The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-01
TRYING ID STEAL $5O,OOO,OOO RIVER Wyoming Is After Property
 of Nebraska IS THE NORTH PLATTE Nebraskans Slept on Rights Until Wyoming Farmers Had Appro-
 priated Practically All
 Water in Stream
IS THE NORTH PLATTE

North Platt (Neb.) Cor. New York Press. | Wyoming is trying to steal $5o'oooOo river from Nebraska. It is the biggest river, excepting the Columbia, between the Missouri and the Pacific coast and upon it's waters depends the prosperity or | the entire western end of Nebraska. Wy omng is not simply after the title to the river, but actually intends to take the water from between the banks and leave a dry watereourse extending three guar | ters of the way across this entire state | Governor Aldrich of Nebraska, the con- federated commercial clubs of the state, l Union Pacific railroad and various other bodies have joined in an effort to stop the theft, and representatives have been rushed off to Washington to interest the | federal government in behalf Of the | present owners of the stream.
 l The river which is in such danger is the North Platte. Of the North and South
 Platte rivers, which combine at this point, the northern branch brings three or four times as much water to the con- i fuence. With the North Platte diverted
 from the western end of the river to
 Plattsmouth on the Missouri, will be but dry stack of sand.
 Wyoming claims that that state is in
 the right in the action which it is taking, | and points to the fact that it is remaining strictly within the law while taking pos- session of the water. And there is no de- nying that fact either. But Nebraska, 1 seeing It's greatest stream about to be | transferred to it's western neighbor, is
 raising all sorts of row
 North Platte river takes it's rise in wyoming, and for several hundred miles | flows through that state. Most of it's water comes from the numerous streams | which pour down Wyoming mountains
 and finds their way into the North Platte
 before it enters Nebraska.
 | The federal laws give the waters Of | interstate streams to those settlers who | apply first and who will put the water | to use. Nebraska was settled before Wyoming and naturally the farmers along the North Platte filed their claims l for sufficient water with which to irri- gate their crops In this way practically all the water of the North Platte is ap- propriated by Nebraska farmers, who use | it for irrigating purposes. When home l steaders began pouring into Wyoming and taking up land in the North Platte val- ley they made application tor water TlBHle. 1Tlcn they louuu they COulu ilot touch the water all of which had been given to Nebraskans although orlginat- ing in wyoming and flowing past the very farms upon which 1t was needed
 Some years ago there came a change in the climatic conditions of Western Me- graska, and instead of dry seasons suffi- cient rain fell to mature the crops. So the settlers did not use the river water. They did not have to irrigate in order to produce crops. Consequently they per- mitted their irrigation dtches to deterior- ate and become alr'ost unusab ble. They slept on their rights, in other words, and under governmental law these wa- ter rights must be used if they are to re- main in force.
 Then again did Wyoming farmers who had been living by the farming methods begin filing on North Platte river water. The government will accept a filing any time, but only subject to former filings and appropriations. Nebraska farmers laughed when they discovered that Wyoming ranchers were making filings on their river We've got that solid,' they said. "No use trying to get our river away from us" But the Wyoming
 filing continued until practically every drop of Platte river was filed on in Wyoming. subject only to the Nebraska filings. And Nebraska was not utilizing the water under the filings of its farmers.
 The Nebraska state engineer heard what the Wyoming farmers were doing and he Investigated He discovered that the Nebraskans had slept on their rights for such length of time that 1t is doubt full if they can retain their water rights, which are worth, according to the en- gincer, at least $50, 0o0,oO0 Nor can they renew their former filings, as the Wyom- ing filings have prior rights to any which may be made now.
 The battle will be fought before the au- thorlties at Washington, and already rep resentatives of both sides are in that city. In addition to attorneys of the farmers of both states, agents of both Nebraska and Wyoming are working for their states. The Union Pacific railroad is as- sisting Nebraska farmers. because that system has line of road on the Ne braska side, while the Burlington proba- bly will aid Wyoming. because the Bur lington operates along the river in that state.