The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1905-09-01
EMINENT DOMAIN AND ranIeAr1oN
(Oregonian. J


The project of irrigating arid land
through the public Reclamation Serv.
ice, which President Roosevelt recon-
mended and which congress adopted, is
retarded by two serious difficulties in
addition to those inherent in the work
itself. One is the reluctance of hold
ers of large tracts Of land affected by
the project to meet the governments
requirement that ownership by one
person under a ditch be limited to 100
acres The other difficulty comes
from vested rights of landowners al
ready in possession of water supplies.
From the presidents standpoint,
the governments requirement is funr
damentally just, since his only OBJ
ject in advocating reclamation was to
provide homes for as many families
as possible. But the landowners
naturally take different view Of the
matter. The difficulty is serious be-
cause the greater part of all areas
which the reclamation service is like
ly to affect has passed from govern
ment ownership into private hands
and is held in large tracts. To
water these lands at public expense is
not proposed; the cost of the irriga-
tion works, it is expected, will ulti-
mately return from the areas bene-
flied. But, nevertheless, there are
three objections, all serious, to allow
ing the tracts to remain undivided.
For one thing, and this is the least
weighty, though weighty enough, the
large landowner would receive an
enormous benefit in the increased
value of his land through neighbor-
ing settlements for which he would
make no reutrn. If he were obliged
to sell or contract to sell at fixed
price before settlement of the irri-
gated tract began he would be depriv-
ed Of bis advantage, which is unjust
from every point Of view, and par
ticularly so when the method Of evas-
ion and chicane are recalled by which
these princely domains have been too
often acquired.
Again, the very object of the gov
ernment in undertaking reclamation
would be thwarted, since instead of
providing many homes for many fami-
lies, 1t would merely enrich few
great proprietors. And, finally, these
proprietors, as the demand for land
increased with time, would come to
the estate and arrogance of feudal
lords dominating population of ten
ants, which is contrary to the Ameri-
can ideals and policy. The enormous
productiveness of irrigated farms
makes it easy to lease them on terms
profitable to the landlord and this is
very we'll SO long as the tenant may
ultimately buy his holdings. But in
the case of great estates paying heavy
returns there would be no chance for
him to buy. The economic condi-
tions which are breaking up the bo-
nanza wheat farms in Dakota and the
large cattle ranches in Texas, would
not apply to irrigated tracts. Here
the landlords profit would include
not only the normal rent of his land,
but also the fee for water, and he
would not be likely to sell.
AS to the second difficulty which the
Reclamation Service encounters, that
of vested rights of persons already
using water. Where the water supply
is limited, an irrigation system eau
not be satisfactory unless all users
have the same rights and are subject
to the same rules. Numberless ques-
tions of equitable distribution,
maintenance and repairs of bitches,
precautions against waste and the
like, cause dissension and litigation
under the best of systems. Where
users from the same limited source
had various titles to their water the
troubles would be fatal.
Here, then, is case where the in
terest of private owners comes square
ly in conflict with the interest of the
public. Which should give way?
The usage of civilized nations when
such conflict occurs is long estab-
lished and invariable. Napoleon III
invoked the right of eminent domain
to construct the boulevards of Paris;
Manchester invoked 1t to condemn
and destroy unhygienic tenements;
railroad companies invoke it daily to
establish their rights of way, and
cities are using it more and more to
open parks and Fairgrounds. There
is, therefore, abundant precedent and
cogent reason for the United States
government to confer upon the Recla-
nation Service the power of eminent
domain for the condemnation Of all
land aud all water rights which in
any way hinder or limit the useful
ness of President Roosevelt's bene-
tlcient project for the irrigation Of
arid areas.