White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1924-02-08
SPECTATORS ATTACK
IRRIGATION DISTRICT

Representing the Northern Pa
cific railroad and himself, M. B.
Haynes appeared before the board
of directors Of the Priest Rapids
Irrigation district at the February
meeting on Tuesday evening and
filed a petition for dissolving the
district. Mrs. Maggie Sapp pre-.
sented a similar petition at the
same meeting. These petitions bear
the purported signatures of num-
ber of land owners in the district
who had been induced to Sign them
on one pretext or another. The
board adjourned the meeting for
three weeks in which to check up
on the petition and the signatures.
The district was organized on
Feb. IA, 1920, at time when i.
appeared there was a possibility OF
taking over the Consumers Ditch
company's ditch and distributing
system and irrigating all of the
land below the ditch by gravity,
This deal fell through when a salts.
factory price could not be agreed
upon either for delivery Of power
at the pumping plant. or the deliv-
cry of water at the head of the can.
al. The district, however, went
ahead and employed an engineer
and had all the engineering and
cost data prepared for an irrigation
system, with its head at Priest
Rapids, to water all of the land in
the district. This information and
data is now on file with district
officials and it would be hard to
find anyone who would say that it
is not worth the few cents per acre
that it cost.
To cover the expense of organi-
zation and investigation, the dis
trict directors made a levy of sc
cents per acre. Under TIE law
and this should be understood by
everyone-the district directors can
levy but Ia cents more per acre. or
total of so cents. And if they
ever should make an assessment of
this Ia cents or any part of it, the
funds so raised could be spent only
for organization and investigation.
Any other assessment that might
be made wonld have to be made by
a vote of the land owners in the
district.
In addition to gathering the data
for gravity flow for the land be
low the Hanford canal. the irriga
ton district also performed another
! imnor tant seruice wiisn the direc
tors secured the insertion of ;
clause in the temporary permi
granted the Washington Irrigation
& Development company by tht
Federal Water Power leasing boare
for the Priest Rapids development
protecting the rights of the Han
ford water right owners. And il
response to second request from
the district directors, the Water
Power Leasing board has said thai
these rights would be taken into
consideration in the granting OF
any permanent license for the de
velopment of the Priest Rapid.
power site.
At the time the district wa.
formed, the question of irrigatinp
from wells had not been tested ou,
to any great extent. Since thai
time a large number of wells have
been dug that have in measure
proven the existence of a sufficien,
supply of irrigation water from
that source. If these wells contin
ue to prove satisfactory, it is quite
probable that the irrigation district
will never function as a builder OF
irrigation canals and a distributor
of water. But we are not out OF
the woods yet. Priest Rapids de.
velopment will not mean a great
deal to this valley unless il results
in a cheaper power rate. And the
irrigation district is a powerful
weapon in the hands Of the farm.
ers to bring about that cheaper
rate. In view of that fact. it
would be an act of downright fool.
ishness to throw away this weapon
by dissolving the district at this
time, especially in view Of the
statement of the directors that no
other assessment is contemplated
by them and that it could not he
made until January. 1925. even if
contemplated; that the district has
no debts and has sufficient funds on
hand to cover the little Incidental
expenses for considerable time.
When the district has performed
whatever service it can in helping
to bring about a cheaper power
rate and the resident land owners
figure it can be of no further com
munity benefit, it will be time
enough to talk Of dIssolving it and
everybody will be ready then to
vote it out. But it would he an
optimistic optimist indeed who
would predict that the Northern
Pacific and other lesser speculative
land owners, even in spite of all
the camoufage they have thrown
out, could muster the necessary
three-ffths vote of land owners