| Show CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN MESSAGE TO legislature LAYS ON EASTERN UTAH PROBLEMS colorado river development and federal legislation on school land i titles form the two major subjects treated upon by governor george H dem in his annual message to the seventeenth state legislature which opened its sessions tuesday reference is made to pending liti gation in which the question of title to the bed of the colorado river is to be determined the governor also calls attention to the threat of certain supporters of the swing johnson boulder canyon daro bill that unless utah supports the measure now pending in congress the fed eral power commission will approve certain power licenses to private corporations po rations now pending before it which will set up priorities to water rights thereby irreparably damaging the states rights to the water personally I 1 am not much frightened by that threat the governor said it is hard for me to have such little confidence in the character and fairness of responsible government officials as to believe that they could be guilty of deliberately invading a sovereign state and de spoiling it of one of its great natural resources upon which its future growth and prosperity depend continuing governor dem said you will observe that the real question is who owns the colorado river our contention of course is first that the state owns its waters which can never be alienated but to which rights can only be acquired through beneficial use second thai the state owns the bed of the river because it is a navigable stream if we own the water and the river bea why should the federal government claim or assert any rights in thi river Is it not a flagrant violation of state rights for the federal government to come into a atte and un dermake to grab one of ats primary resources 7 legal phases of the six state compact in which there is some question of possible damage to the rights of utah are being investigated the governor states and adds that the legislature will be advised af the re suit of this inquiry progress of the efforts instituted two years ago to have congress en act the necessary legislation to clear up the cloud hanging over title to state school lands granted when utah was admitted to the union is set forth and the governor says there now seems good reason to expect that the bill which we hope will be in satisfactory form may be passed before the adjournment of the present session of congress subject is further mentioned under jho head of federal land surveys in which attention is called to the fact that the department of interior has refused to avail itself of the fund placed at its disposal for a speedy completion of the survey of federal lands within the state the governments dila in surveying the public domain has cost us amich land that was potentially valuable for mineral and that have yielded substantial revenues to our school fund he says |
