Arizona republican., 1920-03-13
MYSTERY STREAM |S CAUSING THE WATER
 COMMISSION GRIEF

Nothing but 3 ouija board will solve the problem now confronting State Water Commissioner w. S. Norviel, according to those who watch the do- ings at the capitol. the commissioners being called upon now to grant water rights from spooky old river that no body ever saw but that is claimed to be just as juicy as the grand old Colo rado. The river is not even on the best maps, but there are indications that it is going to become the '-spookus delicti'' in one of the most interesting law suits in the annals of Arizona.
 The fearsome stream goes by the name of "Centennial river" if it goes at all. and some say it carries water sufficient to irrigate 10000 acres or Arizona land. A Phoenix rancher named A. Krell claims to know all about ir and he claims that it flows beneath the CenteDnial wash on the Parker cutoff in the northern and eastern part of Yuma county. The river is dry on top, he says. but it is stopping along at great rate away down in the ground where it lives
 Commissioners. Norviel first heard of this thing some time ago when he in nocently granted certain rights there from to a company consisting Of Sena- tor C. c. Green. his brother. $. S. Green, and W. K. Bowen. The company pro- posed to construct a dam across the bowels of the earth 625 feet long and 15 feet town. at a. cost of about $50000. with the view of pushing the alleged river up into the light of day and using it for irrigating 466 acres of land.
 The commissioner says he took an especial interest in granting that ap- plication as he was quite eager to see somebody produce a river, and no one else at that time seemed to be inter ested. Soon afterWard the Phoenix man came along with "a demand for water from the same unseen river anc now the cornmissioner finds himself involved in q dispute concerning Valu- able property rights in a river that he doesn't know exists. The state does not include q ouija board in his equip ment so he can get no proof of the turbulent and turgid stream. but yet he must umpire a dispute about some thing that nobody has yet seen.
 Kren is demanding water rights above the proposed Subterranean dam for water sufficient to irrigate 1000 acres, 1t being his proposal to sink about 40 wells across the roof of the Centennial river and pump the water up to ditch on top Attorney Spencer Pugh is his representative. and a claim is made that Krell has some very ma terial rights
 Commissioner NorvieI just naturally doesn't know what to do; he has to protect the rights of the first men who filed on the Spook water and he can't find any spoo> river himself in orGer to measure the amount that will be left for Kre1l The claim put forth by Krell, to the effect that there is lots of water. hardly gets by with the com missioner as KrelI. so far, hasn't shown any river at all.
 Another point of law that comes up concerns the commissioners liability in case he grants all these water rights and then finds himself called upon by some grand jury to show the river on which he based the grants. The law provides that grantees must develop water as stipulated, but there is said to be possibility that somebody few years hence might demand that the commissioner show his river
 Nothing but a ouija board will save the situation and the comm issioner is known to be willing that everybody take a chance in calling up the spirit of the god who owns the Centennial river--the job is & tough one for the professor.