The Fight Over the River

Judge McBride of the circuit court of Clatsop county, Oregon, recently delivered an opinion touching the right of Oregon to enforce the criminal statutes of that state beyond what seems to me to be her territorial limits. I am satisfied that the learned judge erred in deciding that Oregon has concurrent jurisdiction with Washington over the Columbia river. Last June, Sheriff Smith of Clatsop county, while patrolling the river looking for violators of salmon laws, crossed over into Washington waters, arrested several men, and brought them to Astoria for trial. The justice of the peace decided that Oregon had concurrent jurisdiction over the entire river. The constitutions of the respective states fix the boundary along the middle channel of the Columbia. While it may be difficult at times to locate the line, it is an established question of fact. To say that because it is difficult to prove, the proof may be dispensed with, is absurd. It is equally absurd to maintain that Oregon officers can come into Washington, arrest our citizens, and try them for violating Oregon laws for offenses committed within Washington's territorial limits.