El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-01
CONGRESSMAN
STEPHENS
Talked Last Night On Mat
tiers Of Interest.
FAVORS The OPENING
OF the indian Reservations To Set
Element After Lands Are Allot-
ted In Severaity To the Ind ians.

Ii was small crowd that went out to
| hear Congressman John R. Stevens
last night which was partially due to
the fact that the meeting was held at
Chopin hall instead of the opera house
as was announced.
AS was given out by the Bryan club
yesterday afternoon the speaker had
very little to say of national politics
but confined his remarks principally
to the international dam and other leg
islation of particular interest to this
section of the country.
At $50 Captain Juan Hart in a ten
minutes talk introduced the congress
man and had more to say of the cam
paign than the man he introduced
After congratulating Ell Paso on her
wonderful development and referring
at length to the numerous railroads
that were pointing this way. Mr.. Ste
phens took up the international dam
question and announced the present
status OF the proposition. He said that
Mexico had a claim against the United
States for damages on account of the
water being used out of the Rio Gran
de river in New Mexico and to settle
this claim Senior Romero. the former
minister to the United States, propos-
ed the construction of an international
dam at Ell Paso. The treaty was drawn
up but Mr.. Romero learned that the
water that should flow by this place
was used in New Mexico and the dam
would be of no benefit as long as this
waite rwaS not allowed to flow down
the river. Romero then refused to sign
the treaty and the secretary of state
then ordered suit to be brought against
the Elephant Butte corporation. This
ended the negotiations for the treaty
for the time being and all was allowed
to stop pending the settlement of the
suit
The signing of the treaty between
the two countries" said Mr.. Stevens
is n condition precedent to the pass
age of the bill | introduced for the
construction of theinternational dam
and until the treaty is arranged no
disposition can be made of the meas
ure."
Mr. Stephens insisted that the bill
could not become a law without the
adoption of the treaty on which it
was based and until this was disposed
of the bill would lay in the house I'M
touched. He referred at leigth to the
objections raised to the measure here
and in New Mexico and repeatedly sta
ted that this was the only way MeNico's
claim for damages could be settled.
Indian Reservations
On the question of the opening of
the Indian reservations the speaker eX-
planned at length the common demand
tina all the reservations be opened to
settlement and stated that he would
relax no effort until they were. opened
and homes secured for many home
seekers. He referred iii particular to
the MeScalero reservation in the Sac
ramento mountains beyond Cloudcroft
and said that it was the choice spot
of New Mexico and was being put prac-
tically to no use by the few Indians
who lived on it. He introduced bill
at the last session OF congress provid-
ing for the opening of the reservation
and would do all in his power at the
next session to have the bill passed.
He proposes to give each head of an
Indian family 100 acres of land and
throw the other open for settlement.
The Indians will never become civil
lized and good citizens" he said. ''un-
til they are thrown on their own re-
sponsibility and made to work for
their own existence
Irrigation.
On the subject of irrigation Mr.. Ste
phens placed himself on record in IN
United States department of agricul-
ture had sent out engineers to make
Investigations over the country and
they have reported very favorably on
most of the west. Il favor expansion.
said the speaker but not the kind Nc
Kinley recommends. We have in this
country several states and territories
where there are only two people TO the
square mile. In the Philippines there