The daily sentinel., 1909-05-25


owners of Palisade. Colo, to be pre-
sented in Washington today Mon
day). the secretary of the interior
will be asked to render decision
that will have a far-reaching effect
/ in determining the rights of the rec
4 lamation service in running bitches
across patented lands, and which will
save thousands of dollars to the fruit
| land owners if their contention is
upheld
This contention. in short, is that.
while the federal statutes of 1890
provide that the government shall
have the right to run ditch across
! homestead or pre-emption lands In
the future and shall take right of
way for that purpose. the statute in
tended that the government should
| take the land by right of eminent do
main. Under the law of eminent do
main the government must pay the
land owners for the value of the
property taken and for all improve
ments upon it, But the reclamation
service has held that under the stat
ute of 1890 the land needed by the
government for bitches or canals
shall be taken without payment, and
that the owners shall receive only
the value of the improvements placed
there by them.
The fruit land owners of Palisade
claim that their property will be
damaged 100000 by the government
canal but they do not wish to stand
in the way of the project at all. They
will merely ask the secretary of the
interior to pay for the value of the
land actually taken for the govern
ment right of way, and for the inn
provements. They do not ask for
damages. The sum they have agreed
to take is $156, 900, while the recla-
nation service has offered about s70,-
900.
Frank C. Goudy of the well known
Denver law firm of Goudy e Twitch-
ell. and D. ID. Potter. a fruit land
owner of Palisade are now in Wash
ington. and will present their petit
tion today and ask for hearing.
, which has been promised them.
The fruit land owners of Palisade.
who are acting through their asso-
tiation, the Mesa County Irrigation
District Land owners Protective As
sociation, have nothing to gain from
the government canal 1t is to bene-
fit the owners of land miles further
down the river on the mesa back OF
\ Grand Junction.
Those whose lands are to be re-
claimed, who are banded together
under the name of the Water Users
Association, secured the consent of
the Palisade orchard owners before
enlistfng the aid of the reclamation
service in the canal project. They
recommended to the government that
the money asked by the orchard own
ers be paid them. representing that
the offer of the right of way for
| $156 900 was entirely just and rea-
sonable. especially as the government
canal will destroy the value of the or
chard tracts as homes.
The physical geography of the land
in question is peculiar. The Grand
river passes the palisades. the i'm
mense rock dixie from which the town
takes its name. at right angles. Then
1t sweeps around in gradual curve
until 1t flows parallel with them. The
land between the river and the pali-
sades is very valuable fruit lands. di-
vided into two strips. From the pal
isades the ground slopes steeply down
for short distance. and then chang
es to a more gradual slope. which
runs to the river.
The gradual slope was first taken
up by settlers. BY using pumping
station and raising the water from
the Grand river 40 feet. ditch run
ming along the intersecting line OF
the two slopes was filled, and from
this the long slope was irrigated.
But experiment. showed that the
short, steep slope was more valuable
as fruit land. Again n pumping sta
tion was constructed at the inter-
section of the rock dyke and the
short slope. Water was thus raised
so feet and run through ditch al
the very foot of the palisades, and
laterals irrigated the narrow strip
This strip extends down the valley
for 10 miles and is divided into D.
10-and 20-acre tracts.
When the owners of the land or
the Grand Junction mesa wished tc
get water II was necessary to go fal
up the river to get the required ele'
walton. The reclamation service ha:
always refused to irrigate by pump
ing, but insists that its schemes
shall operate through gravity. II
would not utilize one of the two
bitches already constructed for thl'
reason and for the added reason thal
they are only small canals. 1t wen
farther back the river and tunnelee
the mountain that breaks off into the
close to where the pumping statonl
are situated on the Grand. about Ii
feet lower than the upper private
ditch and the same elevation abov'
the lower ditch. The plan Is then u
run the big ditch down the middle o
the short slope of fruit land. cutting