The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1900-11-30
SPOKE FOR NEVADA.
Congressman Newlands Opens the
Eyes of the Members of the
Irrigation Congress.

A special dispatch to the s. F. Er-
antiner, dated November %, says:
The National Irrigation Congress
met tonight at the Auditorium for the
purpose of discussing ways and means
for the promotion of national system
OF irrigation. There was quite large
attendance of delegates and visitors,
more than 1000 being present
The feature of the evening was an
unexpected speech by Congressman
Francis G.. Newlands of Nevada. Gen.
eral Nelson A Miles, who was expected
to make the principal speech, could
not be present, and at the last moment
former Senator Dubois of Idaho in
duced Congressman Newlands to take
his place. The substitute easily car
ried off the honors of the evening, and
his peroration of the future of the State
of Nevada when irrigation shall have
developed her splendid resources,
brought forth thunders of applause.
He drew a picture of the conven-
tional idea of the sagebrush plains
without water, and showed what they
could be made by the beneficient use
of the stored foods that now go to
waste in the desert sinks. When he
spoke of the dairies and bee farms and
potato fields and hay fields of the irri-
gated lands of Nevada, the audience
was at first incredulous, but as figure
after figure of growth and production
was given by the speaker, who seemed
to be living encyclopedia of Nevada's
products, doubt changed to applause
for the grand efforts of the men who
compose the smallest State population
in the Union.
Congressman Newlands spoke warm
ly for his State that bore all the bur-
dens of Government and got none of
the plums, because its rivers were not
navigable and of harbors it had none.
Bat he told of the gold and silver lodes
that made the United States solvent
when the war had weakened her credit,
and of the sacrifices her people had
made that had left them poor while
they had enriched the whole country.
Such plucky championship of his
State before delegates from all parts of
the Union made hit, and f. G. New
lands left the hall the hero of the oc-
casion.
A letter was read from General Nell
son A. Miles, in which he said: II am
not optimistic enough to believe that
the ingenuity of man can encompass
the redemption of the six hundred
millions of acres which comprise the
nations vacant public lands, but II, as
J has been claimed, there is water
enough for the irrigation of one hun
dred millions of acres provided the
supply is economically used), l can
easily imagine ten millions of good
citizens finding homes on farms which
are self supporting. Whether this
great work is to be left to corporate or
private enterprise, whether 1t shall be
tnrned over to the States in which the
land is situated, for such treatment as
il thought best by those most inter-
ested. or whether the National Gov
ernment, the owner of this vast arid
region, should perform the duty of
reclamation, are questions which you
are now no doubt ably discussing. 1t
appears that private or corporate en-
terprises cannot be trusted to control
the Improvement with justice and
equality for all concerned. The States
themselves are as yet not financially
strong enough to undertake the task.
II seems to me, therefore, that the plan
proposed by one of the members OF
vour association is the most feasible
and inst II is: Let the Government
build the storage reservoirs ana the
main line canals and the settlers pro-
vide the smaller distributing systems
by banding themselves together in CO.
operative organization"
Senator Addison G. Foster OF Wash
ington addressed the congress on
'I.nmber Supplies for Irrigators'
Iii his letter Vice President elect
Roosevelt said; ~ believe to the last
point in the vital necessity of storing
the floods and preserving the forests,
especially throughout the plains of the
Rocky Mountain region. The prop
lem of the development of the greater
West is in part problem of irrigation.
naturally believe in government
giving generous aid to the movement,
| for it is not possible, andif it were pos
sible. it would not De wise to have this
storage work done merely through
private ownership; and owing to
the peculiar necessities of the case
much of the work must be done by
the National and not by any State
government. Moreover, it is not only
necessary to establish a greater sys-
tenn of storage reservoirs to prevent
lao