The Greeley tribune., 1911-11-09

land hereunder? Now. that is ex-
actly what the law of 1901 proSiaes
that the junior ditch may do 10 the
senior reservoir: it is in connict
with the Constitution, and IN the
opinion of every irrigation lawyer
in the West whose opinion is worth
considering, will be declared uncoh-
stitutional the moment the questioh
now raised in our Supreme court
has been passed upon. Let me give
YOU a practical illustration of what
not only can happen, but Will nap
pen, if the present unjust and un'
! constitutional law-the law OF l9ol
is not either repealed. or the Su-
preme Court fails to decide as the
r ablest attorneys believe it Will de-
eide, that it is unconstitutional
Terry Lake was constructed IN
1890: it is the pioneer reservoir OF
any considerable size filling from
the Poudre River. Great diligence
was used in its construction, and in
storing water therein, and divertlns
it therefrom, and the application
thereof to valuable farming lands
! living under the Larimer & Weld
Canal In fact, 1t was built TO sup
plement the deficient water supply
of that ditch, the waters of the
Cache La Poudre, in normal years,
after the latter part of June or the
first OF July, belonging to older
bitches who had appropriated same.
1t has been twenty years since this
reservoir made an appropriation;
yet, l am credibly informed, the
Riverside Ditch twenty-five miles or
more below the junction of the
Platte and Poudre, intends applying
for, and securing a decree, for di-
rect irrigation AS the attorney
from whom l obtained my informa-
tion stated it to me. the owners OF
this ditch. constructed primarily as
a feeder for the Riverside Reser-
voir, believe that decree for direct
irrigation, also by means of this
ditch will give them an advantage
over senior reservoirs both below
and above them. He stated that
after filling the reservoir. and in
times of an abundance of water, the
inlet ditch to the reservoir, and the
outlet therefrom, could be used to
carry river water direct to the lands
under that system. The water would
have to be run directly through the
reservoir when full, but that would
cut no figure about their obtaining
a Decree for Direct Irrigation. "
it did, they could run it around
their reservoir. Now, let us sup
pose that they obtain such q decree,
and the law of 1901 is not repealed,
and the Carpenter Law enacted, and
that the Supreme Court does not
hold the law of 1901 unconstitution-
al, what will happen to Terry Lake,
yes. and to all reservoirs similarly
situated. such as the Lone Tree and
the Marianne Reservoirs of the
Home Supply Ditch company? This
is what will happen: The Riverside
Ditch owners will say to the Divi-
sion Engineer, and the Etate Engi-
neer:
Shut of those reservoirs
up on the Poudre and Big
Thompson, Mr.. State Engineer;
We need the water for direct
irrigation. 1t Is true that these
reservoirs were constructed
twenty years before our ditch;
and We don't deny that they
have been using the water for
beneficial purposes all that
time. but they are storing it
now. In June, for use in July
and August; we wish to apply
the water direct to growing
crops, and the law says that no
reservoir may at any time store
water when the same is needed
by irrigating bitches for direct
irrigation?'
| Let me give you another Illus
tration, and that will suffice. Those
of you who have ridden over the Un-
ion Pacific between Greeley and
Denver have doubtless observed an
enormous canal with q carrying ca
pacity stated to be one thousand
second feet or more. That is the
big Stanley Canal, recently built fol
the purpose of carrying water, to be
stored in the big Stanley Lake some
ten miles northwest of Denver. &c
thousands Of acres of land in the vi
cinity OF Hudson. northeast of Den
yer. Let Us suppose that they will
obtain q decree for this big ditct
for direct irrigation. There is M
reason why they should not;
would do SO If it was my ditch, ant
assume that the average man 1,
as smart as am, and perhap,
smarter. Well, they get a decree b,
reason Of running water through
} their immense canal some sprins