The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-17
FEID MAY CAUSE WATER FAMINE AT LOS ANGELES Valley Citizens Enraged As Big City Gets
 All Water SIXTY RAIDERS
 STORM AQUEDUCT Send Troops To Guard
 The City's
 Supply
(By Associated Press.)

LOS ANGELES, Cal. Nov. 16.-Practically t h e entire flow of the Los Angeles aque.. duct, this city's chief source of water for domestic and indus trial uses, was diverted into the Owens river near Lone Pine, about 200 miles north of here, by a raiding party of 60 men, who stormed the aque- duct guards today and threw open the Alabama waste gates.
 Sheriff Collins of Inyo county has telegraphed Governor Richardson ask ing for troops, declaring immediate ac- tion by the military is all that can prevent bloodshed.
 The raiders, alleged to be residents of Owens Valley, where for years q water feud has ragged between the city and valley ranchers and business men, late today stood their ground at the spillway and defied Sheriff Ceilings and rep resentatives of the city of Los Angeles.
 The attackers announced they would continue to waste the water until committee came from Los Angeles and ''settled'' the water rights controversy with them. Sheriff Collins, after vainly endeayoring to have the waste gates closed, returned to Independence to tele- graph the facts to Governor Richard, son. sss f39 ss.sss '
 According to Claude Van Norman. in charge of maintenance from the aque- duct intake to Haiwee reservior, the raiders assured city representatives that the gates would be kept open until the the Los Angeles committee arrived, re- marking that If they leave on the night train they can be here Monday morning and this thing can be settled y
 An Old Affair
 The Owens Valley water feud winch flared up again today near Lone Pine. 200 miles north of here. in raid on the Los Angeles aqueduct by unidenti- fled men and the diversion into the Owens river of practically tine entire flow of the pipe line supplying this city, is an affair of some twenty years standing.
 Trouble began almost with the ince- tion ot the plan to bring water to Los Angeles from mountains 250 miles away. From the point of view of the city, the building of the equeduct was un engineering feat that made possible all that Los Angeles is today, by avert ing the water shortage that otherwise would have been created by the city's steady increase in population. From the point of view of many Owens Valley ranchers and business men, however, the aqueduct was long arm that reach ed out and appropriated for Los Angeles the water supply without which Owens Valleys prosperity fcould not continue.
 Numerous suits were brought against the city by ranchers and irrigation companies, seeking to prevent the sink ing of wells and diversion of streams to supply aqueduct., They contended that by buying part of the land and water rights in Owens Valley the city was in fact jeopardizing agricultural development on the remaining lands and by~continuing it's policy of ''piecemeal purchase" would eventually cause all Owens Valley to revert to desert.
 Feud Intensified
 Litigation so far has intensified rath CT than banished the feud, and last May the people, of Los Angeles were startled to learn that section of their aqueGuct had been dynamited near Lone Pine. The damage caused was nominal but aroused city officials to new ef- forts to reach a peaceful settlement of the feud A grand jury investigation of the dynamiting resulted in no indict- mentS.
 A few months later the feud flared up again in the Kidnapping at Bishop, ill Owens Valley, of l.. C. Hall. Los Angeles attorney. Hall was carried out of town by band of unidentified men and told to leave the valley never to return. This affair also was investigated by the Inyo county grand jury but there were no indictments.
 In recent months several committees from Los Angeles have conferred with ranchers and business men of Owens Valley in an effort to reach m agree ment but no proposal put forward by the city had been definitely accepted, though city officials announced that progress was heinz made