East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-10-30
Prominent Farmer Waging Hard Fight For Right
to rrigate Reservation Land
WILL WIN THE CASE SAYS HIS LAWYER
Byers Company Has Mere Temporary Permit Asserts
Complaint; Suit Means Much to the Indians
and City.

mentioned in words as follows: "1n
granting said permission to construct
the said water ditch, It IS on the ex-
press condition that no permanent
rights shall attach or become vested,
but that any ditch or canal dug or
constructed and the use of the same
shall be subject to the pleasure of
the department"
Continuing the amended complaint
says:
The Right Transferred.
IN pursuance of said license and
permit said Ladow. Bailey and 9TH
ers did construct a small ditch and
did appropriate and divert into the
same about five inches, miners meas
urement of the water of said river and
did conduct the same through said
ditch to said town of Pendleton for
the purpose of irrigation. That there
after one w. S. Byers built and con-
structed a mill for the manufacture
of flour in said town of Pendleton
and near the west boundary of the
| reservation and with a capacity of
| about so barrels of flour in "a hours
and to secure power to operate the
| same said Byers purchased and took
assignment from said Ladow ct al,
said right to the use of said water
taken by them from said river under
and by virtue of said license and
permit, and thereafter the congress
of the United States recognized said
assignment of said license by said
I Ladow ct al to said Byers by an act
/ approved March 3. 1885, providing as
! follows:
The Byers' Right.
THAT the water right across a por-
ton of said reservation from the
town of Pendleton, granted by the
interior department July Z, 1870, the
application of George A. Ladow and
other citizens of Pendleton for man
ufacturing irrigation and other pur-
poses be confirmed ant continued to
w. 5. Byers & Co. and their success
sors, provided that this act shall in
no way impair or affect any existing
right to a reasonable use of the wa
ter of said stream for agricultural
purposes nor shall confirm or grant
any right beyond or different that to
VIII ch it has been heretofore appro-
Lpriated.
THAT thereafter SAID W. S. Byers
enlarged his mill and said ditch and
appropriated and took from said riv-
er much larger and additional guam
t'ty of water of said river and used
the same as power to operate said
mill and has continued to appropriate
and use said water for said purpose
from that day to this and without
any right or authority except the IL
cense and permit aforesaid"
Involves Big Interests.
1t will be seen from the above that
p, the Caldwell suit if successful ma!
completely wipe away the water right
, now claimed by the Byers company
should the right to irrigate land up,
on the reservation be established OF
, should the secretary Of the interio,
see fit to cancel the Byers permit tn,
mill company would be allowed onl!
f SO much water as was left after tn,
reservation had done with it.
In turn the water of the rive
. would become available for the ir
9 rgation of the reservation and i
n would then become possible to con
- vert that section of the county int
+ very favored irrigation district
n such state of affairs would great.
Continued on page eight.)