The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-01
TONGUE TALKS
OF IRRIGATION
Wants it Tried on a Small Scale
at First.
TELLS OF A PLAN OF HIS OWN
EXPERIMENT STATION TO TEST
THE SCHEME.
cspecial correspondenee4

man of the arid land committee
of the house, does not entirely approve
of the general irrigation bill drawn
by the western members and submitted
to Mr. Tongues committee for action.
He said today:
I am decidedly opposed to any wild
gigantic scheme of irrigation that
would commit the federal government
to the. expenditure of untold millions
from the public treasury, destroying
present farm values and trittering
away the homes of coming generations.
Such a scheme. backed as it is by
some powerful interests, whose motives
are not far to seek, has not the slight
est chance of success. It's advocssg
retards and may for time defeat Il
moderate measure for just and reason
able irrigation. Such schemes are not
advocated wholly in the interest of the
public good or for the greatest bene-
fit of the masses of the people Of the
United States. These great. measures
incite opposition from people in the
east and middle west who fear any
legislation for irrigation, no matter
how moderate, might be but an enter
ing wedge, starting the country upon
a policy Of which no man can see the
end.
In my judgment the true policy
which the general government should
pursue. the policy which has the best
opportunity to secure the support Of
congress, is to irrigate sufficient arid
land to furnish hOmssteads for actual
bona fide home builders. This should
| be the object and the limit of any ir-
/ rigation law. There IS a healthy nat
uraI demand for this and it should be
| met. Irrigation should keep pace with
rural settlement and the natural
/ healthy increase in rural population. It
should not go faster than this. IrTl-
/ cation will not make population, neith-
| er viii it increase the biTthTight nor the
| stream of desirable immigration into
/ the United States
/ 1T is claimed by very respectful bic
| authority that people will 90 from the
| city to seek, beautify and adorn rural
| homes. It is certain that the idle and
/ the vicious will not leave the city The
| present industrious, well employed and
we'll paid part of the population should
| not leave the cities.
Better Paying Employment.
"The present tendency from the
country to the city is a natural result
of present economic conditions. 1t is
because city and factory furnish more
remunerative employment than farm
/ ing or stock raising. We should not
| change this condition by converting
them from food consumers to good pro-
ducers by lessening the demand and in
| creasing the supply of food products.
1t is not to the benefit Of farmers to
increase the number of farms. The
I 50 hn Il ~ he sal
Of the farm. What the great west
needs today is not more farms, but
bigger cities. bigger factories and more
of both As a nation We are not in
need Of more farm prCGucts, but we
| are in need of more markets for the
products we now have.
To build American homes and pro-
tect the welfare OF the home builder
not to make market for unstable
land grants, or more agricultural inn
plements, should be the end and aim
of this class of legislation.
The bill prepared under the direc-
ton of western senators and repre-
sentatives is, in the main, along right
lines. It seeks TO supply bona fide
demand for rural homes and safeguard
the welfare Of the home builders. In
SO far as 1t seeks to accomplish these
ends it has my unqualified support
but it is not perfect. It contains seri-
Gus defects which can and should be
remedied by suitable amendment It
provides that the whole fund raised
from the sale of these lands is to be
placed in the hands Of the secretary
of the interior to be expended by him
under his sole and unTestrained discre-
ton, so it be expended for irrigation
There is to be no other control or re-
IL On r h g.
fund will be approximately $4,000 O0C
and will increase at the rate of So
100000 annually. AS this is expended
it is expected to return aud be eX-
pended again many times over.
The secretary may expend the whole
of that money within any of the six
teen states or territories named in the
bill. in any of them or any part OF
one of them. according 10 his owl
sweet viii Such vast power is vested
in no other officer of any free country
in the world. Congress is asked tC
pour all these millions into the treas
Ury, deliver the key to the secretary Of
the interior. relinquish all control anC
then point TO the fund thus created
and say to all those interested in the eX
pendituTe whether for the public gOOC
or to satisfy organized greed, There
It is now; there it is; now pull for It
lobby for it; scramble for it; scrap fOl
it, and the best and strongest interes
takes the most Of it.
Lobby to Influence Appropriation
Every state and every territory hav
ing lands TO irrigate, or whose officers
think they have lands to irrisate; ever
owner of great land grants. ever,
tTanscontinental railroad. every indi
vidual or corporate land gTabber. vii
maintain an organized lobby at Wash
ingtOn and will at once strip for tn
3 fray. Those portions of the Unite'
States most moderate and most jus
in their demands viii be compelled t.
keep in a fighting attitude and contes
vigorously for the expenditure of ever.
dollar they may receive. The secretar,
of the interior will not individually Sc
4, lect a single enterprise. He must ac
through agents. Will these always b
T above suspicion? Is it best TO pU
I temptation in their way? The inter
l ests involved will be tremendous AM
the pressure beyond description.
2 IAN honest official attempting con
= scientiCusly ard fairly to administe
= the law viii find life one prolonge
= burden This fund might become
factor in political control. An admin
D istratiOn, Republican or Democratic
/ Night listen somewhat more kindly o
[ atTentively to its political friends. Sue
p things have been known to happier
q but all this should be avoided; it ca
s be avoided.
? we should not depend upon the wi
/ of any man to do fair by all the state
= and territories involved. COngres
s should do that in the enactment of tn
j law It should provide that the fund
g derived from the sale of the publ
S lands, or the greater portion of then
should be expended within the state Z
5 territory from which the money wa
G obtained This would be fair to a
a sections. If the object Of this irriga
ton is to provide homes for settlers
.-,-rrf1 ~ crowded 7r-1ovn tho cot