The daily sentinel., 1910-08-29
LAW
SUIT OVER
WATER RIGHT

1t may he profitable for western
slope land and water interests to keep
their eyes open regarding pending
and future law suits to establish and
| determine water rights and damages
flor diversion.
Irrigation litigation, which may de
velop into the most important and
far-reachiug in its effect in the hos
tory of Colorado, was instituted in
the federal in Denver Saturday. 1t
is practically the reopening of the
famous Kansas-C Colorado suit, which
was decided in favor of Colorado by
the United States supreme court some
years ago.
The action is instituted by Kansas
irrigation companies, and its object
is to establish the right of that state
to certain water in the streams of
Colorado, regulating the amount
which Colorado irrigation projects
may take from the rivers and other
wise questioning the right of Colo
RADIO 10 dispose of the water within
its own borders.
The United States Irrigation com
pany, owning large irrigation sys-
TEN and thousands of acres of land in
western Kansas and controlled by
! Colorado Springs people. filed the
fcomplaint. The Colorado irrigating
companies, the state engineer of Colo
RADIO and the water commissioners for
the districts from Buena Vista to the
state line are named as defendants.
The complaint alleges that the
state of Kansas failed in its suit sew
eral years ago because 1t failed to
show, as a state, any injury by the
DETECTION of the water in Colorado,
but that no such point can be made
In the case of a private corporation.
Particular attention is called in the
complaint to the formation of many
new irrigation companies, which de
sign to obtain water from the Arkan-
sas river, when in fact, II is alleged
the water of the river. both normal
and flood, has been for years over ap-
propriated
The complaint directly attacks the
Colorado Southern Irrigation COM
pany and the Canon City. Florence
and Pueblo Water company, both re-
Gently organized.
The complaint also attacks the sys-
tenn of storing the water in reservoirs
and the methods adopted by the state
engineer and water commissioners
| with reference to the operation of
these reservoirs. Allied with the
plaintiff company is the United States
Sugar and Land company. also oper-
ating in Kansas. ] Dawson Hawkins
as vice president of the United States
lrrigating company, verified the for
NAL complaint. Among the people
interested in the sugar and land COM
pany are Charles NJ. MacNeill. Spen-
Ger Primrose. ]. r. Mckenzie, r. p.
Dayie and J. Dawson Hawkins.
Among the more prominent de-
PENDANTS, including the principal cor
porations taking water from the Ar
kansas river in this state, are the fol-
lowing: Graham Ditch company, the
Colorado and Kansas Canal and Res
ervoir company. the Lamar Land and
Canal company, the FIT. Lyon Canal
company. the Oxford Farmers Ditch
company. the Rocky Ford Canal. Res
ervoir, Land. Loan and Trust COM
| pany, the Catlin Consolidated Canal
company the Rocky Ford Ditch COR
pany. the X. Y. Irrigatiug Ditch COM
pany, the Mancel Canal. Reservoir
and Improvement company, the TWIN
Lakes Reservoir company, the Canon
City, Florence and Pueblo Water
company, the Bessemer Irrigating
company, the Holbrook Irrigation
company, the Otero Irrigation dis
trict the Arkansas Valley Sugar Beet
and Irrigated Land company, and the
! Colorado Southern Irrigation COM
| pany
Attorney N. c. Miller. of the local
law firm of Logan and Miller, was
attorney general of the state when the
famous Kansas-Colorado suit was
fought and had entire direction of
| the litigation which resulted in vic
tory for Colorado
According to the decision in that
case. while it found against Kansas
as state it provided that private
corporations and individuals might
come into court and show damage