The Springfield herald., 1904-09-09
President Is Irrigation's Most Stanch Friend,
and Thereby Benefactor to Mil
Ions Yet Unborn.
He HAS LIVED IN THE ARID REGIONS
And Fully Realizes Their Needs-H:s Great
Work Praised by the Press, Irrespective
of PoItics-BloodIess Conquest
of Vast Empire

When President Roosevelt was Gov
ernor of New York he once remarked:
81 am of the sixth generation born on
Manhattan Island, but BELONG west
of the Missouri river"
This is key to the depth and breadth
of the Presidents knowledge concerning
all things pertaining to the United States.
He is the first President who ever resid-
ed west of the Missouri river. He is the
first who ever perceived the incalcuable
importance of the arid west, and he is
chiefly responsible for the national irri-
gntion act which is to transform deserts
into gardens. BY n chain Of endless rev
enues derived from the sale of public
lands in the arid States, each arid State
in turn is to be reclaimed and populated
by independent, high-minded, self-sup.
porting citizens.
Roosevelt established himself, in 1884,
on a ranch at the headwaters of the Lit
tic Missouri river in South Dakota. he
was then only 26 years of age. After
a residence there of about two years he
returned to New York, not only restored
In body, but a different man mentally
and psychically. He had entered into the
spirit of the West so completely that he
was actually westernized. There the
mountains communicated to him the Sc
the benedictions of the unclouded sun.
He made a ranch, herded cattle. mingled
with cowboys and hunted the big game
of the plains There. too, he learned the
marvels of the arid soil when Joined to
the waters of the mountain streams.
Vast Areas to Be Reclaimed.
1t was such experiences as these that
enabled him to link his name forever
with the great irrigation movement. He
thus was induced to put the presidential
shoulder against the barred doors of
arid America and do one of the biggest
things since the signing Of our Declnra-
ton of Independence. Perhaps few of
us have more than n vague consciousness
of the mighty issues involved in this act.
1t adds at once 125 100000 acres of fer
tile soil to our agricultural and horticul-
tural area and opens up one Of the most
beautiful and promising vistns ever per-
ceived by the husbu ndmen of America,
or elsewhere. 1t might be said by cnvil-
crs that the reclamation of these deserts
was inevitable. sometime. But it was by
no means inevitable that they should be
reclaimed by means of public works. and
that the ownership of land and water
would be indissolubly united. The great
est thing President Roosevelt has done
here was to write this flaming sentence:
ALE Wv VI =" "A
Err. APART FROM LAND. CANNOT
PREVAIL WITHOUT CAUSING EN-
DURING WRONG" That was anoth-
er Proclamation of Emancipation. Into
the great struggle between private greed
and public good came at the psycholog-
ical moment, the mighty words of the
first irrigation President-and the battle
was won.
Praise for the President.
William E. Smythe. author of Con
quest of Arid America" n pioneer in the
irrigation movement, and now a Demo-
cratic politician Of San Diego, California,
writing of President Roosevelt's visit to
the West awhile ago, exclaimed: "Wel-
come, Theodore Roosevelt! Welcome.
because you are the President. Welcome
again, because you wrung national irri-
CATION from nn unwilling Congress-! And
thrice welcome, because with n stroke of
your pen you slew the dragon of water
monopoly! Much as the men of to-day
appreciate the thing you did when op-
portunity opened the door, it is only the
men who are to live, as the long genera
tions shall unfold, who may know the
full Significance of that great deed" 1t
is universally recognized, irrespective OF
politics, that the passage of the national
irrigation act by Congress, June, 1902,
had not been for the fact that Mr.. Roose-
welt SO strongly recommended irrigation
legislation in his message to Congress
and put his personal shoulder to the
wheel to help the friends of the bill
swing the forces into line in its favor.
When his official signature was duly
affixed to the measure. making it the
law Of the land. the press from the At
lantic to the Pacific, from the lakes to
the gulf and irrespective of religion or
politics, sent up one hearty acclaim of
well done" 1t was a sincere heart
tribute to the man, to his honesty, pat
riotism, statesmanship, Americanism.
Maine We'd with California, and the Mis-
sissippi valley said "Amenn' The eulo-
gies. information, civilizations, predictions
and prophecies were edifying and inspir-
ing. They emphasized the Monroe doc
trine Of America for Americans" Ex-
tracts from many of the papers publish
ed in different parts of the country-ap-
pearing at the time-are here repro
duced:
President Roosevelt's Triumph.
As the first distinctively administration
measure to pass both houses of Congress
during the present session the nation;s
irrigation bill is deserving of especial at.
tention at the moment. Not that it's spe-
cifc provisions its passage present
anything new in n matter that has long
been under public and legislative discus
sion and consideration in this country,
but because irrigation legislation was ono
of the comparatively few things to which
President Roosevelt called the especial
attention of Congress in his first annual
message, and to secure which he has de
voted his energies and influence unceas
!ngly for nearly seven months. His ap
proval of the bill by formally attaching
his signature to .it-which he will nat
urally do with becoming promptness-
will mark a notable triumph for the
President of the United States.-New
York Commercial.
Greatest Enact m ent Since the Home
stead Law.
The National Irrigation Association is
entitled to great credit for this early and
gratifying result-the beginning OF the
vnrk nuIa mn SyNtr