Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-04-22
DUcHEsNE WATER SCHEME CRIT
ICISED.

Judging from the expressions of the
vernal Express and other country pa
pers, there Is another 'nigger in the
woodpile." plan is on foot to divert
the waters of the Duchesne river into
Utah county and the people in the
eastern portion of the state are an
CRY over 1t. The Express says
There is evidently something be-
meath the surface in the matter, be-
cause the government engineers have
reported against government aid to
divert any of the streams except
Strawberry creek but the applicants
evidently have an idea that they can
secure prior claim to the water, and
will no doubt ask for change of
territory where it is to be used,
should they get legal claim to it in
the state engineers Office. 1t looks
like a smooth game, and it might
give intending settlers no little trouble
and should be blocked before the
foundation for a big legal tangle is
laid.
The Express in a previous issue
said:
at is nothing less than a PROPOSE
ton to divert water from eastern Utah
Utah and Salt Lake counties. Should
the scheme carry it would rob Uintah,
Carbon. Emery, Grand and Wayne
counties of water that nature intended
should be used within their territory.
Especially will all this water be
needed in eastern Utah within the
next few months. The settlement o.
the Uintah reservation by thousands
Of 20 oil tho I'M a inn
of millions of acres along the Green
river in both Grand and Emery coun'
ties, and also some in Wayne county
renders this proposition to steal the
water that naturally flows into Green
river, a serious affair.
1.-THE scheme needs investigating,
and in order that one shall be made
it would be well that protests should
be filed with the state engineer be-
fore the 18th day of April,
"One seemingly serpentine aspect
about the way Frank G. Kelsey, the
applicant, and the state engineers
office, under A. f. Doremus, proposes
to railroad this seizure of water to
successful conclusion, Is the fact
that the notice legalizing it is being
published in a Salt Lake paper in
stead of the Vernal paper, which is
printed within a few miles of the
point where it is proposed to divert
the water from its natural channels
and send it to some other points that
are already well supplied with water.
1t is safe to state that there are 25
copies of the Express (Which by the
way, is one of the very best country
newspapers in the wesD circulated
among the people most interested in
this water appropriation to one copy
of the paper in which the water ap
pication is buried amongst a lot of
Salt Lake City local advertising
which not one country reader ever
looks at This manner of advertis
ing is a scheme originating with Mr.
Doremus for reasons that he cannot
defend with any excuses that would
be acceptable to honest and fair
minded men.
state Engineer Caleb Tanner owes
II to himself and those who have re
posed confidence in him, to turn the
light of honest investigation on some
of the applications for water appro
priations now pending in his office. TC
people outside the clique 1t looks as
though there were several efforts un
der way to graft water for prsonal re
Enumeration rather than for the bene
fit of the common people"
The Moab Times makes room FOL
the following comment: