Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-08-09
SENATOR STEWART TALKS OF THE
 CONTROVERSY.
Major Powell Severely Criticised---He is Called the Greatest Lobbyist of the Age, and, it is Claimed, is Working for the Ap
 propriations and
 not for the Pub
 lie Good.

grass. Under our lana laws IleSe lOcdll- ties, which are suitable for reservoirs, are subject to entry, and large part of them was entered before the recent agitation of the subject of irrigation.
 II thought it would facilitate irrgatian to survey and reserve reservoir sites for the public. l also thought that the col lection and publication of the facts with regard to irrigation were exceedingly important. Senator Teller and myself talked the matter over and came to the conclusion that we would make an effort to have the reservoir sites reserved and the land that can be irrigated segregated from the other lands. This, after much discussion and various resolutions offered by Mir. Teller and myself, resulted in an amendment to the Sundry Civil Appro- priation bill, authorizing the Director of the Geological Survey to survey and select all reservoir sites and segregate irrigable land from other lands. The amendment also reserved the reseryoir sites.
 MANIPULATED IN THE ROUSE.
 By some manipulation the amendment was amended ill the House reserving all the lands to be irrigated by the proposed reservoirs and other hydraulic works; $l00,000 was appropriated in 1888, and $250,000 in 1889 for the purpose lndicat- ed, and Major Powell was authorized to eXpend il"
 What about the investigation?" was asked.
 "In the spring of 1889 I procured the passage of resolution creating select committee to investigate and report upon the subject of irrigation" replied Senator l Stewart. "Ihe committee visited all the l States and Territories where irrigation is practiced and took a large amount of | testimony and made an elaborate report which contains much valuable informa- tion. The appropriation of 1888 was made so late in the fall that it was not expected that much could be done that year. The appropriation of 1889 was made few mGHths atterWard, making an aggregate of S35000O {.
 After the committee returned to Wash i ington from its trip all investigation was l instituted to ascertain what progress 1 Major Powell had made in the work as signed him. The committee was surpris- ed to ascertain that practically nothing had been done to aid irrigation, although the money had been expended, Major 1 Powell contending that it was necessary before anything could be done for irriga
 tion, to make complete typographical survey of the country. A more ridicu-
 lous proposition was probably never made by man pretending to be sane.
 LOCATED BY TOWNSHIPS.
 "When Major Powell was criticised by tue committee he commenced to locate the reservoirs by marking them on the
 Government maps by townships and sec
 tions. He also undertook to segregatt
 l. LII. T.. i...,
 the same manper, proceeding entirely
 valueless. because reservoirs are not found
 in rectangular form in harmony witt
 township lines, nor do the divisions be
 tween itrisabio lands and other land;
 conform to the lines Of the pQullc ianC
 surveys.
 The fact that another and dif1eren
 kind of survey was required was the req son and the only reason for making tn , appropriation for irrigation surveys. Th utter worthlessness of his surveys and Ill
 absurd theory that a topographic surve.
 must be had in every mountain ln tn
 country before valley could be irrlgateI
 satisfied the Republican members of til
 committee that Major Powell had no re I gard for irrigation but desired to use tn f public lands as means to obtain larg 1, appropriations for certain vague scientif . schemes of doubtful utility, to say tn f least.
 "In order to furnish a reason for larg F appropriations Major Powell insiste l that under the vague language of tn a clause in the appropriation bill, which ! i succeeded in interpolating, all the ari
 region, being over two-fifths of the are Il of the United States withdrawn frol s settlement and none could be take 0 by settlers until he had completed h IF survey. He finally succeeded i'll gettin
 the department to hold that no entrlt n could be made in the arid region. I
 this means all the land offices Of Il ! West are practically closed, settlemel ', stopped, and the labor of the pioneers f. n the last two years lost to them and to u ,s country
 How was he enabled to dc this r Tt may seem strange that Maj. Powt
 should have power to accomplish all tn < but it must be borne in mind that he V the most adroit lobbyist that the wor ar has ever seen. The Pacific Coast ney ,e produced man who would net b9 mo = proficient in the ways that a in dark and tricks that are vain if he wou lv take lessons of Major Powell.
 It. BUILT UP VAST BUREAU
 ''He built up vast bureau with ran
 fications in every department qf the Ct
 ernment by vague language In app
 priation bills authorizing him to ma ,at maps, investigations and examinations e- almost everything i'll the country, be ar real and personal. He obtains appropr it's tions ill lump sums to carry this out 2 ,e- distributes the money in all cases whe re it will do the most good. The frlen he relatives and dependents of im1aent d, publis men are always provided for Ire short notice ill the most ample mann ", Hundreds of young men find 1t ccE ey nient to spend a vacation in the mounta he of the West under the pretense that u ed are topographers,'g ,'geologists, mineralogl .p- or paleontologists or possess some otl of peculiar knowledge not common to mi CT. kind It is marvellous the number Of fl 300 class scientists that happen to be relati nd of men in power.
 law "The House of Representatives dts corporated in the Legislative, EXecut ear and Judicial and Sundry Civil ApT ca priation bills for the used of Major Pow me about $l,500,000; $777,50O of de- sum was charged to irrigation, with md the slightest intention on the part yer Major Powell to use one dollar leglt ed. ately for that purpose, but, as conten the by him before the Committee on lrri cal ton, to be used for the most part in nl per ing topographic map of mount; isin where irrigation is impossible For
 ample, Major Powell testified that $55
 of the former appropriations was use
 Nevada I think every citizen of Ney
 who knows anything about the sub
 would be willing to testify that irriga pri- had not been benefited five dollars WI ere by the expenditure. They would n at like to know how the money was expo lme ed if that amount was ever taken to that State.
 n to "With this state of facts the repres and atives of the arid region thought the y to service they could render their cou all would be to repeal the reservation of ] lore lie lands contained ill the Act of york and open the land again to settlen all They also thought best to resist l teen appropriation of money to be charged s100 irrigation, which would not be used the that purpose. They therefore adv ially the Committee on Appropriations of vate Senate to repeal the law and stop mer- waste of money. The committee repo hich an amendment repeating the reservt lear- and opening the arid region to settler