The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1921-03-10
SPEAKING OF COOPERATION

4
- HE Courier-Reporter is inclined
~ ito accept at full value the pro
LESSONS of good will and friendlines'
which have been recently voiced by
influential men of Prosser. We heart
i lily agree that the growth and devel'
opment of the county has been re-
tarded by failure of the two largest
communities in the equity to cooperate
in matters of general moment to the
county. There has been too much pet
tiness, too much provincialism, toe
much back-biting and small-towr
stuff. The future of Benton county
is something in which the people OF
Prosser and Kennewick can find mu-
tual pride. No agricultural county in
the. state is richer in natural resourc-
es OF offers greater possibilities for
really worth while development.
The county has grown and develop
ed in spite of. the fact that Prosser
has the county seat and Kennewick
wants it. The county, however, might
have grown more and developed fast
er, had the county seat question been
a dead instead Of a live issue. No
matter what the final outcome of this
particular issue may be, nor in what
manner it is finally disposed of, it
should not be allowed to interfere with
those larger things which are already
on the horizon of the future.
AS we have said, we are willing to
accept at their full face value Pros
ser's recent professions of good will.
We believe that for the most part
Prosser's Influential men are actuated
by sincere desire to cooperate for the
general welfare Of the county. If this
be true we know of no more opportune
time to begin cooperating than now,
and of no bigger issue upon which to
begin than the Kennewick Irrigation
project. Here is an enterprise which
will add thousands of acres to the
farmed areas of Benton county, in
crease the taxable property by mill
lions, augment the population by
thousands, and contribute most SUBJ
stantially toward the common goal of
a bigger and better Benton county.
We must admit that somewhat of a
damper to the full flow of this new CO.
operative spirit is the fact that only
a few hours before Prosser dele
cation came to Kennewick to bear a
message of good will the city council
of Prosser took steps to prevent the
Irrigation district securing
rights at the Prosser : dam-rights
which are essential to carrying out
plans for the irrigation of the Kenne-
wick project.
The success of Prosser's court action
means: first, that 100000 of federal
funds which congress has appropriat-
ed for beginning new work in the
Yakima project will be diverted from
Benton to Yakima county; secondly,
that approximately $4,000 acres of the
county's high grade lands will lie un-
developed and non-productive perhaps
forever; thirdly, that the reclamation
of 10000 more acres will be indefinite
ly postponed; and finally, the growth
and development of the county as a
whole will be greatly retarded.
It is recalled that when the gov
eminent planned to irrigate the Ken
neWick lands by means of charging
and extending the Sunnyside canal,
Prosser men appeared before U. S.
reclamation officials and argued that
the Kennewick lands should be irri-
gated by means of diverting water di-
rectly from the Yakima river and that
the maximum capacity of the Sunny
side should be reserved for the irri-
cation of lands tributary to Prosser.
The Sunnyside extension plan was
abandoned and today the municipality
of Prosser is seeking to further estop
the irrigation of these lands by pro-
testing against the diversion of water
directly from the Yakima river at the
only practical point of diversion
Really, is this cooperation?
The city attorney of Prosser is oil
rected to employ associate counsel ana
spend the city's money to fight ken-
newick. The attorneys for the hen-
newick Irrigation district are instruct
ed to employ associate counsel ana
spend the districts money TO 1lgnt
Prosser. In the meantime Prosser
delegation comes to Kennew1ck pear
ing love messages and in response a
Kennewick delegation goes to Prosser
to love feast. The birds slng' the
sun shines and everything is lovely
and serene. There is much talk about
cooperation with never a word SAID
either coming or going, about the