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Show IRRIGATION PROBLEM. Editors Herald: Aud now comes A. Cartoon, an intelligent in-telligent man, and a first settler, who, not knowingthe subscriber, takes it fur granted that my object, in calling the public attention to tbe defective legislation on tbe vital question of ! irrigation, is no more nor less than a communist attempt to break up aud abrogate the vested and accrued rights of the farmers. Passion had the best of Mr. A. Cahoon'B judgment when he made this attack on my motives, so I shall consider it a lapsus -calami, believing the publio wants arguments, not personalities. To deny that the city council of Salt Lake city bad tajien away from the first eettlera tbe waters of City creek, when everybody and Mr. A. C. himself know better, is rather cbeaky. No refutation is needed. "If his logic is good," aaya our adversary, "it will apply itself to tho land as to the 1 water." Please, Mr. Cahoon, the land ia not in question. All the legislation legis-lation necessary exiatB on that subject. The pre-emption and homes toad laws, tell just exactly how many acres each individual can take possession of. There is no first settler who can come and claim all the country and a taw acrea beyond. Then let ub reverse your proposition and say: His logic is good; let tis apply it to water as well as to land. Moreover tbe individual title or right to the land ia not absolute either; for if the publio wants your land to build a railroad or other improvement, im-provement, it will take it and pay you a reasonable price, whether you are willing or not. Now for Mr. Cahoon's proposition: "The water rightB of the first settlers' ore Bacred and valid." True, very true, indeedl But please, Mr. Cahoon, give us a defiuition of the so-called water rights. What are they? Where did tbey originate? What abeut their future? Do you pre tend that by tbe (act of your locution on a certain creek, you own all the water that flows in that creek, if it has increased ten fold since your aettlement? That as it is your property you have a perfect right to do as you please with it, aa to dig a hole aud turn the water in, or divert it from its course and Bend it to waste in the prairie or the cedars to satisfy a petty tipite against a settler below you? And i you say that in the future, if tbe J Water in that creek increases to equal tbe volume of tbe Jordan river, every drop of it shall be yours, your own to control at pleasure? We have heard Buch monstrous assertions. We have seen them acted upon and sustained by good men with empty brainB, who cannot see how tbe eating of sour grapes by the fitbera, can eflect tho I teeth of the children. If you have a water right, where ia your title? I have a title to my land; I can aell it and give a deed for it. Now, Mr. Cahoon, come and give me a deed for so many acres of water; do tell me only, what quantity an acre of water represents. In miniug parlance we know what an inch of water is; we can record tbe Bale of an inch of water. For toese last thirty yearB the farmers of Utah have been speaking, squabbling and quarreling about acres of water. Tbey bare bean buying and Belling acres of water. One might suppose' they ought to know by this time what an acre of water is. I can toll how many rods are in one acre of laud; can you tell how many inches are in one acre of water? If not, and if, aa is tbe case, tbe county records through the territory are mute on tbia subject, we are forced to the conclusion that people are buying and Belling and claiming a kind of property of the nature of which they have no idea; a property thai has no legal existence, that has no title attacbod to it, and , for which you cau get no deed. Mr. Cahoon calls tbe rights to that aingu lar property, sacred. If they are not tbey ought to be, lor they will not bear touching; and we begin to understand un-derstand why tho first Bettler is ready to cry murder against every one who showd ft disposition to investigate in that direction. Now, here (so it seems to ut) is the i solution of the irrigation problem in a , nutshell: Let Mr. A. Cahoon tell me what quantity of water au acre of ' water represents; say, so much water i nasaine turoueh such an opening un der such pressure, in a. given time, and 1 shall give him aa many aorea of such as he is entitled to by first settling, set-tling, purchase or otherwise, and if there is a surplus, I shall sell it for the benefit of the county, at market prioe, to the subsequent settler?, giv-iog giv-iog the preference to the older. If there is no Burplus subsequent settlers shall have to wait till it comes, and then these first Betllers' water rights vested, accrued and furthermore bo Bacred, Bliall cease to be a legal myth. Aud if Mr. A. Cahoon does not want to tell me what an acre of water ia let tbe legislature tell us. If anyone has a better way to get rid of this vexed question, let us have it. Respectfully, Peter A. Droubay. |