The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-02-07
TWO DEAD ONES.

TWO DEAD ONES.
Taking for the truth the reports
that come from Washington. and it
becomes very apparent that congress
is finding itself with two dead ones
On its hands. AS the situation now
appears nothing will be accomplished
in the way of legislation for the con-
struction of an isthmian canal or for
the reclamation of the arid west.
Forces are at work against both prop
ositions which seem to be potential
enough to defeat them, regardless Of
the wishes of the administration an |
a majority of the people of the nation.
While both may be considered as
administration measures, yet the OPP
position which is developing threatens
to overcome all the influence and pow
er of the president and congress may
be expected to adjourn without either
OF the questions being any further adj
vanced than its present inchoate con
dition and the people might as we'll
resign themselves and pliilosophically
accept the disappointment that is
seemingly in store for them.
When it seemed that the time was
at hand when something definite
would be done in the way of deciding
upon a route for the proposed inter-
Nononia yvoforurov tho o1ar,art or,oo
ed to any such scheme as that of con-
Meeting the two oceans bobbed up
complacently and serenely with the
chimera of a Darien canal and the
game seems to be blocked. Had this
plan for delay prove unsuccessful it
is safe to assume that they would
have found some other way of inject
ing the element of delay, so for all
the people seem to be able to do it
might as well be an impossible pro-
ject like a ship tunnel through a noun
tain range as any other They are
bound to defeat a canal and until they
lose their strength or acquiesce in the
will of the people the latter would
probably better cultivate the heaven
ly virtue of patience.
The same may be said of irrigation,
although the forces in opposition are
different. The states that do not re-
quire national assistance to make til
liable the lands within their borders
are opposed to any scheme of govern
mental aid. The fact that such a
driveling makeshifht as the Lacy bill
finds any support from the members
of congress is tolerably good evidence
of this assertion and that if anything
like a real irrigation measure is
passed it must be accomplished by the
use of force, force of the kind that the
eastern men fear, something in the
way of retaliation. Defeat of Il pet
measure like the river and harbor
bill might bring the obstructionists |
to their senses and compel them to
realize that there is more to the cCtn- |
try than the pent up, debile. little
states they call their own and which |
they have too long regarded as being
the center and very existence of the
nation. If the western men will only
adhere to their resolution that legis-
lation on irrigation shall have prefer
ence over the pork" barrel, the river
and harbor bill, they may hope to ac- !
complish something. Should they
yield, however, they might as well
consider the jig as being up, for they
will be able to obtain nothing.
To accuse the republican party of |
being responsible for the opposition to
any measure for national aid in the
reclamation Of the arid regions is to
be guilty of a decided u%nfairness, al
though it is noticeable that some of
the democratic newspapers of the
transmissouri regions are already be-
ginning to intimate that such is the |
case. Those in congress who are op-
posed to the Newlands bill are not all
republicans. They are representa-
TIVE of both parties AMI it is only
geographical prejudice and narrow
minded selfishness that causes them
to antagonize any measure calculated
to benefit the west.