Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-11-05
CONSERVATION OF
WATER IS TREATED
Laws and Court Decisions Re-
lating to the Use of
Water.


Tae national conservation comaiis-
Sion is compiling for publication in a
single volume all the laws and court
decisions, both state and federal
which relate to the use of water in
the United States. This manual will
be of immense practical value. and IL
Is somewhat remarkable. considering
the wide number of interests which
are touched by these laws. that NO
such compilation has been made be-
for this. With the constantly growing
demand for interstate waterways the
Increasing utilization of water power
for the development of electricity and
the widening areas of semi-arid west
ern plains that are being made arabic
through irrigation, these laws at the
present time affect the interests of a
wide variety or individuals and cor
porations, and in the immediate future
the number whose business is directly
touched viii beyond doubt be greatly
increased
The work which the national con-
servation commission Is doing along
tais line is extremely thorough and
the compilation win be complete. 1t
will include all state and national
statutes and all court decisions which
concern water rights and kindred
questions on both nayigable and nom
navigabie streams and lakes. The CT
tations will include all acts which re-
late TO riparian rights and public usu-
fruct OF water, and all statutes which
concern mills. pollution of water, In
reference with navigation or the use
of streams for power damming or
streams. diverging stream flow, and
so on-in short, all acts which AFFECT
tine use of waters and their private ap-
preparation to-Spower or other appro-
priation to power or other purposes.
In the book will be included also some
authoritative discussion of the prin-
ciples involved in these laws.
The national conservation commits
sion in its eudeayor TO make the com
pilation absolutely complete and ac-
cufate has called upon the governors
of all the states for assistance and the
replies in every instance have prom
ised support Considerably more than
half the states have already appointed
state conservation commissions for
the specific purpose of cooperating
with the national commission in its
work of gathering the material which
win be embodied in the report 10 the
president the first of the year. In
the other states the state officials
whose work most nearly touches this
project are at work.
A single volume containing all the
laws which bear upon the use of wa
tiers In the various parts of the coun-
try will be an exceedingly useful ref
erence handbook.
The fear Is frequently expressed
that the tendency toward mOnoDoliza-
ton of water power, which nas al
ready made very great progress in
some parts c. the country, will result
in practically all of this extremely
valuable natural resource passing
from the people as a whole into the
hands of comparatively a few men,
with resulting higher cost of water
power and water developed electricity
to consumers and a tremendous ad-
vantage to the few possessors. If this
danger is justified by the present
laws it is a matter of great import
ance to make this fact apparent at
once. For this purpose nothing could
be more effective than such a presen-
tation of all the laws on the subject
as that which the commission is pre-
pairing.