Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-09-21
RIVER PARLEY
BREAKUP
SAY

DENVER, Sept. 20 up - DissenSion
marked the Colorado river parley to-
day, and night found many of the
conferees frankly discouraged in their
hopes for a settlement of the five
year controversy.
Intimations of obstructive tactics on
the conference floor were cryStallized
into charges of dishonestry of pur-
pose outside the meeting proper
One of the upper basin state gov
ernors came in for arraignment dur
ing recess at the hands of another
governor, and the allegation was made
that the executive in question "either
deliberately or innocentIy' had, by his
insistence upon curtailing, discussion,
almost led to a dissolution of the
parley itself
Generation and control of hydro
electric power on the Colorado be-
came clear-cut issue with Arizona
insisting upon its simultaneous con-
,sideration with the problem Of water
division and California and wyoming
equally determined to sidetrack 1t un
til the lower basins water controversy
had been settled.
Congressman Edward Taylor of
Colorado announced that he soon
would introduce resolution to throw
the dual questions of water division
and power into the United States SUI
preme court for settlement; and, cap
ping the climax, the states rights
problem, bobbing up i'll two quarters,
bade fair to precipitate bitter fight
if it did not lead to complete diSin-
tegration of the parley.
/ Governor George H. Dern, of Utah,
chairman of the conference, made no
secret of the fact that he was dis
couraged at the prospects of an ad-
juStment Of the differences between
California and Arizona.
Recessed for four hours in order to
give California and Arizona oppor-
tunity to draft their views on the Aug
uSt 80 proposal by the upper basin
governors al1ocating to each of the
three lower basin states a definite
amount of water-the conference re-
convened at.4 p. m. only to find that
the former was not ready to submit a
statement. Arizona signified that it
was ready,
John L. Bacon of San Diego, chair
man of the California river commits
sion, apologized to the conference for
the inability of his colleagues and he
to prepare brief in the time stipu-
lated, but assured the arbiters that he
would have it ready Wednesday.
Agreed cnly on the point that they
were getting nowhere, California and
Arizona at por1y hO1Jf, f1op fO
purposes when the former asked
for discussion of water division first
and power later, and the latter for
indissolubly linking the two subjects
togetoer for simultaneous considera-
ton. Arizona, Governor Emerson, of
Wyoming pointed out, seemed afraid
that California would obtain an agree
ment on water and then take the first
train west before the power problem
could be brought up.
81 don't want to see power" said
the Wyoming governor, made trad
ing point on water"
State Senator N1ulford Winsor of
Yuma, Ariz., made an Intellectual at
tempt to obtain approval of reSolu-
ton embodying in declaration of
NOGSOOo 4461ACo, tDC4A1S3 O4OGhC(l Ny w. ID
Mathews of California, who pleaded
that the power question was much too
ramified to be laid to rest. The reso-
luton set forth five premises, among
Ehem being: A state is owner of the
water in its streams and beds of those
streams, and state can demand COM
pensation for the use of it's lands and
waters.
This struck at the foundation of the
Swing johnson Boulder canyon dam
bill, providing for the construction by
the federal government of a dam on
the Colorado on the Nevada Arizona
state line, measure sponsored by the
California delegation in congress.
Governor Emerson, a member of Sec
retary Hubert Works advisory COM
mission on Colorado river problems, !
was equally opposed to "hasty" action
on the resolution.
The measure was laid over for con-
sideration with that of Senator Key |
Pittman of Nevada, setting forth like
declaration of policy.
The two states to the controversy !