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<br /> <br />. <br />States intervened, in effect claiming national control of the waters <br />of Western streams to be administered under the doctrine of <br />prior appropriation. In answer to the primaq question of na- <br />tional control; regardless of tbe rights af the States, inter sese, <br />Justice Brewer, after observing that the United States had an <br />interest in the public lands within tile Western States and might <br />legislate for their reclamation, subject to State laws, thus disposed <br />of tbe claim of national control of Western interstate streams: <br /> <br />"Turning to the enumeration of the powers granted to Con. <br />gress by tbe eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, <br />it is enough to say that no one of them by any implication refers <br />to the reclamation of arid land. . . . No independent and unmen- <br />tioned powel' passes to the National Government or ca:n right- <br />fully be exercised by the Congress, . . . But it is useless to pur- <br />sue the inquiry further in this direction. It is enough for the ' <br />purpose of this case that each State has full jurisdiction over the <br />lands within its borders, including the beds of streams and other <br />waters. (Citing cases). . . . It may determine for itself whether <br />the common law rule in respect to riparian rights or tbat doc- <br />trine which obtains in the arid regions of the West of the appro- <br />priation of waters for the purposes of irrigation shall control. <br />Coqgress can not enforce eitber rule upon any State. . . . One <br />cardinal rule, underlying all the relations of the States to each <br />other, is that of the equality of right. Eacb State stands on <br />the same level with all tbe rest. It can impose its own legisla- <br />tion on no one of the others, and is bound to yield its own views <br />to none," (Kansas v. Colorado, 206 V. S., 46, 87-97,) <br /> <br />In concluding the. above decision, the Supreme Court dis- <br />missed the case without prejudice to the right of Kansas to <br />institute new proceedings, "wbenever it shall apear that through <br />a material increase in the depletion of the waters of tbe Arkansas' <br />by Colorado' . . the snbstantial interests of Kansas are being <br />injured to the extent of destroying the equitahle apportionment <br />of the benefits between the two States resulting from the flow of <br />the river." (206 U. S., 46, 117.) <br /> <br />(Note: Since the foregoing memorandum was written the <br />U. S. Supreme Court decided, in Wyoming v. Colorado, that in <br />eases between two States both of which recognize the doctrine of <br />prior-appropriation as a matter of local law, the Court will apply <br />the fundamental principles of the doctrine in the allocation of <br />the waters of a river common to the, two States and will so <br />apportion the dependable average annual flow between the States <br />that the older established uses in both States will receive first <br />protection. The doctrine sa announced leaves the Western States <br />to a rivalry and a contest of speed for future development. The <br />npper State has but. one alternative, that of using every means <br />to retard development in the lower State until the uses within <br /> <br /> <br />[ 21 ] <br />