scarce some
men use many times more water than
they need, and thereby inflict a two.
fold injury in depriving their neigh
bors of their rightful shares and dam
aging other lands by an xces Of
water.
4. By far the greater part of the
rights to the use of water have. never
been adjudicated.
5. The small number that have
been determined by the courts have
not proved on the whole satisfactory
for the reasons that the cost was often
excessive and the spirit Of contro-
versy, if not of open hostility, which
prevailed, precluded the possibility OF
ascertaining the true facts. In the alb
sence of much reliable data pertain
ing to the amounts of water actually
used an dthe areas of land irrigated,
the court was often obliged to grant
DEGREES on the exaggerated testimany
of interested witnesses and on the
inaccurate water measurements
made by incompetent surveyors and
engineers.
irrigation suits are not readily &C
cessible to the irrigator.
Z. The owners of water rights who
have maintained, or been compelled
to maintain a case in court until they
secured a decree, are seldom protect
ed in their rights.
8. The records of appropriations OF
water now filed with the several cou
ty recorders possess little value.
9. No definite information can now
be obtained from county or state rec.
ords in regard to the volumes which
are either appropriated or unappro
priated in any stream within the state.
10. Nor can information be had in
regard to the areas irrigated under the
respective streams, the waters OF
which have been determined.
The Proposed Law.
The province of this station is to
ascertain and publish facts. Having
spent. considerable time in collecting
information on matters pertaining to
irrigation we may be pardoned in
recommending measures which, if
adopted, would greatly benefit, in III
humble judgment, the agricultural in
terests of this state.
The proposed law, as prepared by
F. H. Ray, deputy state examiner,
and E. G. Kinney, G. E., with the as.
sistance of others, contains measures
worthy of careful consideration by
the members of the legislature. II
such a bill were adopted with such
changes and additions as in the wis
dom of this governing body are found
desirable there can be little question
that the general effect would be bene'
fetal. A few of the benefits to be
gained by such an irrigation law are
herein summarized:
l. The flow of the rivers and creeks
ll III tie afofo-