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QiJGli.i7 -2- By what may prove to be the most mame1\.tous judioial pronounoement in the history of interstate water litigation, that highest tribunal sustained Colorado's position and upheld once more the dootrine of the rights of the states to control, administer and distribute the use and benefits flowing from the streams of the semi-arid West, It established the right of our farmers to oontinue to divert water and to carry it by ditches and oanals for applioation to agrioulturai lands in the amounts and at the times fixed by the deorees of Colorado's oourts. What a glorious day it was for Western irrigators and for Western irrigation laws, usages and oustansl What a forward step for those Amerioans whose future depends upon the right to oontinue to divert water eaoh year aooording to' the oourt deorees and the laws of their respeotive states. But the good news fran the Supreme Court is attended by a disoouraging !'actor whioh, oonoeivably, may rob that deoision of its value. The opinion oame on the heels of the introduotion into the Senate of the United States of a bill whioh, if it is permitted to be passed without radioal amendment or correotion, may basioally wipe out all the benefits gained by the decision of Deoember 6th. If allowed to beoome operative and to function it may endanger the very oivili- zation whioh has been building along the streams of the semi-arid West for the last three quarters of a century. . By invoking the Caraneroe Clause, so-oalled, of the Federal Constitution, those who think of great rivers only in terms of flood hazards and of navigation ohamels h/l.ve oonoeived a scheme for the danination and oontrol of the upper reaches of our irrigation streams whioh for the first time in the history of the West makes irrigation seoondary to antioipated navigation development and to the oonstruotion of flood oontrol projeots on the lower'rivers. The bill whioh causes our present .conoern was introduoed by Senator McClellan of il,rkansas, is numbered 1519 and is to be known as the "Arkansas -White River Basin Aot." Although irrigation has been praotioed in Colorado and Kansas' for more than eighty years the title of the bill does not mention that aotivitr. The important parts of the title deal with flood control and navigation im- provements in the basins of the Arlalnsas and Vlhite Rivers, and with the dis- position of surplus eleotrio energy generated by suoh Federal flood oontrol and navigation improvements. These improvements are to be made under the direotion of the Seoretary of War and the supervision of the Chief of Engineers. The first phrase defining the purposes of the bill says that it is to es- tablish a definite policy of making use of existing Federal agenoies for the oon- struotion, operation and maintenanoe of all public improvements in the Arkansas and White River Basins in oonneotion with navigation, flood oontrol and allied activities. Obviously irrigation is not included within the term "allied aotivities" when navigation and flood control are the major interests. The exclusion of irrigation, however, gives us no basis for security. If Congress aots and reoog- nizes navigation uses as paramount that pronounoement t~kes on a finality whioh preoludes any review. Even the courts may not Question suoh legislative aotion.