Railroad Giant Blocks Local Irrigation Taxes
The Northern Pacific Railroad has filed suit to dodge taxes meant to fund vital irrigation canals for Yakima valley farmers.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Northern Pacific has been granted an injunction by the federal court at Tacoma against the Cowychee & Wide Hollow irrigating district to restrain the latter from levying taxes on the lands of the railroad company to pay assessments for irrigating canals. The railroad claims the district's organization and assessment proceedings were irregular. The district, meanwhile, is attempting to raise funds through an eleven-mill levy to build essential canals where none currently exist. The railroad's challenge targets $1,041.35 in taxes on its property within the district.
“The devil was sick—the devil a monk would be: The devil was well—the devil a monk would be.”
This 1892 dispute over irrigation infrastructure and taxation echoes ongoing tensions in the Yakima Valley regarding water rights, land use, and the power of large corporate entities versus local agricultural districts.
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