The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1917-03-28
GOVERNOR BOYLE SIGNS
DISTRICT IRRIGATION LAW
Defers to Opinions that Advantages
Will Outweigh Technical Objections
To Certain Features.

natOrlal veto unless prompt actlOn
was taken, a committee of the water
users of the Truckee-Carson project
was hastily gotten together last
Thursday and made the trip to Car
son by auto, to plead with the Gov
ernor and present arguments against
veto as implied in his telegram
published in the Standard of last
week.
About a dozen representatives of
the water users made the trip and
were cordially received by Governor
Boyle at a private hearing held in
the Governors chambers in the capi-
tol building.
The Governor frankly stated that
his objections to the proposed
amendments were based on the
method of voting provided for in
section three of the proposed law,
stating his belief that such method
was certainly undemocratic and
possibly unconstitutional, inasmuch
as it gave a preponderance of power
to large land owners by basing the
vote on the dollar instead of the in
view that an irrigation district is a
political rather than a corporate
organization; that while in a purely
business corporation each individual
or stakeholder might vote in proper
tion to the number of shares held in
the corporation. such should not be
the case in an irrigation district. He
feared that the effect would be TO
permit large land owners In a pro-
posed irrigation district to indefinite
ly hold up any possibility of i'm
provements in a district simply by a
preponderance of voting power.
l. H. Kent, as chairman of the
legislative committee, made the prin-
cipal address for the proponents of
the bill and stated that under con-
ditions existing in Churchill county
at this time 1t would be impossible
to reach a compromise on any other
basis than the one proposed. He
pointed out, moreover, that under
the law as it now stands it would be
impossible for a district to be organ
lied in any section of the State, since
1t contained a provision that any
unit or number of units could with
draw from the district organization
at will Defending the dollar basis
for voting he stated that inasmuch
as many of the large land owners
would not be benefited to the same
degree by drainage as many of the
be called upon to stand an assess
ment as large as some of the small
homesteaders, the system would
probably equalize itself. He i'm
pressed it upon the Governor that
unless the proposed law was signed
it would be impossible for the water
users to organize short of two years
hence, by which time many of them
might be irretrievably ruined unless
relief can be obtained. Granting for
the sake of argument that the law
as a whole would prove inequitable
and unworkable in some of its pro-
visions, Mr.. Kent contended that at
all events an organization could be
perfected under its provisions and
that the weaknesses of the law, II
any there were, could be demonstrat-
ed under actual working conditions
and remedied at the next session of
the legislature. Various other men,
bers of the committee voiced their
views on the subject and 1t was
made apparent to the Governor that
there was no conflict between the
vested right owners and the home
steaders on this project, but that
they would stand together and
would each be satisfied with Its pro-
visions. Fulton II. Sears raised the
only voice in opposition to the bill.
However. when asked to specifically
state his objections to the bill 1t de-
veloped that Mr.. Sears objections
were to any form OF organization
under State laws. Governor Boyle
then stated that the hearing was for
the purpose Of determining whether
the proposed amendments were an
improvement on the original law or
not; that II was not his province to
make changes In the law or to de-
termine whether the measure as
amended would meet the require
ments OF the situation. To direct
question as to whether, In his opin-
ion, the present law would be better
ed by the amendments, Mr.. Sears
stated that any organization of gov
ernment projects under State law
would prove ineffective.
In view of the exigencies of the
case and the further admitted fact
that the original law was defective,
the Governor stated that he was dis
inclined to be hypercritioal and
would waive his objections on the
broad ground that the mrits of the
bill outweighed its shortcomings,
but he desired 1t understood that he
II. al. I'm q