The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1917-03-09
LOOKS LIKE A
WATER SYSTEM

The joint meeting of the town coun-
Gil and the citizens OF Roman held
last Monday evening, looks like the
people here meant business and that
the realization of a water system for
Roran would be the result. The in
terest shown at the meeting demon
strates that everybody is heartily in
favor of building the water system
and doing it during 1917. To pro-
crastiIate means ruin; to build this
year means everything to the town.
The communication read at the
meeting, coming from Project Engi-
neer Grove at st. Ignatius, seemed
to arouse those present to the neces-
sity of getting busy and doing some
thing to protect the rights of the
people of Roman against the injustice
which it seems the director of the
reclamation service is disposed to i'm
pose upon us, For over six years the
people living here have supposed, and
were led to this supposition by conf
munications direct from the secretary
of the interior, that all that was nec-
csSary for the town 20 DO was to
have surveys made showing the
source and direction of the proposed
system, and that permission would
then be given for the construction of
the pipe line to convey the water.
Nothing has ever been said hereto-
fore regarding any charges for the
use of the water, nor the irrigation
system TO have the service now
intimate that Roman will he co1npell-
ed TO pay for the enlargement of res
cryoirs to store water needed to irri-
gate other lands, at an estimated
expenditure of upwards of $4,000.
came as such a surprise that the
people here are amazed.
Some :>ertinnt questions naturally
arise at this time. First is. what
does the reclamation service expect
the towns her" to do for water, If
they are not allowed to take ii from
the natural streams heading in tho
Missio range, which they now claim
has all been appropriated by the SER
vice? Arc the towns to be denied
water and such conditions imposed
us the service must we'll know are
absolutely proh,bitive? Can the set
vice usurp the right of the people of
the towns on the reservation using
the water God causes to flow from
the mountains and prevent them from
exercising privilege which from
all time past until now has been in
herent to all mankind?
Surely there must have been mis-
apprehension Oh the part of some one
connected with the service to issue
such an order or to withhold permis-
sion under such conditions.
There is an intimatiOn conveyed in
Engineer Groves letter that per-
nit will be granted the town Of Ro-
nan to take sufficient water from
Spring creek, and if this is true, then
no time should be lost in requesting
and securing that permit.
The committee appointed to- inves-
tigate what kind of system could
be built for approximately $4,000.
composed of A. M. Sterling. A. Suth-
erland, L. NJ. Farnham, John N.
Bailey and Iver NJ. Brandjord. is
composed of men capable cl securing
the information ard devising means
by which permission to use the water
necessary for the town can Dc
granted by the service. They are all
vitality interested in the town and its
welfare and it is believed that when
they have completed their work, some
scheme will have been devised which
will result in water works being
built here during the present year.