Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“ It seems unreasonable to suppose that the Constitution meant that if a party, instead of using the water on his own land, as he may, sees fit to distribute it to others, he loses the rights that he has bought or lawfully acquired. ”

“ The declaration, therefore, does not necessarily mean more than that the few within reach of the supply may demand it for a reasonable price. The roadbed of a railroad is devoted to a public use in a stricter sense, yet the title of the railroad remains, and the use, though it may be demanded, must be paid for. In this case it is said that a part of the water was appropriated before the Constitution went into effect, and that a suit now is pending to condemn more as against a riparian proprietor, for which, of course, the plaintiff must pay. ”

“ Recurring to the fact that in every instance only a few specified individuals get the right to a supply, and that it clearly appears from the latest statement of the supreme court of California (Palmer v. Railroad Commission, January 20, 1914 [--Cal. --, 138 Pac, 997] ) that the water when appropriated is private property, it is unreasonable to suppose that the constitutional declaration meant to compel a gift from the former owner to the users, and that in dealing with water 'appropriated for sale' it meant that there should be nothing to sell. ”