Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1911-12-07
Samuel Fortier Declares That
Work of Governmental IT.
rigatiOn Projects Was Ham
pered in Many Of the States
LEGISLATION BADLY
NEEDED IN THE WEST
Soil Expert is Also One of the
Speakers; George H. Hutton
of California Delivers An
Interesting Address.


tBy Eveniag Herald A. v. Leased wirel
Chicago. Dee. 5.--Closer co-opcra'
ton by state legislatures with the fcd-
Cral government In promoting Irrisa-
ton was urged by samuel Forthicr.
chief OF Irrigation invcstlEatlon Of the
department. of agriculture. before tina
nineteenth annual session cf the Ma
sionai Irrigation congress here today
The speaker declared that In many
western states the prjects were being
retarded because of lack Of necessary
legislation by the states.
other speakers scheduled before ths
congress today were ueoree n. Hut
ton Of California and Dr W. J.. Me-
Gee. expert OF the department OF ag-
riculturc.
Judge George ". Hutton of the Los
Angeles superior court delivered an
exhaustive elucidatlon of the much
discussed California Doctrine" re-
gardlng water rights before the ma
tlona' irrisation congress here today.
He declared that while the doctrine
had puzzled Justices OF the United
States supreme court. II was well un-
dsrslood by nearly all residents Of
California.
"rhe great trouble with tho califor-
~; s'',-..s......e. - called. arises not from
the doctrine itself nor ."am the appll-
cation ~ that doctrine by tn -apremc
cour,. hut from vast mlsundcrstn..'-
lns among lawyers and laymen In
courts ln other states as 10 the real
n,cs ming of the doctrine. The mlsun-
dCrftanding arises largely because the
habit OF mind of the eastern lawyer
and iurlHt CAUSES him fo think ia
terms in the light OF his own oxpef-
iencc IN an ovcr-watered country.
while the habit OF mind OF the Califor-
man causes him to think In terms of
his own experience in a seml-arid
country.
AN appreciation of the fundamcn-
tai clvil-law conception that the water
running ia a natural stream is not %
part of the land. nor the subject OF
property In any sense Of the word, IN
esgential to an accurate understanding
OF toe California doctrine.
'rhc California Doctrine OF riparian
rlIhts applied in conjunction win ap-
taNFff"AtNl Ntt1 hNhH bt HhNNftihilhtUs
An absolute or nOn-riparian ap-
proprlation can only be made from "A
stream below the point Of Appioprsa.
ton not previously appropriated.
when the entire stream is on govern
ment land or whan riparian owners
below VIII not be injured. and the
lower owner will not be permitted 10
assert injury, II the riparian owner
above IA using the water In the most
beneficial way. even though he con-
sufneB the entire stfram
"A riparian's owners right of ap-
preparation IL the correlatiye riEht
given exclusively to riparian owner
TO take 50 much Nanr from the
stream (surface or sub .surfacc1 as hc
can put 10 a beneficial, economical uso
on his own riparian land.
Land II riparian TO stream or
sub-surface whom Il borders on tho
stream and ls within the watershed
Land Is riparian 10 pcrcolating
mass ~ water when il overlies the
mass M that Il can draw therefrom
by capiiarity pumps ar flowing wells.
Last but most Important Of all,
the California Doctrine IL best applied
in the liEht OF that greatest of all
principles DO unto thy neighhor as
thou wouldst have thy ncighbor do
unto thee"