The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1908-08-20
ord is, therefore, of no value to the
Resulting Mitigation.

ora IS, therefore,, or no value 10 III
public.
Resulting Litigation.
The conditions in California ar
identical with those in Oregon. Th
Commonwealth club has labored fo
t Years to secure the enactment of moo
ern water laws, and in the proceeding
of this club we find the statement tina
the bar of California was delighted t
find in their primitive water laws sue.
a fruitful source of income, and di,
nothing to remedy conditions. eth
statutes in question have been tn
foundation of some Of the large for
tunes of California, but these fortune
are held exclusively by the attorney
Of record Of the misguided individual
who availed themselves of the privilege
granted by these statutes"
A case is reported where ditch "a
sued ditch "B" and upon the sworn
evidence introduced obtained a decree
giving it a priority of twenty cubic
feet of water per second. Ditch "B'
and ditch &c" thereafter sued ditch
"a" with the same result, and there
were still 25 bitches diverting water
from the same stream whose rights were
not determined.
Along the Walla Wal1a river in Ore
Pon, litigation to secure a proper di-
vision Of the stream has been in prog
ress for about 80 years, without settling
a single issue. This experience is typi-
cal of many other communities and
should serve to demonstrate the failure
of the present system Of distributing
water by the courts, through injunction
proceedings.
There are approximately 200 bitches
diverting water from this stream in a
distance of 10 miles, for the irrigation
of some 5000 acres. Nearly 500 per
sons or corporations have been made
parties to the latest suit, and 25 law
yers retained to protect the various
rights. When the decree is rendered,
the relative rights of the various
bitches will be known, but how will the
water be divided among themf The
pioneer irrigator knows that the court
cannot deny him his usual water sup
ply, and though his right has been de-
termined for perhaps the second or
third time, the question is still, how
TO get this water at the time when
How will he determine which
Of the many bitches above is diverting
without right, in order to bring
IN injunction suit against itf
The decree is binding only on the
parties to the suit. New appropriations
and will be made, thus forcing new
litigation. The same conditions which
brought on the present suit still exist
md this decree, without additional leg
will be of no more value in
conditions than former DEGREES.
The supreme court, by consistent de-
rees, has enacted practically all the
law of this state. To expect the
curt to provide in their DEGREES for the
duplicated administrative machinery
0 make water DEGREES effective looks
Ike a complete shifting of the burden
rom the Legislature to the courts.
his, in the opinion of leading water
ight lawyers, is not possible. (
One of the leading attorneys in the I
yalla Walla river case estimates that {
,e present suit will ultimately cost be :
veen 500 900 and $25, 900. This enor- +.
GUS drain upon the agricultural re '
,urces Of this small valley, for a mega [
We result, cannot help but retard set {
ement and discourage capital. \
The purchase Of a water right in f
means the purchase of a law k
it. No litigation over water rights =
this state has ever settled any issue :
that it cannot again be raised. The /
are binding upon only the s.
to the litigation. These DEGREES r.
ten serve to cumber title to the I'M S
ed waters, rs the state, interested in II
eserving the appropriated waters q
r future users, has not been repre- y
nted in court at trials of these cases. :.
Conserving Our Waters. a,
In the arid portion of this state the II
of irrigable land far exceeds the -
yular water supply. The summer -,
w Of these streams can be increased ca
ny fold by the storage of water in
, mountains, and using the natural
to convey such water to the
zee of intended use. This class of
which is encouraged and
in Wyoming, Idaho and other
tes, is absolutely impossible in Ore
except under the most favorable
.isAs. r--!A-r m