El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-08
BY Col. H. B. Maxson, Secretary.

By Col. II. B. MaxSon, Secretary.
For the first eight years of its lie
the National Irrigation congress met
annually in the west. The attendance
at its sessions was largely composed
of representative men of the west, AMI
every phase of the great problem of
the reclamation and settlement of arid
America was discussed and considered
in it's deliberations.
At the eighth annual session, held ut
Missoula. Montana. it was decided to
hold the next session of the congress
in Chicago. The reason for this was
that the west had practically become
united in favor of the adoption OF a
broad national policy for the preserva-
ton of the forests and the storage OF
the floods.
The Education of the East.
The subject was then brought befoI p
the people of the east through their
commercial organizations. The mer-
chants of Los Angeles began the work
by correspondence with several thous-
and of the eastern merchants and man
ufacturers who find a market for their
goods in the city of Los Angeles. city
which is such a magnificent object
lesson of the marvellous transformation
that water will work in the west.
The merchants of st. Paul and of
Omaha next took up the work of or
ganization through correspondence
with their business connections
throughout the east, and large num-
Der of the leading merchants and man
ufacturerS of the great city of Chicago
have extended to the movement their
strong influence and support. and have
likewise taken up the matter by cor
respondence with other eastern me--
chants and manufacturers.
A National Membership
AS result of this work. the mem
bership of the National Irrigation asso-
citation now comprises nearly one
thousand of the leading mercantile
firms and manufacturing concerns o:
the United States, and has a member
ship extending from California to
Maine, and from Minnesota to Texas.
Agricultural, commercial, horticultural
and labor organizations, from one END
of the country to the other. have strong
ly endorsed the national irrigation
movement by resolutions. and given to
it their earnest aid and cooperation.
All Would Share the Benefits
Through gradual evolution. nation
al irrigation has finally crystalliZed in
to a movement which is essentially ma
tional in it's broadcast sense. and the
organizations that are now enliSting
in the cause are not promoting it from
any locay or sectional point of view,
but from the conviction that the plant
ing of American civilization and the
building of homes for one hundred mil
lion new citizens under the American
flag in places which are now waste AMI
desolate is a national purpose. which
demands support from citizen ami
statesman, from merchant and manu-
facturer, from farmer and factory op-
erative, and from every class of the
people and section of the country, be-
cause the far-reaching and widespread
benefits from the reclamation of this
vast area of virgin territory would
create new national prosperity in
which all would share.
Credit to the Press.
To the newspapers of the country is
largely due the credit for the remark
able progress which the national irri-
cation movement has made, because.
without regard to party or section. the
almost unanimous and united support
of the press has been given to the
movement.
The great political parties of the
country in their platforms in the last
campaign Doth endorsed it, and hence
The movement is in no sense partisan
Or political. 1t rises to the highest ana
ne purest patriotism, and the motto of
The movement-"Save the forests and
tore the floods is one in which ev-
cry citizen. no matter to what political
party he may belong, may enlist. and
light as a soldier in the cause Of the
onquest and subjugation of the des-
erts of arid America.
Comments of the Press.