The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-17
IRR|GATION|STS
IN DISCUSSION
Battle Over Proposed Repeal
of Certain Land Laws
Is Close.

| OGDEN, Utah. Sept. LIT Develop
ed today that the fight over the pro-
| posal to commit the National Irrigation
congress in favor of repeal of several
| OF the existing land laws, including the
desert land act, the timber and stone
| act and the Communication clause of the
homestead act, will be close one.
| Champions both for and against such
| action were heard at todays session.
George H. Maxwell, of the executive
| committee of TIE National Irrigation
association, and Senator Paris Gibson,
of Montana, favor such action, while
Congressman Mondell in a lengthy
speech, took strong grounds against
| such repeal.
| This was day of hard work for the
| delegates. Besides listening to half a
deZen speeches, numerous resolutions
/ were introduced and referred to the
| resolutions committee, of which Sen
ator Smoot, of Utah, is chairman. A
committee appointed last year to in
| Vestigate the desirability of affiliation
! with the Trans Mississippi congress
reported against such action on the
| ground that the time had not come for
action and the report was adopted
| unanimously.
The morning session was devoted to
| colonization and the opinions of rail-
road men and sociologists on the best
methods of settling the arid region with
a desirable class of farmers and stock
| men. feature of the morning session
was the speech of Commander Booth
Tucker, of the Salvation Army, who
gave a complete description of the
methods pursued in the Salvation Army
| colonies Of California and of Colorado
in settling them with people from the
! tenement quarters of the East.
All of the speakers urged co-opera-
| ton between the states, land owners
and railroads in the general scheme of
colonization, without which, they said,
the scheme of irrigation was of no
value.
Flood of Resolutions.
! Ten minutes were set aside for the
reading and Introduction of resolutions
| and a flood of them came In. They in
Guided resolutions for statehood for
| New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma,
Tor the protection of water sheds sup
plying municipalities with water to
permit the entry and location of coal
lands on forest reserves and petition
| ing congress to repeal the lien land
! provision of the forest reservation law,
and that private lands in forest re-
serves should be purchased or acquire
| ed by condemnation.
A long resolution was introduced by
|
National Irrigation association, favor
| ing the recommendations contained in
| President ROoSeyelt's telegram of yes
terday for the preservation of the for
| ests, favoring the immediate repeal of
] the desert land act, the timber and
stone act and the Communication clause
or the homestead act. The resolutions
were explicit and were heartily APP
plauded by the delegates
| Ii. M. BrannOCk of Portland Or wa q
scheduled to speak on THE Relation of
| irrigation to the Internal Trade and
Commerce of the Country" but he was
not present and his address was pre-
sented by T. G. Harley
| G. E. Wantland. of the Union Pa
clhc railway, Denver. delivered an adj
dress on "Colonization" He claimed
the national irrigation law will fail
unless improved methods of colonial
! ton are adopted, and urged greater
cooperation between states, land
owners and railroads. 1eo1e9
Apostle John Henry Smith spoke on
the COLONIZATION of the West,& land
| devoted some time to discussion zof
the character of Brigham Young. Mai
Carson, Washington correspondent Of
/ the New York Times, also spoke.
Gov G. Pardee, of California. deliy-
cred an address on "The Relation Of
| Colonization to Irrigation"
Gibson on Repeal.
spoke on 1.-THE Repeal of Some of Our
Laws" He said:
| III the desert land act" the comrnu-
| tation clause of the homestead act
and the timber and stone act should be
repealed we would still have upon the
statute books of the nation a true
homestead law, under which the actual
or
| by occupying and cultivating it five
years, and this is the only land law
required for the settlement of our pub
| lie lands. All other acts by which land
| may be acquired are in the interest of
| spectators and men seeking to control
large tracts of grazing and timber
land, and We're never intended by their
| or1g1natorS to promote the settlement
| or the public domain. The public lands
cannot be preserved for actual settlers.
and the great work of reclain1ing the
arid lands cannot be continued unless
we repeal all acts by which public
lands con be obtained, except the
homestead act. The repeal of these
acts has been advocated by nearly all
our presidents and secretaries of the
| interior during the last twenty years
| Continue our present system of land
| laws and the vast country west of
| the Mississippi, instead of furnishing
| homes for millions Of people, will be-
come chiefly a country of landlords
| and tenants"
The other side of the government
land question was then presented by
| Congressman F. w. Mondell, of Wy
oming. He spoke on 1.-THE Value and
Importance of Desert Land Act"
THE laws in question have furnished
| nearly $13,000,000 of the SIG, O0O, 900 now
TO the credit of the irrigation fund,
and their repeal would amount to
repeal of the national irrigation law.
The people of the public land states
are forced to the conclusion that
large part of the agitation for repeal
emanates from large corporate land
and land-scrip owners, who see in the
| withdrawal of public land from mar
ket a greater demand for their prop
erty."
The Utilization of Public Grazing
was discussed by w. M. Wheeldridge,
Of Huntsdale, Mont. Adjournment was
taken until tomorrow, when Senator
NewlandS, who was to have snolren