The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1905-01-25

area of land in Yakima county and for
the furnishing of more complete sup.
ply of water by means of a stora ge
works for some of the lands which AT
present nave an insufficient supply of
irrigation, and it would be very grave
mistake to thwart these projects of the
National Government because of the
imagined dangers and evils Of this pro.
posed code.
"The provision of the regulation of
rates was put in in its present form with
the support of majority of the com
mis- zion after considering and listening
to recommendation from both the con-
sumers of waters under the large canals
and from the representatives of several
companies. On the one hand it was
urged that the canal companies as car
riers of water should furnish water al
reasonable yearly rates to be fixed hy
some tribunal representing the public
and that they should not be allowed TO
fix absolutely their own prices for frr
nishing water, because each large ditch
has practical monopoly of furnishing
water to the lands lying under it. Ga
the other hand it was urged that unless
a canal company can at least get back
its investment with the profit new COM
panies will not take the field and the
development of the state will thus be re-
tardrd. The bill as it stands provides for
the fixin of tine price of a. perpetual right
and the price of maintenance fee by an
impartial state board upon the basis of
actual cost plus fair profit The set
tier is given his time, not to exceed fif-
teen annual installments, in which to
pay for mis- perpetual water rights.
"Iet well enough alone" is the cry
that is raised to invoke prejudice against
the proposed code. 1t is the same cr,
that was raised against the Republican
party at its birth, and that has been
raised against every reform that has
endangered old abuses and vested
wrongs.
"But is the present system of appro-
priation of water and recording of wstc,
claims good enough?
MANY years ago the settlers on Wen
as creek took out the first bitches from
that stream and began to develop their
farms, under the good old system The
amount of land each man entered upon
was definite, marked by government
surveys and by metes and hounds But
the amount of water. The life of the
land and of the country was unknown:
was left to conjecture, was left open and
understood, with no possible method of
determination, and thus the seed was
sown for future lawsuits involving the
greatest hardships.
"As to the amount of water in the
stream there was no survey of the We
mas creek. no measurement by engineers
to determine how much water tnc
''i'"h' '"iiitu. nv idlHi, popu, Ddu anu
Indifferent of all this western country
was carefully surveyed, at great cost
and trouble, in advance of civilization
and without such survey it would have
been impossible to determine a mans
boundaries; and the settlement of the
extent of every mans farm could have
been determined only by suit in the
courts; everyone recognizes the wisdom
of tine U. S. Government providing for
this survey; how by the proposed code
the state at state expense, not at he
expense of the county. would carefully
survey and measure the normal flow,
through a period of years, of the
streams of the arid region.
AS to the amount of water pacn nan
may 'pre-empt' the code provides rhat
all future appropriations shall tie Of
tne amount of water actually needed
upon the lands of the applicant, which
lands are to be described in the permit