The Glenwood post., 1911-11-04
Arkansas Valley Editorial As.
sociation Will Help Defend
Colorado Irrigation Pri-
critics
ARE SEEKING PUBLICITY

A. r. McCauley, editor and publisher
of the LaJunta Democrat, spent Mon
day in Glenwood and called at The Pc st
office while here. He says the entire
Arkansas valley section is greatly ex-
| ercised over the suit with Kansas over
water rights, which has not vet been
definitely settled.
This is the case of the Garden City,
Kansas, ditch owners against all the
ditch companies and corporations of
the Arkansas valley and the irrigation
officials of that section. The case was
begun in September, 1910, and is still
hanging fire in the supreme court of
the United States.
The theory of the Kansans is that
| their bitches We're constructed prior
| to the bitches of the defendants and
that the doctrine Of appropriation ap-
| plies throughout the length of the river
and that Colorado has no right as d.
state to decree water to the defendant
bitches without recognizing the claims
of the complainant, and that federal
judge ought to enter a decree to be
administered throughout the whole riv-
er giving the Kansas bitches date of
priority senior to the priorities of the
defendant.
1t can readily be seen just what the
effect Of such decree would be upon
! all of eastern Colorado as well as open
ing the door to endless litigation be
| tween this state and Wyoming, Ne
braska, New Mexico and Utah.
A similar case was up before and was
won by Colorado three years ago. The
water which the Kansans demand nov
is practically the same water which
Colorado won from them in the former
: suit. This case is one that is vital 10
Colorado and it seems that we have u
good show to win it, judging from the
following extract from the former de-
cision:
"We are satisfied that Colorado
has seriously diminished the water
that used to reach Kansas But as
between the states, we will not
employ the riparian doctrine in its
strictest, unvarying form. We viii
determine what is Just and wise.
We find that on the use of these
waters Colorado has built up cities
and farm communities to a point
oc
injury to Kansas. We will not set
back that empire. Colorado has
gone too far .-s
But it seems that just when money IS
badly needed to fight for the rights of
eastern Colorado farmers the defense
fund created by a bill of the last legis-
lature, has. been declared unavailable
and these people are deprived of the
funds so much needed at this time.
Whether this is due to the bungling
tactics of an incompetent bunch of
legislators who made mess of every
thing they touched or to the egotis'n
of an ignorant blacksmith who fills tbe
state treasurer s office or the indiffe.
| ence of the spineless auditor, Mr.. Led
dy, is of little consequence to thess
people at this time. Of one thing they
are very certain and that is that they
are unable to get the money to defend
them against what they term an unwar
| ranted encroachment upon their rights.
The Arkansas Valley Editorial asso-
| citation has taken the matter up IN
earnest and Mr. McCauley has been
sent out as one of the representatives
of that association to present their
cause to the people through the press
and to demand that that $4,000 de-
Tense fund, or so much of it as may be
needed, be turned loose for the pur-
pose of resisting the efforts of out
| siders to appropriate the waters whicn
| rise in Colorado and are used and so
L L IL 1~1 L..