Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-07-29
Rodey Describes
irrigation Fight
Continued From Page Two.)

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rivers and harbors. At this final meet
ing it was suspected that the lesson
thus taught the east might. consider.
ing that this bill asked for no direct
appropriation of national funds. in.
duce the opponents of irrigation to let
our bill pass. It was agreed that no
effort, save TO get votes pledged for
it, should be made for the passage Of
he bill in the house until after 1t had
passed the senate. Mondell, of Wyo-
ming, Reeder, Of Kansas, and myself
were a committee on the floor OF the
house, whose business 1T was there
after to discuss the irrigation project
with its opponents, learn the names
of its friends, and report to Mondeh
from day to day.
In the meantime, Hansbrough and
the other friends of the bill in the.
senate were laying low, and discuss
ing the matter quietly with its friends
and its enemies. One day, about four
weeks after the bill had been intro
duced in each house, Senator Hans
brough, finding a lull in senatorial
proceedings thought to bring on the
war by calling up the irrigation bill,
and did so. The president of the
senate announced the request for
unanimous consent of the senator
from North Dakota, and the read
ling clerk read the bill.
Every friend Of the bill sat stock
still, waiting to see who of its oppon-
ents would fire the first gun against
It,. The attendance in the chamber
was large, vet, although the president
in the senate held his gayel in the air
after uttering the momentous words:
rs there objeetion?" to the utter as
constituent of the friends Of the meas.
ure no one arose to object. Down
came the gavel and the clerk again
reported the bill. It went clear through
the readings by detail, and in two min
utes had passed the senate.
It's friends nearly tainted, SO great
was their establishment. Pages ran
from the senate over to the house.
and in a few minutes the friends of
the measure in that body were ap-
prised of the great luck. They rushed
in a crowd along the corridor to the
door of the senate chamber, and
Hansbrough Immediately became the
center of an excited group Of repre-
sentatives, wanting TO know how it
happened. Senator Hansbrough sim
ply expressed his establishment, and
stated that he could not understand
1t, unless there was some trick con
nected with the matter. All Of the
friends of the measure then went into
caucus to discuss the bill. They
concluded that the intention must be
to let the irrigation bill pass the sen
ate, and then to Immediately pass the
river and harbor bill, then send both
bills to the house, and there pass the
river and harbor bill under a rule and
kill the irrigation bill. OF course, the
friends of our bill at once determined
that the river and harbor bill should
not be permitted to pass the senate
until the irrigation act had passed
the house.
It transpired in a short time that
opponents Of the measure in the sen
ate well understood that the friends of
irrigation would resort to those tao.
tics, and they, therefore, not only re.
Trained from calling up the river and
harbor bill in the senate, but assured
the friends Of irrigation that they had
aequiesced In the irrigation measure
and would permit it to become a law.
Myself and others continued from day
to day to secure votes for the measure
on the floor Of the house, and, after
weeks OF hard labor. succeeded in get
ting a good working majority in favor
Of It. We found many members lit.
terly opposed to any consid Grafton d.
the project, and different friends of
the bill talked with these men from
zine to time as opportunity arose. but
finally, finding some Of them immoS.
able, we resorted not only to argu.
ments such as that We were npt ash.
Ing, and would not ask. for any At
rect appropriation OF cash from The
treasury, but that we we're oriy get.