The Collapse of the Priest Rapids Irrigation Mutiny
A grassroots effort to dissolve the local irrigation district fails as land owners abandon the petition, fearing the cost of independence.
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.
At the meeting of the board of directors of the Priest Rapids Irrigation district, M. B. Haynes withdrew his petition for the dissolving of the district, and the first attempt to dissolve the district passed into history. Mr. Haynes had filed his petition at the February meeting. The board adjourned for three weeks to check the names on the petition. In the meantime, the directors secured a list of land owners from an abstract company in Prosser, totaling some 600 names. Presuming half were married and the land community property, there were 900 eligible voters. The law requires a petition signed by at least 33-1/3 percent of those eligible to vote; the petition bore only 108 signatures, or about one-ninth of the required number. The petition was further weakened by a subsequent request from thirty or forty local residents to withdraw their names, claiming they signed under a misunderstanding. Mr. Haynes admitted it looked hopeless to get the necessary signatures and withdrew the petition. He also denied rumors that he was being paid by the Northern Pacific railroad to lobby for the dissolution, stating he acted on his own initiative in what he believed was the best interest of the valley.
“The first attempt to dissolve the district passed into history.”
Irrigation districts remain the backbone of Eastern Washington's economy, and this story highlights the long-standing tension between the costs of infrastructure and the autonomy of individual landowners. Disputes over water districts continue to dominate rural civic life, reflecting the high stakes of land management in an arid climate.
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