The Fight for Arid Lands
Washington commercial leaders organize to reform state irrigation laws, a prerequisite for federal intervention in arid land reclamation.
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 Seattle Chamber of Commerce has called an irrigation convention to be held in that city on February 13. The commercial bodies of Spokane, Tacoma, Walla Walla, North Yakima, Ritzville, Pasco, Ellensburg, Prosser, Olympia, Everett, Bellingham, Wenatchee and Conconully will be invited to send two delegates each. The convention is called to discuss legislation required to make it possible for the United States government to undertake irrigation work in Washington. Government officials have refused to undertake any new work as long as the irrigation laws of Washington are in the present incomplete condition. Under the present statutes any person or corporation may file water rights against any stream or lake in the state, irrespective of the fact that the quantity of water claimed does not exist. There is no central control of water rights and the riparian land owners' rights have not been defined satisfactorily.
“Under the present statutes any person or corporation may file water rights against any stream or lake in the state, irrespective of the fact that the quantity of water claimed does not exist.”
The struggle over water rights, central control of resources, and the tension between federal mandates and state-level policy remains a defining feature of the American West's civic arguments.
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