A Monopoly Grabs the Tap
When the irrigation company took control of the water company's annual meeting, local farmers realized their rights to the water were being held hostage.
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 annual meeting of the stockholders of the White Bluffs Water Company was held at the school house. After President Kincaid called the meeting to order, a discussion of the finances was held. The trustees had levied an assessment of $2 per acre to help liquidate a $1060 power bill. A motion by R. D. Barge proposed this money be held in escrow until back maintenance was paid. However, J. A. Johnson, acting for the White Bluffs Land Irrigation Company, forced an amendment requiring the funds to be withheld until nearly all back maintenance was paid by users. Despite vigorous protests from stockholders who feared they would be denied water if neighbors failed to pay, Johnson used his company's 335 shares—nearly half the vote—to ram the amendment through. The by-laws theoretically keep maintenance in the hands of the trustees, but the meeting served as a stark demonstration of who truly held the power.
“The company's man stood firm and by voting their stock of 335 shares, which was nearly half of the stock present and voting, he was able to muster sufficient stock on the secret ballot to put his amendment across.”
The struggle for control of water rights in the arid West defined the early 20th century, and the tension between corporate land developers and small-scale farmers remains a resonant theme in Washington’s agricultural economy today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.