Omaha daily bee., 1916-12-07
Failure of Legislature to Fur
nish Money for Law Depart
ment Endangers Ne
braska's Case.
REED SAYS IS WAY OUT
Other Pending Suits Will Pro-
test Users of Water
on Land.
KINKAID GIVES DINNER

Washington, Dec. 6.-(Special Tel
egram.) 1.-The case OF Wyoming
against Colorado, growing out of the
building of canal on the part OF Col
orado connecting the Laramie river
with the Poudrc. thereby diverting
large tlod OF water from the Wy
oming watershed, was reached ior
hearing in the supreme court late this
afternoon. Counsel were given SIX
hours for argument.
This is the case in which Nebraska
is greatly interested and has sent
here Attorney General Reed and a
staff of special counsel
1t was an original action com
mcnced by Wyoming in 1911 to pre-
vent Colorado from diverting the
water because it could never be re-
turned to Wyoming There is no
other stream of similar size within
100 miles i'll either direction, east or
west of the point where the Laramie
flows into Wyoming and it would be
exceedingly disastrous to Wyoming
to have the water thus diverted, it
was asserted.
1t may be asked, why does not Ne
braska intervene in this case2 Attor-
ney General Reed explained in a nut
shell when he said: at was too late
when the appropriation was made for
this purpose.
Intervention Impossible.
ITO have interviewed would have
bound Nebraska upon the evidence in
troduced by Wyoming alone because
its interests are identical with Ne
braska. But Nebraska has a much
higher and greater claim and should
be allowed to prepare Typographical
maps showing the extent of land sub
ject to irrigation, the amount irrigated
and also the value of the products, the
extent of the damage sustained by
Nebraska through the failure to fe-
ceive just portion of the water by
reason of prior appropriations.
Nebraska can and will be fully pro-
tected by and through the course we
have pursued thus far, inasmuch as
there are two suits now pending
against Colorado water users by the
water users of western Nebraska.
"As it is, Nebraska will be in ex-
cellent position TO prohtabye the out
come of the present suit since the
state will have been prepared at that
time to institute an independent
action of its own if the necessity
should require it."
Storing Flood Waters.
Attorney General Reed and his as
sociates are interested in the storing
of food waters in the reservoir sites
to be selected in Wyoming as we'll as
in Nebraska and today in additional
to their attendance on the supreme
court found time to call on a number
of senators and representatives with
a view of giving them first hand in
formation looking to solution of
floods on the lower Mississippi and
at the same time taking care of the
summer flow, which is so essential
and necessary for irrigation in the
semi-arid section of Nebraska,
Wyoming and Colorado. They met
with much encouragement in their
propaganda
Judge Kinkaid, who is intensely
interested in the irrigation question,
was host at dinner last evening
in honor of Attorney General Reed
and the special counsel, those present
besides Judge Kinkaid and Mr. Reed
we're: J. J. Halligan, Walter V,
Hoagland and K. M. Beeer of North
Platte, and Thomas Morrow of
SCOTS Bluffs.
Two-Cent Fare Law.
Mr. Reed expects to leave for Ne
braska on Friday, stopping at Chi
cago, on account of the hearings
wherein the 2-cent passenger law of
Illinois is being assailed in the fed
eral court in an effort by the railroads
to wipe out the authority of railway
commissions and legislatures to make
passenger rates, which are wholly
within the state. In the event Of the
state of Illinois losing the suit, SINH
! lar action with undoubtedly follow in
Nebraska. Mr. Reeds associates will
probably leave for home on Saturday.