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<br />~ farm land were otherwise impossible. The decision further sug- <br />to <br />~ gested that if depletion of the river continued, there would come <br />~ <br />c.~ <br />~ a time when Kansas might justly call for relief. <br /> <br />In 1910 the United States Irrigating Company, owner of <br /> <br />several ditches in western Kansas, filed suit against certain <br /> <br />Colorado water users (the Graham Ditch Company) in Federal Dis- <br /> <br />trict Court for Colorado in an effort to obtain a priority as <br /> <br />against the priority of the defendants regardless of the state <br /> <br />line. This case was settled by contract in 1916 by the Colorado <br /> <br />water users agreeing to recognize priorities of date August 27, <br /> <br />1910 and making substantial payment to the Kansas company. <br /> <br />After similar suits were filed in 1916 and a few years <br /> <br />later by another Kansas ditch company in the same court against <br /> <br />the same Colorado water users, the State of Colorado, who believed <br /> <br />that the issues were really matters between states, attempted to <br /> <br />settle the dispute by interstate compact.3 Representatives of <br /> <br />the states met and by 1925 had proposed a compact providing that <br /> <br />Kansas could construct a reservoir on the Purgatoire River4 for <br /> <br />S~6r.age of surplus waters for benefit of Kansas; Colorado would <br /> <br />provide all necessary land. The agreement met disfavor with both <br /> <br />3Colorado had already successfully negotiated compacts on the <br />Colorado River and the South platte River. <br /> <br />4The mouth of this tributary of the Arkansas River is at the up- <br />stream end of John Martin Reservoir. <br /> <br />-3- <br />