The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1916-02-04
SLIGHT DAMAGES.

A feW-anu IL may De SAID TO tne
credit of the principle of justness and
fairness In the average man, only a
few-owners of land under the West
Okanogan Valley Irrigation district
reclamation system have required the
district to resort to the courts to secure
a right of way for the fumes and the
bitches and have demanded damages
for that privilege. In almost every in
stance those who have insisted on
payment for right of way are land
owners who have made no improve
ments upon their holdings, and prob
ably would never 60 to the expense of
installing a private irrigation system
These malcontents, seeing an oppor-
tunity to get something for nothing,
for such is the case where payment is
asked for land that is absolutely
worthless without water, and caring
rothing for the great benefits that are
to accure to the entire valley and con-
sequently to themselves ultimately,
resort to this method to harass the
district officials and put the district to
heavy and unnecessary expense. In
most instances the damages asked il
far and away beyond the market value
of the lands, indeed, far more than the
land would ever bring without water
if the owner held on for so years.
The latest case of this kind to be
tried before the superior court was
that of the West Okanogan Valley lrri-
cation district VS.. A. Laurgaard In
which the defendant asked damages
in the sum Of $305O. Now the last man
| in the valley that the public would
suspicion of resorting to such action
| is Mr.. Laurgaard, and the question
has often been asked II there was not
an ulterior object behind this attitude.
Mr. Laurgarrd is civil\ engineer of
large experience, with the reputation
of being an exceptionally good one. He
has been connected with the constrUc-
tion of other irrigation systems. No
man in the country is in a better posi-
ton to understand the value of irriga-
ton as applied to the semi-arid lands
of this valley totally, valueless without
the revivifying influence of water.
prodigally productive under irrigation.
One would naturally suppose that he
would hail with delight any enterprise
that would have for its aim the bring
ing of water to any land he might own
in this valley and use every effort to
secure the same. Moreover, Mr..
Laurgaard has been a direct bene-
ficiary from the inauguration Of the
project. The officers of the district
employed Mr.. Laurgaard at salary
| that you or I or any of us would be
delighted to draw, during the prelinl-
mary stages of establishing the sys-
tenn. At that time we know, If he was
honest, in his expressed opinion, that
Mr.. Laurgaard felt that the project
was the salvation of the land owners
of the valley under the system. Why
he should have afterwards changed
his mind and decided that water would
be deleterious to his property is
something beyond understanding. Mr.
Laurgaard owns tract of land on the
west side of the Okanogan river near
TOnasket and he came to the cOnclu.
sion that the sterile and barren desert
would be damaged $3O50 worth
is more it is said, than he paid for the
tract, or will have paid for it when
the tract is paid for. The case was triet
last week and the jury awarded him
1915 damages, just 1875 more than he
should have had, in the opinion of {
great many people.