Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1903-10-21
A PROUD RECORD
DAKOTA
Continued from first page.)

L It DlOSptll ts VI tic halfway NOllpd-
MES and the prosperity OF the people
of North Dakota must so up together
and go down together; you cannot in
jure the people without injuring the
railways. When you inJure us you in
jure yourselves. Suppose a case, and
there are many such cases-occaslonal-
/. We get into court in a physical IN
Jury case, although we mean to
and always offer to pay the injured
man heap measure. But sometimes
he does not want heaping measure;
he wants sometimes to get three or
four times as much because he relies
on the popular prejudice against the
railroad. Now who pays that bill? |
can tell you that it is not paid by our
stock holders-they get their seven
per cent just the same. The amount
OF thai bill is charged up to expense
and you pay it. Every time it is added
to the cost OF conducting the business.
We have only two sources from which
10 get money one way is to earn 1t,
and the other way is to borrow II. III
YOU feel like paying the amount OF
such a bill and are willing TO make the
contribution. go ahead. 1t does not
come. out of the pocket OF the COM
pany. You can see in a momen thai
il does not. But. on the other hand.
! wish YOU to bear this in mind: II a
case ever gets into court it is because
we think the party wants a great deal
more than he is justly entitled to. II
he wanted to take what was right and
fair, and in heaped measure he would
not have got into court. Now have
been running away from irrigation. l
do not get an opportunity to talk plain
" TO YOU very often and have trans
crossed a little.
The irrigation Question.
The public domain of the United
States-that portion of it that can be
cultivated without artificial moisture
is very limited. They used to say tha'
Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us
all a farm. That is no longer the case:
he is wealthy still. but he has a great
many heirs and a great many people
holding out their hands to him TOR a
part of his money. You have contrib
uted your share-Your state has con-
tributed its share. This question of
what we can do for the future genera
tions is one that is hardly given It's
proper prominence. or the prominence
ii deserves. At the close of the civil
War the frontier vas about h Des
Moines Valley in Iowa. There were
some settlers in Kansas at that time
but they were very unsettled at that
time. Now the country has developed
to the Pacific coast. States and cit
les have grown up and communities
doing business inland and on the sea.
cities that are marvels of growth.
The land is occupied. And seeing
this. about five years ago we took up
the subject of irrigation. Now | am
going to tell you how this came about.
On an investigation of the entire ques-
ton it was found to be absolute folly
to bring forward any measure in
Washington; nobody would listen to
it. To look towards the government
protecting the public domain for the
settlers and for future generations,
was considered absurd by many peo-
pie in the east. And | am satisfied
that it would take a long period and
campaign of thorough education. So
five railway companies got together
tlcy Adu AZ oAAu q nv UhN UAN
was not looking for any-but We put
our hands in our pockets and subscrib-
ed twenty-five thousand dollars a year
nor the five companies, to pay for a
campaign of education on the subject
of irrigation and started it all over
the country. 1t went slowly at first
and congressman would not listen to
H.. But after a time went on, and they
found that their people at home were
interested-when they found that they
were passing resolutions on the sub
ject-then the gentlemen began to say
N. | am interested in that: | think
what you said has merit" After a
while the question reached out and
got into congress and into the White
House and everybody felt that it was
something to take notice of. And last
year for the first time we were able to
get it successfully onto the floor of
congress. Now there are lots of men
who are the Original Jacob" men
who did it themselves-lots of them.
But | know how it was done; | know
that 1925 900 of good money vas scat
tered through the country in lectures,
in meetings. in publications. for the
purpose of bringing the question be-
fore the people. And they we're
brought to understand how absolutely
necessary it is to save what is left of
the public domain; to save the people
of our country the farming lands SO
that their children shall not be driven
to expatriate themselves and got to a
foreign land to find a farm. Now
will give you the figures of what some
of the states have got in land that can
be irrigated. The number Of acres
suitable for agricultural pursuits un-
der any condition, without irrigation
or artificial aid is estimated as fol-
lows: North Dakota. fifteen million
acres; South Dakota, twenty million
Montana five millionE Idaho three
million; Washington twenty million
In North Dakota you have substantial
ly one-third of the area Of the state
that can be cultivated without artiiici.
al moisture. In North Dakota the wa.
ter supply, through wells and Other
reservoirs, can be made to irrigate
about two million acres. In Montans
ten million; in Idaho three million: II
Washington three million. The land
1850 a--..x