Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1934-04-12
Of EDEN
-. BY Peter b. Kyne =.

ton with the Department OF interior
by claiming you are diverting water
from riparian lands to non-riparinn
lands, to their signal loss and dam
age"
But we will not divert their share
of the water, Mr.. Gagan. Our plan Is
to divert only that portion OF the flood
or waste waters allocated to US by the
division OF water rights, which is I'M
der the control of the state water COM
mission"
THAT will be fine, provided you can
get away with it." the lawyer replied
dryly. my partners and I have con-
sidered this new law very carefully
and It is our opinion that 1t Is subject
to successful attack. BY an energetic
and belligerent RIPARIAN owner, as I'M
constitutional"
ITS been on the statute books five
years. Babson challenged. why hasn't
1t already been declared %unconstitu-
tional?"
Probably because nobody has pressed
the point. Lawyers who could be en-
gagged to tackle such a tough fight are
high-priced, and the men who would
engage them usually cannot afford
them. So the victims make the best
of the situation and get along on the
amount OF water allocated to them by
the state water commission"
!. "Tiehenor and the Kershaw girl will
not fight u.s." Bahson declared con
hdently.
Nevertheless, If they're smart, they'll
fight you. From what you tell me,
these people come Of fighting stock"
well. suppose we lose" Babson
countered. "The district can still get
rid Of them by condemning all their
lands water rights and buying them,
can't It?p
Yes, Of course. But you'd still have
the power company on the creek below
you, clamoring for more water than
they would then receive"
"Wouldn't the state water commits
sion have to adjudicate the quarrel7"
Again Gagan smiled his enigmatic
smile. II suppose so. Still. with
these two riparian owners eliminated
by a condemnation suit, the issue
would lie between you and the power
company and IL, as you seem to think,
there is water enough for both, a COM
promise should not be difficult to
reach"
TITS a chance I'll have to take" Bah
son answered doggedly, thinking OF the
mortgages his bank held on dry-farm-
Ing lands In Forlorn Valley. Once he
succeeded In getting surface irriga-
ton on those lands their values would
be Observation-Disclosures the value Of his
banks capital stock.
Having gorged himself with legal
information on every angle OF the stu
alton that confronted him, he paid his
bill and returned to Valley Center In
great good humor. He had boiled the
lbeuS QURu W iLS EcoChLlulS. lie Wa
ter would cost nothing cave the ex-
pense of leading 1t to Forlorn Valley
or, Ii Nate Tichenor and Lorry Kerr
shaw should oppose him successfully.
be would have to buy them out via tho
condemnation suit process. II his
plans matured In advance Of those Of
the power company he suspected Of
interest In the Eden Valley water, he
was safe. If they didn't he would still
not be ruined. And once safely out
of the unpleasant situation In which
he found himself, he cared not a ng
should ruin overtakc the district sub
sequently. He told himself 1t WAS high
time he liquidated his various interests
and retired on the income from his
capital.
The bank was closed for the day
when Babson reached Valley Center,
so it was not until be sat down at his
desk next morning that Mr.. Henry
Rookby was able to impart to him
such news Of local interest as had de-
yeloped during Babson's absence.
Rance Kershaw's dead" Rocky an
nounced Immediately. Dropped dead
OF heart disease the day you left for
San Francisco"
TO BE CONTINUED.