The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-08-11
The Secretary Will Address
the Congress Today Along
New Lines
SOUTH DAK0TA IRRIGATION
CAUSES MUCH INTEREST
Its Proximity to the Bad Lands Region
Makes the Address of the State En-.
gineer One Of More Than Passing
Interest.

Spokane. Aug. 11.-George Otis
Smith, director of the United States
geological survey, and Samuel N. Lea,
state engineer of South Dakota were
on the program to make the principal
conservation arguments before the
National Irrigation congress today.
Smiths subject was THE Classifca-
tion of the Public Lands" and Lea's
subject was "The Irrigation in South
Dakota In view of the proximity
of western South Dakota to the bad
Lands" region, much interest Is at
tached to LEAFS address. Howard Eli
lott, president of the Northern Pa
chic railway, d. G. Henry, consult
ing engineer of the United States
reclamation service, F. C. Griswold of
Chicago and w. M. Finley, field agent
of the National Association of Audu-
bon societies, were also scheduled to
speak. Secretary Ballinger of the in
terror department is on the program
for an address late this afternoon and
he is expected to take a position
against favoring private enterprise in
the reclamation OF the arid lands.
Former Governor Pardee of Cali
fornia and J. H. Kibbey, former gov
ernor of Arizona, are also among the
speakers scheduled for today.
Riparian Rights.
'The common law doctrine Of the
rights of riparian owners to the use
of water of streams has often been
understood much more rigidly than it
has been applied in actual practice.
namely as requiring each owner to
allow the water coming to his land
to pass from it undiminished in
quantity and unpolluted in quality"
said Morris Bien. supervising engi-
neer of the United States reclama-
tion service, in paper read at tho
irrigation congress today.
Reasonable use by each owner
along the stream has always been
recognized by the courts, such as the
use of water for cattle and domestic
purposes. Some of the old English
cases have also recognized reason-
able use for irrigation purposes, as
in flooding bottom lands and the like.
"The right to the use of water by
appropriation is first recognized in
the act of congress of July &c, 1866.
This act and the desert land act Of
March 8, 1877, authorized the ap-
preparation of waters on the public
domain and their application to bene-
f1cial use for irrigation, mining, and
manufacturing purposes. Congress
took no further definite action to
provide for the regulation of these
rights so that it devolved upon the
states and territories to provide for
the appropriation of water, for the
recording of claims thereto, and for
ita distribution.
''The doctrine Of riparian rights Is
recognized in but few states in the
arid region, having been replaced by
the doctrine OF prior appropriation,
namely that any person. practically
without regard to the location of his
land with reference to the stream,
could obtain a right to the use of
water by diverting it from the stream
and applying it to beneficial use.
This principle is serving very
useful purpose in gradually eliminat-
ing claims to the use of water which
are merely paper claims, having been
placed of record but no use ever hav-
ing been made of the water. Ulti-
mately the state will reach the point
where practically all the water has
been applied to beneficial use and
then will come the problem of meet
ing the fluctuations in supply that
occur SO frequently and to such
grea: extent.
Valuable improvements dependent
upon the water must be preserved
and the legislatures and the courts
must eventually provide for rea-
sonable and proportionate use in cas-
es OF shortage SO as to preserve all
property rights and investments as
far as practicable, rather than to en-
force rigidly the doctrine of pirOr
appropriation which would amount
practically to monopoly OF the waters
by the earlier appropriators and de-.
prive the later comers Of the use Of
water once applied by them to 3enc~
fetal use which might result in the
destruction OF improvements OF great
value.
1.-THE doctrine of reasonable use
will undoubtedly become of great inn
portance in future years and the APP
plication OF this idea will constitute
one OF the principal notifications III
the next stage OF the growth OF irri.
cation law and practice"