Show TALK wgiH I PRESiDENT Members Irrigation Committee Com-mittee at White House CRITICISM OF PENDING BILL Roosevelt Discussed tho Measure Now Before Congress With tho Utmost Ut-most Frankness An Amendment Was Suggested and Agreed Upon Precluding 4ny Construction Which Would Permit Any State to Deny to Citizens oi Another Right t Take Water Prom Streams TRIBUNE BUREAU 1COG K Street Washington D CAprl 2 1902 At the request of the President the members of the House Irrigation committee com-mittee had a conference with him this morning lasting more than two hours with reference to certain features of the irrigation bill which had been crit icised by Charles H Maxwell Prof Plnchot of the Forestry division of the Agricultural department and others There were present at the conference Mr Tongue chairman of the committee commit-tee Representatives Mondcll Sutherland Suther-land Nowlands and Tcrrlll Mr Mot calf of California Senator Dietrich of Nebraska Prof Plnchot and Mr Maxwell Max-well The President discussed the question with the utmost frankness and without with-out any attempt to force his views upon the committee The different criticisms cri-ticisms were discussed at length In which all those present Joined UTAHNS WOULD BE SHUT OUT One suggestion had been made to the President that the bill should be fio amended a to prevent any person from obtaining n water right unless he was an actual bono fide and permanent per-manent resident upon the land sought to be Irrigated Mr Sutherland called attention to the fact that In Utah he farmers had settled in towns and villages vil-lages having their farms outside and that such an amendment would have the effect a denying them the benefits of this law The President stated he recognized the force of this suggestion and was willing that the benefits of the bill should be confined to owners and occupants occu-pants of the land without actual residence res-idence thereon INSISTS ON LOCAL CONTROL Congressmen Sutherland and 7Jon del strenuously Insisted uponthe pro vislon for local control remalningln tKcbilirfcalllTigattehtIon ihe fnct that each of the arid States had passed laws which were the result of years of experience with reference to the appropriation and use and distribution distri-bution of the water that these laws were not recognized as controlling the waters but If the matter were turned over to National control much confusion confu-sion and friction would result that It would be unwise to have a divided control con-trol and that Inasmuch as It was purely pure-ly I a local matter the people of the various va-rious States were in a better position to control the subject than officials In Washington two or three thousand miles away I was urged that n soon as a water right was acquired it became be-came private property and should beheld be-held and enjoyed under State laws and It was suggested that there was much doubt as to the constitutionality of a law which would permit the National Government to control the requirements require-ments and use of private property AMENDMENT AGREE UPON Tho President substantially acquiesced acqui-esced in this view but expressed the fear that if the provision that State laws should control the appropriation of water should remain in the bill It might be construed as permitting individual indi-vidual States to deny the right of citizens cit-izens of one State to take water from another and It was finally agreed that the bill should be so amended as to preclude any construction which would permit any State to deny to the citizens of another State the right to take water wat-er from the former Into the latter SATISFIED WITH CONFERENCE The delegation came away from the White House entirely satisfied with the conference and the President exhibited much interest in thc whole subject and expressed himself as very friendly friend-ly to the measure and desirous of doIng do-Ing all he could to bring about Us enactment Into law SCHOOL LANDS FOR UTAH The House Committee on Public Lands unanimously agreed this morn Ing to favorably report Mr Suther lands bill granting to the State of Utah the right to select school Indemnity Indem-nity lands In accordance with the provisions pro-visions of the act of 1891 This bill should It become n law will add many thousands of acres to the school lands of the State BILLS ACTED UPON The Senate today passed Senator Warrens bill granting a pension to Ida M Warren of fifteen dollars per month Senator Rawllnss bill authorIzing author-Izing the Secretary of War to deliver three pieces of old field ordnance to the organization known as the Utah Indian War Veterans was passed A bill was passed by the Senate granting to tho town of Basin City Wyo a patent to certain land adjacent adja-cent thereto and being a part of said townslte The bill further provides that separate patents shall be Issued to Big Horn county for the courthouse square and to the < f properly constituted authorities of the school district in which the town Is located for thc pub This bill was originally lie school square bi 0111 inally Introduced into the House by Inall Mr Mondell and passed that body on March llth Thc bill now goes to thy President and will probably become a law In the near future PETITION On R SERVE Senator Kearns today received a petition pe-tition from the citizens of Gunnison Mayfleld and Sterling In Sanpete county coun-ty requesting him to take the matter up with the Secretory of Interior and endeavor to secure the creation of a forest reserve consisting of 133 sections sec-tions of land In the mountains east of these towns The petitions were accompanied ac-companied by a map and thc paper have been filed with thc Secretary 0 bin consideration This petition differs dif-fers from others of like character In that I asks for the protection oC the watershed t Its very source Senator Kcarns it will be recalled has taken the position all along that In view of the fact that running water purifies Itsolf within a few miles 1 was not necessary to protect a stream to Its very source This Is u pecu liar case however wherein existing conditions make It manifestly necessary neces-sary to protect the source of the stream He said 1 believe to begin be-gin with that thc farmer should be protected In his water rights and that citizens of towns depending upon streams for heir drinking water should be safeguarded against contamination and I am in favor of helping the stockmen for they have done much to develop the State Senator Kcarns believes that this question will enter the politics of Utah during the next campalgn and has expressed ex-pressed the hope that parties Interested Interest-ed may get together and evolve some plan which will solve the problem and help the glcat stnumbcr materially ma-terially Injuring but a few APPOINTMENT NOT YET MADE The announcement in these dispatches dis-patches last night that the President had decided upon the appointment I A B Hayea of Ogden to succeed Judge NpyeMivAlaskaMWas premature no final action being taken although thc chances of his securing the posltlon are excetlonitl oodji 2 no t |