Gunnison news-champion., 1909-02-26
o.uin e Ualw - fusa osuwul

l.. A. nsssasil
Il. Il STARK oi Col satio Sprtass,
representing a Denver company thsAl
hes fling on = reservoir sise ca s.
gsschs cveek, pstitiooed the soS-
eminent some tisne ago for lssmis-
s'oa ~ tsrn the surplus water Il the
Cochetops over the coatisessssl diviAs
into the SAesschs. NJ. Stsrk hss
bssa soaiGied that his Ietitioa has
hss~ Grsssed.'
The shove psoseats = seriOos sits-
stio~. We, the ssttleru Of THE
wstes~l,ed, have consulted no csims
that the panishmeat shosld BE- cus.
6scstioa A our nstsral wsser righAs,
unless il be crime in l,eing yo~a-
ger cosRtry with our resOssOes bsa3
developed than ess, OF the divids.
The land that this water 10 osss~si-l
bly, takea 10 irriGsse lies in tke
extreme north end of The Sas Lsid
valley and 10 ~ betser sitssssd - \
cliasAic Cossditioas thea thosassdo
Il srssa a sicA Ulssa la~A N ~
WssersAsd thss ~ oaly ssaising
reservoir and ditch eatesprisss to
make them just ~ valuable ~ land
on that side This land will raise
as much variety and just - good
crops. l,eSides il the water 10 taken
over there it will be little better than
an experiment, as all natural streams
in that end Of the valley sink and
disappear from the face Of the earth
after running short courses Why
experiment on this sink hole when
it is demonstrated and known that
this water will do some good over
here where it belongs?
The whole obstinate'y set purpose
of the present administration is 10
help people in New Mexico or else
where lower down where the land
is more valuable than in the noun
tains. ii is more valuable lower
down on this watershed but il the
water is diverted elsewhere our side
can never be reclaimed. Some of
the fruit lands in the western part OF
this watershed are selling at $4,000
per acre. Has the government the
right to jeopardize the values Of this
kind of land by giving its natural
waters to another slope? This land
without water is not worth 81 per
acre. 1t has been only few decades
since all this slope was an Indian
reservation. Are We TO be punished
because IL is not all settled, costly
bitches and reservoirs constructed
TO utilize every drop of our water
and all that done in the space of
thirty years.. When all this is done
as it surely will be and that within
the next few years, will the govern
ment then give us back our water
and authorize us to divert some from
the Eastern slope to help out on a
shortage? Should one slope or sec
ton of the country be more favored
than another, when it has been dem
onstrated and proven that the lands
OF our section are ust as valuable as
those of the other.
The government authorizes the
taking Of "the surplus water at
head of Cochetopa At what season
is this alleged surplus water to be
taken; who is to Judge what amount
of water in this stream is surplus?
We claim there is no surplus in the
irrigation season. Often this stream
is then nearly dry. And the irriga
ton season extends from spring until
water freezes in the bitches in the
fall. 1t cannot De taken during that
time for there is NO surplus to take
1t cannot be taken in the win
ter when it would freeze in the di-
verting ditch. Therefore the only
time wosld be for . short period Of
Is days j. early spriag while food
wsser lasts. This wosld not fill
rsssrvoif.
ns Sososs rsusrvs division Of