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"By no Act has the Congress empowered or authorized the Secretary <br />of the Interior to surrender to any state or person the.control of <br />the water supply for a Federal Reclamation project. It has, however, <br />authorized the Secretary to contract with irrigation districts and <br />associations operating under state law for the management of the dis- <br />tribution and use of such supply, subject, however, to the terms, <br />conditions, and limitation of the Federal Reclamation Act and the <br />Secretary's rules and regulations thereunder. <br />"It is contended by the Government here, as disclosed by its <br />Petition of Intervention, and motion and supporting brief filed in <br />this case, that the United States is the owner of the unappropriated <br />waters of innavigable streams, and, as such, has exclusive control <br />of such waters when set apart, reserved, and appropriated for its <br />Reclamation projects to the extent required for such projects and <br />fulfillment of its contractual obligations with settlers thereon and <br />others, all in accordance with the Federal Reclamation Law. <br />"This does not mean, however, that the Secretary can interfere <br />either with vested rights of private persons under the Acts of 1866, <br />1870, and 1877, or with those of states under the Carey Act of 1894, <br />or interfere with state laws relating to the control, appropriation, <br />use, and distribution of water under such rights. Also he is direct- <br />ed by Congress to conform to state laws, but such conformity is for <br />the purpose only of relating the priority of the usufructuary right <br />for a Federal Reclamation project to prior vested rights in order <br />that the control of the same under state law will not be affected or <br />interfered with by the construction and operation of the Reclamation <br />project; this for the reason that the Secretary is unable thereafter <br />in the administration of the Reclamation Act to comply with state laws, <br />because in a substantial number of respects, Congress, i.n. effect, has <br />instructed the Secretary to disregard state law. <br />"Originally the United States was the unqualified owner of the <br />corpus of all waters of all innavigable streams of the western states. <br />As the owner of the greater interest, it likewise was the owner of the <br />lesser interest; that is, the usufructuary right to such waters. ** 0 <br />Time does not permit a careful consideration of the arguments opposing <br />this claim of the federal governments but, may I briefly review the <br />position of the states. We find western states admitted to the Union <br />with constitutions which provide, as in Wyoming (Sec 31 of Article I. <br />being a part of "Declaration of Rights "): <br />"Water being essential to industrial prosperity, of limited amount, <br />and easy of diversion from its natural channels, its control must <br />be in the State, which,, in providing for its use, shall equally <br />guard all the various interests involved." <br />..8., <br />