The Florence tribune., 1901-07-27
TIME TO ACT.
The Reclamation of the Arid West is tse Foremost Issue Before the Ameri-
 can People.

We are now facing critical period in the history of the national irriga- ton movement says the Los Angeles Times. Hitherto the effort has been to educate the people of the country as to the importance of a movement re. garding which vast majority of those living east of the Rocky Mountains have, until recently, had little or no conception, most of them regarding the idea of irrigation on large scale as something wild, speculative, and chimerical, like the idea of reaching the North Pole by balloon. By two years of hard, persistent, and system atic missionary work throughout the country this condition of affairs has been entirely changed. Few great na- tional movements have within so brief time aroused so much enthusiasm throughout the country.
 NATIONAL IRRIGATION AN ISSUE.
 National irrigation is no longer a theory. It is condition which the great mass of the people demands shall be established with as little loss of time as possible. Hitherto most of the effective work has been done in the East. It is now time for the West to take up the fight and put it through to conclusion. The time between now and the next session of Congress is none too long for thorough organiza. tion of the irrigation forces in the West. There will be no excuse for the coming Congress not to act on the question. It is now thorougly under stood, and should Congress fail to give it the attention which it deserves it will undoubtedly be chiefly due to lack of strong and persistent effort by us of the West, to whom the question is of such vital importance. An ex- change says:
 More farming land for the West, more money for the East, less water for the Southi This may be said to be a summing up of the results of a compre- hensive irrigation policy which would place 75,O00,0OO acres of now arid west ern land under close cultivation, and thus create an immense home market for the manufacturing interests of the East, and at the same time larp ely pre- Ae <-4 ( h4 sippi Valley"
 That is the question in a nutshell.
 POLITICAL PLANKs.
 Let it not be forgotten, says the Times, that the Republican party has spoken out plaiuly on this great ques- ton. The platform of the party, enunciated in the last campaign, de- clared:
 'ln further pursuance of the con- stant policy of the Republican party to provide free homes on the public do- main, we recommend adequate nation al legislation to reclaim the arid lands of tho United States, reserving con- trol of the distribution of water for ir- rigation to the respective States and Territories"
 It should also be noted that the Dem. ocratic platform declares as specific ally in favor of the reclamation of the arid region through Governmental as. sistance. Both the great political par ties are properly aligned on the ques. tion in their national platforms, and il remains with the people of the arid West to see that these blanks are not as Congressman Grosvenor of Ohio has said, ornamental" National irriga tion is something on which both par ties can combine.
 MONTANA AWAKE.
 The people and papers of Montana continues the Times, are practical, wideawake regard to the importance o national irrigation movement. Severa of the Montana papers have recent, published strong editorials on the sub ject. Among others, the Great Fall Leader has one, in the course of whiel it says:
 "To bring these matters to the at