Gunnison news-champion., 1907-05-31
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The eaormIiy 81 the crime esn-
tenytsted by the Reclamation >er-
VICE and the Forestry Bar.as-
aga INST the ts,sre If the state of
Colorado is t~e,nS,ng to force its
sttentioa upon the people Not sat
'stsed with withdrawing fro,n Settle
meRt oae-fpurth of our -,ai- aud e
e~,selsshing a system of exploua-
tsoa which svowedlv taxes the sn-
fortunate people who live N or near
the veserves for the hen..itt of i,s-
tAnt states and territories aud even
toreign countries the admin,-ira-
tons assumes 10 own aud coutrul al
the water that flows from oar moan
ts,Rs. With one hand il dole~ o~i
= few Dlllioas 10 build the Gsnni-
soa tsnsel, IN enierpsls~ that woxld
have come in time with private cap
ltal With the other hand It delib-
srsssly steals all the unappropriated
water, holding mp reservoir aud
ditch construction and making =
perpetual desert of Colorado for the
alleged benefit Of other states.
The leading men of Colorado.
without regard to party are con
demnlng the action in no un,nIstak-
ably terms. II promises to he the
main topic of discussion a, the COM
ing public lands convention in Den
yer
The following interview with Sen
ator Dexter T. Sapp is a ringing
defiance to the system Of water grab
bing which has been inaugurated.
The senator saws:
The action of the interior depart
ment in holding up reservoir and
ditch construction in the San Luis
valley is contrary to the constitution
Of this state, in direct conflict with
the statutes OF the United States and
\ gross violation Of the oath Of Office
Of whatever official is responsible,
and care not whether that official
BY Mr.. Pinchot, Mr.. Garfield or the
president himself The constitution
of Colorado. Article lG, Section }
provides, The water Of every nat
ural stream not heretofore appro-
priated, within the state of Colo
RADIO, is hereby declared TO be the
property of the public, and the same
is dedicated TO the people Of the
state, subject To appropriation as
hereinafter provided This provi-
sion of the constitution was inserted
with the knowledge and approval of
congress and approved by the pres
ident Of the United States in his
proclamation making Colorado a
state The laws of the United
States provide in various enact
ments for the appropriation Of the
waters of the state by the people of
the state for irrigation purposes
To illustrate; in the desert land act
which was approved in 1917, it is
provided: "All surplus water over
and above such actual appropria-
alton and use Unnecessarily used for
the purposes of irrigation and re
clamation under the desert land
act) together with the waters of all
lakes, rivers and all other sources
of water supply upon the public
lands and not navigable, shall re
main and be held free for the ap-
preparation and use Of the public
for irrigation, mining and manu-
featuring purposes subject to exist
ing rights This law and other
similar laws have never been re
pealed either directly or by implica-
ton. If the president or his subor-
dinates can violate their oaths Of
office and trample on the rights of
the people in the San Luis valley
thev can do so in Gunnison county.
in Garfield county or anywhere else
in the country. If 1t can be shown
that Mr. Pinchot or Mr. Garfield are
responsible for the obstruction or
the violation of any of these laws
they ought to be punished, and if
they can be found within the bound
aries of Colorado they should be
mt l,y Indicted -