The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947, 1919-08-28
WATER MASTERS NEEDED

heur county into Che hands of competent
Masters.
Next year there may be plenty of water,
but no one can predict what will happen sol
to ignore the results of this season and trust
to fate is neither good business nor good
common sense.
Repeated statements have been made to
the Argus to the effect that had the water
of the Owyhec Ditch alone been evenly dis
! tributcd during the season; that is had the
head possible to have been secured, main
tanned during the growing season an average
of one ton per acre of alfalfa above what
will be cut would have resulted. In other
words every acre under the Owyhcc would
have produced $15 more than it has this
year The loss then reduced to cold cash,
| if these statements are correct, to the ranch
crs of the Owyhcc system is Sl5O,OOO.
That is vast sum to throw away.
Even the prosperous ranchcrs will agree
that something should be done to stop it.
And it can be stopped, of that there is MOI
doubt
The trouble is not to be laid at the door
of any individual Neither is it to be laid
at the door of the directors of the Owyhec
Ditch company. These directors serve with
out pay, They are all busy men, They all
have ranches that require their personal
attention. Why should they get out and
actually manage ditch when all they get
is abuse And that more generally than
anything else is their reward
The trouble lies deeper than amy man
of the board. 1t lies with the individual
stockholders. These men and women take
so slight an interest i'm the affairs of the
company that on many an occasion when
important matters were up for consldcra-
tion no quorum sould be secured to hold a
meeting. This in spite of the provision for
proxies. When conditions get to that pass
il is time that something be done to arouse
the people to action.
Last winter the pumps, one pump at
least, which was installed to furnish add- /
tional water during the dry season frozc.
This happened ON on about Christmas day,
1913. 1t was not reported 10 the board, /
somehow, Or To anyone IN authority, on II 50
no action was taken Then when the dry |
season came it was found that the pump
could not be operated. The result was II
water shortage just when water was needed. !
Had the ditch been under the direct
management of one man who could be held /
responsible, il is likely that such n thing /
would have occurred! Would not amy man /
agcr have investigated his equipment in the
spring 10 see that everything was in rcad- i
ness for use! ! OF course he would.
The Owyhce Ditch is one of, if not the
most important institutions in the comtry.l
Upon its produce rests the business and the !
prosperity of Il large portion of the popu- i
laton of this section. The extent of capital, /
the amount invested i'm its bitches place it /
beyond the stage where it can be permitted Il
to rum itself without the active direction of
competent manager or water master
The introduction of such a manager
would also, without doubt, soon settle the
animosity that has long existed between the |
''upper end and lower end" ranchers, AMI
equal and Just distribution of the waters of
the main canals would result And that isl
what every fair minded honest rmchcrl
should be striving for. Any man who OPP !
poses Il fair distribution of the water to all Il
stock holders, must of necessity be seekingl
to secure that To which he is not entitled. L
Under the present system it is natural that
each section should be suspicious 10 the /
other, and the greatest benefit which Il com
pctent manager could secure would be re-
moval of all cause for such suspicion.
The Argus has no desire to interfere in
the management of the Owyhee Ditch, on
any other enterprise, but believes that since
as public service corporation upon which
the prosperity of the entire community is
it should function as nearly
perfect as it is possible for it to do. If the
owners of the district will only