, 1923-02-22


Enrolled Act 50 Is Il relief mea.
sore w~hereunder there Is placed on
the state OF Wyoming the burden OF
expense of reimbursing 'the pur.
chasers of section SO, township So.
range 90 W. s p. NJ. for expense in.
CURED IN protecting their water
rights therein. and to provide for the
conducting OF litigation to protect
such rights" The act provides an
appropriation OF So 80 for costs. e 4.
penses and attorneys fees" The
latter item is where Governor Ross
comes into tho situation in his capac.
ity as en- attorney before he was
elected to the governorship. Ho was
Of counsel for the persons for whom
h act provides relief. and a portion
of the appropriation, therefore, would
be reimbursement for the fee paid to
him. Associated with him as counsel
was Avery Haggard OF Cheyenne.
partner at law OF Joseph c. OrMa-
honey. viceschairman OF the Demo
cratic state Central committee.
Enrolled net SO provides for REIN
bursement OF Charles Grant Caldwell
individually and as trustee for Chris
topher Althoff. Arthur II. ThornburE,
Earl Rysar. d. z. Townsley and
Agnes H. Caldwell I'm the matter of
the case of United States Of America
against Arthur w. Ide, ct al, in dis.
trict court of the United States for
the district of Wyoming, in the Unit
ed States circuit court OF appeals, and
in the supreme court of the United
States" The act further provides
that the attorney general is hereby
authorized and directed to conduct to
its conclusion on behalf OF said par
ties, the litigation of said suit, now
pending in tho supreme court of the
United States, and is authorized to
employ a special assistant or assist.
ants to conduct such litigation. ana
there is hereby appropriated out OF
any funds Of the state not otherwise
appropriated. the sum Of three thou.
Sand dollars for the purpose of pay.
ing h tees and expenses of such as
slstants."
Ihere IS an interesting story nsso-
ctated with the events leadipg nm Ia
the litigation section s6-5s.o9 for
which the state of Wyoming ia IA
foot the bill If enrolled act 50 becomes
a law.
Section $3.50. 90 was state scb,or
land wing within the area covered nv
the Shoshono Irrigation system of Tho
FEDERAL reclamation service. Caldwell
II Ide. It is related. shrewedIv fore,
saw that tho value Of the ~sec+,on
WouId De greatly increased by water
tpat o u find its way into Bitter
creek-safd to be called creek, mere
" by courtesy and at the expense Of
iteral truth-form the federal irrira.
tion system. They bought section az
from the state, paying $40 an acre
therefrom. and applied for and were
granted state water rights from
Bitter creek. Eventually water from
the federal system did find its wav
into h ~so-called creek. as a result
thereof became a creek In reality rs
well as in name. Reclamation service
engineers undertook to use tho bod
OF the creek" ITO convey this water
to n point where it could be returned
TO tho federal system. this under
aking involving deepening of tho
ThereuDon Caldwell and Ide
Went into court for an order restrain
ing the federal government from in
terfering with the water in the creek
or with the bed of tho creek. The
reclamation service countered by OBJ.
tanning an injunction restraining
Caldwell and Ide from interfering
with its plans. The legal contest thus
began is still in progress and II a.
the expenses incidental to this con.
test to which to holders to title in
nnrffAn "a NhA ~
would pay under tho provisions Of
enrolled act 50. In the district court
OF the United States for wyoming.
Judge John A. Riner found for the
landowners. The government ap-
eminent appealed to the Circuit
courtof Appeals and this court re-
vorsed Judge RIner's decision. There
upon the landowners appealed to the
supreme court of the United States
and there the litigation still is at is
sue. The state of Wyoming. under
the provisions OF enrolled act SO.
would carry the case TO conclusion
in the supreme court. placing the
services of the states legal depart
ment at hte disposal Of the appellants,
at the expense OF the state. The hp-
preparations authorized by enrolled
act 50 total s12.91o. but the state nee.
essariIy would pay any expenses in
edition TO that amount which might
arise to carrying the litigation TO con
cluslon.
An interesting side-light IN the sit.
uation is siad TO be that the land or
iginaily purchased by Caldwell and
Ide. and the expense incidental to nus
tanning n water right for which the
state must pay under the provisions
of enrolled act 50. has been multiplied
ten-fold as a result Of the reclamation
services adjacent improvements.
PRINCE HAS OPERATION
nAa.AA.- - N 49, 49,