Trouble in the Irrigation District
A receivership battle erupts over the Attalia Land Company, leaving local landowners worried about their water supply.
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.
Former Mayor A. J. Gillis, of Walla Walla, was named temporary receiver for the Attalia Land Company by Judge E. C. Mills of Walla Walla last Friday. The receivership proceedings nearly developed into a race between the Fred B. Grinnell company of Spokane and the Columbia Canal company of Walla Walla to see who could get the receiver appointed first. The petition claims that the assets exceed the liabilities but are being dissipated and that property owners under the project will suffer unless the court steps in. It is charged that the company has failed to take steps for the repair and opening of the irrigating canal and the various flumes comprising the irrigation system on the Attalia project. Landowners at Attalia have been complaining for some time that they were not getting water enough to irrigate their lands.
“Landowners at Attalia have been complaining for some time that they were not getting water enough to irrigate their lands.”
The precarious nature of private irrigation systems in the early 20th century highlights the vulnerability of farmers who were entirely dependent on corporate entities for water. This tension over resource control continues to echo in the debates over water rights and municipal infrastructure in the Tri-Cities today.
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