The record. [volume] (St. Maries, Idaho) 1913-1918, 1913-05-30
Friday. MAY 80. 1913
Water Flow Cases
Not Sc tiled

W aLGA A'AOh GA0G9
Not Sc tiled
The homesteaders In the st. Joe
valley are making a determined effort
to have Secretary Lane revoke his or
der by which the Washington Water
Power Company wss given permission
to food the entire valley at its sweet
will.
Believing that his former action
was in reality the work of a subordi-
nate, and that he signed the order
without having had sufficient time to
go into the merits of the case the
settlers have asked for r reheaIing
and that he will carefully go into the
merits of the case himself. IL lie be.
lieved that If he does this he will do
the settlers justice.
The Qpou which the settlers
rely hav stated in oommuni-
cation toNlaH by one of the settlers
who is too poor to engage lawyer,
and SO appeals directly to the score
tary personally.
After stating the facts In relation
TO the granting t. the Washington
Water Power Company a permit to
overflow about 6, 500 acres Of meadow
land In the st. Joe valley by paying
a nominal price of 81 90 per acre for
some of the best land out doors, the
institution of proceedings 20 have
this permit revoked and its final can.
collation. by a former secretary of the
interior, the letter recalls the story
of the drawing aud the selections of
the land by the settlers.
It makes plain the fact that this
land was selected by those Untitled
to flrst selections for the reason that
It was considered the most valuable
on the reservation.
lNacites the assurance given by
9t orities that it was open to
entry, the acceptance of
E by the government without
ThVAettler In question submitted
Communication proof In September,
1911. which was allowed by the gem
eral land office in April, 1912, AMI
a hnal certificate was issued free from
any permit to the Washington Water
Power company to overflow.
When the patent was received 1t
had a clause attached on the bottom
of 1t below the signatures stating taat
the patent was subject to the permit
of the Washington Water Power com
pany to over flow the lands for reser
voir purposes.
When the settlers received permits
sion to file on the land ana that al.
ing was accepted by the government
without any reservation it would
seem that a vested right had been Civ
Gu the settler which could not be tax
EN- from him by the government or
any one else, so long as he lived up
to the homestead law. This right
WAS still further confirmed by the
government receiving the money Of
the settler upon Communication proof
and the issuance to MIN Of a fnal
certificate.
Yet the government has attempted
to take away this vested right from
the settler by taokingia clause to the
bottom Of his patent making 1t sub
jeot to the right Of overflow by the
Washington Water Power company.
1t has in effect, taken the land Of
these settlers, some forty In mum Der,
and turned it over to this wealthy
corporation without any right or law,
for the right of overfowi has made
the land practically worthless to the
settler.
Il lie simply taking from a quarter
to a half million dollars from these
settlres and giving 1t to this rich cor
poration.
IL the government was attempting
TO oon1scate the property of some
wealthy corporation what a howl
would 90 up from one end of the
country to the other. Tue cUrpora
lions are always talking about their
vested right aud the fear that they
may have be interfered with. but no
one has a word to say about the vest
ed rights Of these settlers.
The action of the general land Office
IN fnally doing justice to the Marble
Creek settlers has raised the hope