The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-01
HOPE IS DEFERRED.
Protracted Delay in Irrigation Work
Seems Inevitable.
PENDING BILL GOING TO PIECES
Apparent Official Confederation of
Babcock's Present stand on
His Tariff Bill.

From Tho Journal Bspreal, Boom Is, Post
R4ilding, Warrington. :,
Washington, April 1.-The presidents
attitude regarding irrigation, as ex-
pressed to Senator Hansbrough and Rep
resentatiyes Metcalf, -Reeder and Moody
On last Saturday. and reported, in I. b g
Journal of that day, probably means
the death Of irrigation legislation, at
least for the present. Unless there is
to be government ownership and control,
he says, there will be no irrigation at all,
SO far as the general government is con-
cerned. Should the bill pass finally with
the Objectionable section stricken out
which is very improbable. the president
will sign it. and will then proceed to de-
lay the beginning of work in the irriga-
ton states until such time as they get
around to an amendment of their consti-
tutions Even were !; these states
eager for amendment, which they proba-
bly, are not, nothing could be done until
year from this time, and the amend
ments could NOT 60 to the people for
ratification until the general election of
1904; SO, at the, best, the beginning of
the work will be delayed until after the
next presidential campaign is#over.
The cattle states want state owner
ship and control, because it will be the
easier through this system for them to
acquire monopolies of state lands and
reservoirs and bitches. = The president
and Senator Hansbrough, on the other
hand, insist on government ownership
and control, because 1t is in the direct
interest Of the rapid filling up Of the
arid and semiarid regions with prosper
GUS settlers. The cattle industry de-
handing large tracts of open country, is
Numerically opposed to the settlement
proposition. This is the rock the irri-
CATION measure is going to pieces on.
.Babcock Bill Requestioned.
There is much uncertainty in the minds
OF congressman and senators who favor
the Babcock bill providing for a reduc-
tfon of the duty on steel, concerning the
adyisability Of pressing that bill in the
present session. To the west and the
northwest, where the Babcock idea has
found secure lodgment, this statement
Will come as surprise, and without a
proper understanding Of the reasons be-
hind it. there might be a disposition in
| those sections to criticize Babcock and
his friends unfairly.
One day last week, while Representa-
tives Tawney and Babcock were discuss
ing the beet sugar situation, they Incl
dentally turned to the, Babcock bill, and
Mr.. Tawney asked what Babcock was
going to do to get the bill before con-
gress. 10 TaWney's surprise, Babcock
replied that he was IN doubt as to whether
the Dill should be pressed at this time
What makes you say that?' asked
Tawney, possibly suspecting for the
moment that Babcock was lying down.
with his proposition to get after the steel
trust. Mr.. Babcock replied:
inquiries which have been making recent
~ convince me that the steel trust is now
! importing steel very heavily in order to care
ior its American contracts. Orders are so
| Dig and cover so long time in the future,
| that, other things being equal, this mporta-
tion Will continue for year, and perhaps for
two years. Now, every ton of steel which
| the trust imports it is paying the eDinslov
schedules, which, as we all know, are almost
prohlbit1ve. If we were to lower the duty on
steel during this period of importation, we
might be open to the charge OF making the
change in the interest Of the trust | am not
satisfied yet that the bill should not be
pressed. even under the condition have out
lined, but 1t must appear reasonable to eyery-
| body that we should proceed carefully.
0. P. Austin, secretary of the treasury
bureau OF statistics, in a mimeograph
statement regarding imports and exports.
unconsc1ously bears testimony to the
truth OF Mr.. Babcock's statement. He
says:
me manufacturers Of the country are now
| importing more than million dollars worth
| OF materials for their workshops every day
! III the pear and are exporting more than a
| million dollars worth of their finished prod
| uct every day. The importation of
manufacturers materials has been greater in
! the eight months Just ended than in the cor
| responding period OF any preceding year.
! or course. the foregoing quotation does
not apply wholly to iron and steel, but
those commodities make I'D a very large
percentage of the imports referred to-.
Mr.. Babcock thus seems to have good
| reason for his present position.
Ha.vkeye Slate.
| The Iowa delegation got together in
I Speaker Henderson's room at the capitol
the other day to Xix up slate for the
! federal offices in the state, whose terms
are about to expire. The offices to be
! filled include United States marshals and
district attorneys for the northern and
| southern districts of tho state, and two
| collectors Of internal revenue, one dis
| trict embracing the northern half of the
| state, and the other the southern, known,
| respectively, as the first and fourth dis
| tricts. The delegation did not make any
| selections, however, nor 80 into the ques-
ton to any extent because of the absence
OF Senator Dolliver.~ Another meeting
will be held on the 10Th inst The hottest
| contest appears to be over the offices OF
| district attorney for the northern dis
trict and collector of internal revenue in
| that section, both of which are now filled
! by residents Of Representative Cousins
district. Members of the delegation be-
lieve that either the district attorney o.
| collector should come from some other
| congressional district. The only candi-
| date seriously considered for one of these
places is j. U. Sammis OF LeMars. He