The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1943-02-12


"a gift of all irrigation water
storage dams, canals and other
facilities for irrigation to the
Montana Power Company and
the users of the irrigation wat
ers from overflow and return
flow, would have to pay the
power company for them.
The bill was introduced by the com
mittee on irrigation and water rights
in the senate and attracted little at
tention before it was placed on gen
eral orders on Tuesday of this week.
To the casual reader it resembled
many of the other bills introduced to
amend existing laws, and a cursory
reading of the bill itself by the lay
man, indicated nothing dangerous in
the measure. However, some of the
senators had been warned that the
bill might have dangerous elements
wrapped up in its legal verbiage, and
when Senators Toomey, Gilbert and
Kelley each made speeches urging its
passage, though no one had as yet
Openly questioned the desirability of
the bill, suspicion grew in the minds
of many members, because it seemed
that these men, recognized as sup
porters of privileged groups pro
tested too much"
However the bill passed on general
orders, but on Wednesday, members
of the senate had had an opportunity
to study the measure and its implica-
tions and a motion was made to re-
commit the bill to the committee, and
the motion carried by a tie vote with
the presiding officer in the senate
voting to recommitt.
Since no member of the senate had
lacked time and opportunity to secure
on the bill and its pro-
posals for what might result in one
of the most gigantic steals in the
history of the state, the vote on the
motion to recommit the bill to the
is of the greatest import
ance as an indication of the probable
anu COnllOi ny lAC Sltdb
of the state over some
of the membership of the senate. The
record vote follows. Those voting
aye" voted to recommit the BILL
which may result in killing the meas
ure; those voting "No" favored pass
age of the bill through the senate.
Those voting AYE" were:
BaIgord, Burke, Calder, Cotton,
Haight, Hammond, kaIberg,
Leo, Liggett, Lynch, Mckenna, Nc
Guilty, Maddox, Manning, Minette,
omstead, Peterson,
Plank, Reed, Rice, Toman, Tyler, Wal
lander, Wilson, and President of the
Senate. Total 27 votes.
Those voting mo" were:
Arnold, Baker, Campbell, Cole,
Cooper, Ecton, FowIie, Gabisch, Gill
bert, Henderson, Kelley, Larson, Lott,
Moss, Mundy, Peck, Price, Robinson,
Ross, Rowland, Simmons, Stewart,
Taylor, Toomey, and WiIcoxon. Total
26 votes.
Senator D'Ewart passed his vote,
and Senators Darlington, Mahoney
and Stromnes were absent.
AS one instance of the probable re-
suit of the passage of this measure,
he Broadwater dam which provides
irrigation water for Broadwater coun-
" lands would become useless to the
state and federal governments, be-
,ause all of its waters would be con-
rolled by the Montana Power Com
)any and the users of the water would
lave to purchase it from this COM
)any. A suit now pending before the
ederal court of appeals, instituted by
he Montana Power Company against
he users of irrigation waters under
he Broadwater dam, will be immeas-
lrably strengthened by the passage of
his act as the higher courts will hest
ate to hold contrary to an explicitly
vorded law passed by the legislature,
giving every advantage to existing APP
,ropriators.
The bill proposes to confine the
lights of the State Water Conserva-
ion Board which was set up to pro-
ect and use the rights of the state
'ver its waters for the use and bene-
it of the public, to the same status
IS any ordinary appropriations