The Florence tribune., 1901-08-24
An Object Lesson.


 the rapid growth of communities out West. Mining camps containing a population of thousands have been built up within few months, or even weeks, but for 8 growth like that of Jacks bean stalk, or Jonah's gourd, nothing perhaps has ever been wit messed equal to the birth-one can scarcely call it growth-of Lawton, one of the three places fixed upon by the Federal government for townsites ia the Indian territory that was recent ly thrown open to settlement. As de- scribed in a recent dispatch to the Times, town of 10000 people grew up at Lawton within night, with 400 temporary business houses, news paper and projected" national bank. They even opened up with ward poli- tics, the Republicans holding a mass meeting and deciding to run muuici- pal ticket, while the Democrats are said also to have been active. This is certainly striking instance of full fedged municipality made "while you wait"
 One of the lessons which an intelli- gent man may derive from this extra ordinary rush to the Kiowa reserva- tion is that, if there are to-day in the United States so many thousands of people who are willing to go through great .hardships for the sake of ob- taining piece of government land, upon which they may support their families, then it is surely the duty of the government to take up without delay the national irrigation of the arid lands which it owns, in order that homes may be provided for these land- hungry people, and that without the ultimate cost to the government of a single cent of money. Ali it would need to do would be to advance the money required to build the reservoirs, and much of that would be represented by labor on the part of those who would be willing to take land in place of wages.
 Surely, when we consider the strained relations which now unfor- tunately prevail between capital and labor, the congestion of population in our large cities, and the dangers which threaten she country so long as these conditions prevail, there can be no doubt that this question is of the very highest importance to the United States to-day.
 Let it, however, not be forgotten that this question must be settled right. The work must be done by the Federal government for the benefit oi the people at large. To hand these lands over to the State governments would in most cases, be about equivalent te the giving of them to speculators. | the people of the West will only make up their minds to bring pressure tc bear upon Congress, there is no doubt that we shall be able to secure good round appropriation for this purpose at the coming season. Favorable opin' ! ion has already been aroused in ths East. and we shall meet little opposi- ton in that section. The main danger comes from few selfish and design ing men in the West, who are striving to defeat the nstional-irrigation move ment because 1t would interfere witl their personal interests, or else because they think they see their way to make several fortunes out of these arid lands if they could only be given over to ths control of the States and Territories There are few men at Washington who will aid these schemers, so far a ! they can, but everything gsss to show their arguments will be swept away , like chaf before the wind when the! run up against the strong public opin ion that has been aroused in favor O
 national irrigation throughout tn, country, thanks mainly to the tireles efforts of the National Irrigation As : sociation. At the same time it will b' well for friends of the movement to b, ; on the alert, for battle is never end
 ed until if is either won or lost. Thes' men have a large amount of none,
 at stake, and can afford to expen'
 time and money to achieve their ends 3 whereas the national-irrigation move ment, being, as it were, everybody business, is, consequently, as the say [ ing goes, nobody's business. In fact : had it not been for the national as sociation, and @ number of public spir tied newspapers throughout the coun try, the national-irrigation movemen would, ere this, have gone by default and the arid lands would by this tim probably be in the hands of specula tors. As it is, the outlook is excellen for the inauguration of the national irrigation policy, on broad scale, b,
 the coming Congress.