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Show UTAH WILL FILE III COLORADO RIVER SUIT sasssssajsSSSBsaiSSSSSSS Joint Action Against Wyoming Wyo-ming in Litigation Over Laramie River Utah will join Colorado In a petition for a rehearing of th case of th atat of Wyoming against th stmt of Colorado Colo-rado which Involve th water of th Laramie river In Wyoming and will fll a brief In th supreme court of th United State. Saturday Attorney Genera! H. H. Cluff completed th preparation of his brief In th matter. In his argument Attorney General Cluff points out that th natural outlay of th basin Is from th Gulf of Mexico up to th Lo Angeles Ange-les country. It Is In that direction that th popl of th upper reaches of th river may most profitably engage In trad. Th climate and th citrus fruits, and th early vegetables ar neded by th people In th upper states, but th people of th lower sections sec-tions need the cattle, sheep, potatoe, grain, coal, copper and Iron, and other natural resources of th. upper states. There must be an equal proportionate development of th. who), basin to Insure In-sure th best interests of esoh separate part. This must he th fundamental thought In the making of any acceptable accept-able program relative to th Colorado river. If th court should adopt th hard and fast rule of prior appropriation appropria-tion and permit th people to ttl th lowr valleys, because of the convenience conve-nience and more readily accessibility of th st res ml and fertility of th land, to claim th first and paramount right to the water of th stream, against the people who msy settle on th upper reaches of the river. It would of necessity neces-sity retard the development of th entire en-tire basin to th great Injury of the whole country. Sine th foundation of any commonwealth 1 agriculture. It follow that In arid and semlarld countries coun-tries Irrigation Is th first compelling practice which one properly established estab-lished will lead to the development of other resources. Rxpertem-e has demonstrated beyond all doubt that 4he use of water on the upper lands In time tends to operate as a reservoir and In low water eeaaona furnishes an Increase In the stream for the lower lands. - As th art of Irrigation advances, less water will be applied to the soil, better cultivation will be practices, th duty of Water will Increase and th effective ef-fective flow of oiw streams. In terms of acres to be served, will Increase correspondingly. corre-spondingly. Ths only possible way for th Just and equitable right of Individual In-dividual cltlsens of th various states to be protected Is by th establishment In this country of once and for all th doctrine of equitable apportionment apportion-ment of water of Interstate streams between or among th state through which such stream may pssa A very dangerous element In th doctrine doc-trine of prior appropriation la that It carries with It ths feeling of ownership of water Irrespective or ue. Th riparian rip-arian doctrine of water ownership was rejected by th early Western pioneer, and has been found an improper development-retarding. Impossible doc- trtn wherever Irrigation I practiced. Th actual or prospective use of water for economic purpose should be. In an arid country, the only foundation for ownership of water. In our day. In the far of th Irrigation experience of three-quarters of a century, a percentage per-centage of quantitative division of th water of th Colorado would be. aside from Its unscientific sspects, a grlsv-ous grlsv-ous reflection upon the possibility of Interstate comity, th natural patriotism patriot-ism and harmonious friendliness of these sister states, and a direct affront lo the coming generations who would be obliged to untangle our error. It become necessary that a broad equitable view be taken a to th right of th respective states on Interstate streams: that no selfishness be allowed to enter Into ths right of th ue of th waters of such streams, but that conservatism, con-servatism, beneficial use and the beat Interest for th entire country b th. ruling thought and If thl Is don, th doctrine of equitable division must prevail. |