Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1891-10-03
THE KERNEL OF THE fRRIGA-
TIOH CONVENTION.


The Irrigation Convention recently
held at Salt Lake gave emphasis to an
idea that may ultimately rebound TO the
benefit Of the arid regions Of the West.
II resolved in favor Of asking the Fede-
raj Government TO cede to the several
States. for irrigation purposes. the desert
lands within their respective boundaries.
That idea is practicable and the conven-
ton did well to indorse il. But the idea
was not original with the convention nor
any member Of ID. The SENTINEL has
been advocating this plan for ten years,
ahS IL editor introduced q bill in Con-
gress Of the same import at least eight
years ago. All thinking men know that
IL is impossible to get an appropriation
Of money from Congress to reclaim our
desert lands; but il may be possible to
get lands which can be utilized to the
same end. This writer has in two or
three campaigns explained all this TO the
people Of Nevada. The Salt Lake Con.
vention appropriated our idea without
credit, but we have no fault TO find about
that. We are growing used to furnish.
ing material for the alleged great men Of
this section. A United States Senator
has been making over again and again q
silver speech Of ours for six years. The
only objection we offer in this case is,
that in changing ii to disguise the theft
he spoils the speech. We shall expect
Stewart or Newlsnds, one or both, to
take credit for our land cession scheme
before another campaign is over in Ne
vada. They are both built that way.
But the next thing will be to get the
lands from Congress for the purpose
named. That is going to be Q hard bill
TO pass, especially in the lower House OF
Congress. Our representatives in Wash
ington can blow as hard as the best OF
them, but they never bring home any
practical results. Nor y SINGLE LAW
LOCAL TO NEVADA HAS PASSED EITHER
House IN SIX EARS. The child is not
vet born in Nevada that will live long
enough to see a law passed, local to Ne
vsda, should we continue these same
men as our representatives at the Ma
tional Capitol. These are things to say,
but they are true and deserve to be said,
or we should hold our peace. The land
cession bill will be extremely difficult
because Of the growing sentiment East
chat the remnant Of public land remain
ing in possession of the General Govern
ment should be held as a sacred heritage
for homes for actual settlers. The meas.
ure must of necessity carry many safe.
and above all IL must be made
apparent that the lands cannot pass into
holdings or be recklessly squan-
dered by the States in the direction Of
monopoly. The policy Of the Nevada
with reference to the DISPOSE.
tion Of the two.million.acre school grant
was outrageous. Bill Dunphy, on the
has one tract enclosed by u
hundred and twenty miles of wire fence
That tract alone in small homes is capa-'
of supporting n thousand people.
The same thing obtains in respect TO
large tracts sold to cattle kings.
Lawmakers, in Nation or
State, have never evinced any regard for
The public domain. What they could
not give to the railroads they have as
good as given to other monopolists. Ir-
would be a good thing for Ne
vads. and the means to carry it out on q
comprehensive scale can only be had by
money on the lands to be re-
claimed, but to accomplish all this is a
work that is destined to involve much
lime. even though il were pushed by men
Of ability instead of pigmies. The day
redemption for Nevada lie . long way
in the future.