16 * Bulletin 67. 
whereupon that official can give him special instruction to make 
the investigation. 
While the power and duty now being considered is specially 
enjoined by statute and should, whenever necessary, be faith¬ 
fully and fearlessly performed, it cannot be overlooked, that the 
power is one of a very delicate nature since it reposes very much 
discretion in the water commissioner, sometimes likely to be 
abused and even with the greatest care liable to result in litiga¬ 
tion. Each water commissioner should endeavor practically to 
accomplish the end desired by adopting such a course, at least in 
the first instance, as will prevent the waste or extravagance 
complained of or suspected, through the pressure of persuasion 
and advice before resorting to more arbitrary and extreme meas¬ 
ures. To illustrate: If a water commissioner has good reason 
to believe under some ditch in his district having a large early 
priority, when water is demanded up to the maximum amount 
called for by a decree, that with such delivery of water, a good 
deal is wasted, that the roads under such ditch are flooded, and 
other like indications of wasteful use are brought to his atten¬ 
tion, it may be the part of wisdom for him, first to approach the 
superintendent or owner of such a ditch, and inform him of his 
reason to believe that the ditch should get along with consider¬ 
able less water without anybody being injured, call his attention 
to the power and duty thrown upon the water commissioner under 
the statute, and request the superintendent or ditch owner for 
a few days to see how he can get along with a more limited 
supply. It is believed in many cases extravagant use of water, 
particularly that due to carelessness can be prevented, and the 
rights of junior appropriators in this way be protected without 
the water commissioner being compelled to go to considerable 
expense to aclopt more rigid and arbitrary methods. However, 
in all cases when the commissioner finds it necessary, he should 
vigorously use all the powers given him by the statute to prevent 
such wasteful use of water. 
Under the general power of distributing water with due 
regard to the prior rights of all, another general topic should 
be treated. So far as it is possible so to do, it should be the aim 
of the water commissioner to use the influence of his office to 
bring about the largest possible production of crops under all 
the ditches in his district. When he finds that crops are becom¬ 
ing parched and withered under some ditch he can properly seek 
to persuade owners of ditches having senior appropriations, who 
are not in very urgent need of water at the time, to make some 
concessions for the benefit of those in greater need. 
In this connection, attention is again called to the early 
legislation of Colorado Territory, whereby commissioners ap¬ 
pointed by the County Judge were required to apportion water 
