The Grit-advocate., 1904-04-08
LOBBY
WORKS AGAINST DESERT LAND
LAW.
for What 10 Called irrisa-
tion Educ alton.

for What 10 Called lrrisa-
tion Educati
Washington, D. c., April 5.-George
H. Maxwell, a prominent oflcial Of tho
National Irrigation Association vas
before the House Committee on 1Tri
cation yesterday. He made the i'd
mission that he was well paid by Va
rious railroads for his services in look
ing out for irrigation legislation In
Washington, receiving. in fact &fo. .0Os
. year from them. He was asked II
public land laws were not really to
enable the railroads to find better
market for their lands, and replied that
this could only be inferred.
He made an argument to show that
the repeal Of the land laws was neces-
sary for the well working OF the ma
tional reclamation act, and said that
the railroads he represented were
only interested to the extent that they
believe in such agitation to develop
the West. The bill under considera-
ton by the committee was the Reeder
tional irrigation act by repeating the
desert land laws.
Under rapid Questioning by the op-
ponents of the repeal of the desert land
laws Mr. Maxwell retailed the infor-
nation that the Great Northern, the
Northern Pacific. the Southern Pacific,
the Santa Fe, the Union Pacific and the
burlington railroads each contribute
q ho lei
600 year towards a fund to be used
by the National Irrigation Association,
and disbursed by Mr. Maxwell in the in
terest of that organization. Other con-
tributions to this fund bring the
amount up TO $4,000 a year. This
money has been collected during the
past five years, and is still being paid.
l; was used in campaign of education
TO secure the passage of the national
irrigation act.
This information was the result of an
assertion that the transcontinental rail-
roads were endeavoring to secure the
repeal of the desert land laws to in
crease the value CT their land holdings
and the land scIrps which they are said
to own.
Mr.. Maxwell replied that he was in
a position to know all the interests be-
hind such a movement, and the knew
OF no syndicate of land scrip holders
formed for the purpose of securing the
passage OF the repeal bill.
Within your knowledge" asked
Chairman Mondell, ''is it or is it not
fact that the land grand railroads have
contributed to the support of the Ma
tional Irrigation Association, which
you represent, and to the maintenance
OF journals which you print?"
The transcontinental roads began
more than four years ago to contribute
to the funds of the National Irrigation
Association" replied Mr.. Maxwell, "but
they have no direction of the policy,
and If they have liked our policy it is
simply because they believed 1t would
put population in the West. But the
theory that they believed it was going
to make their land more valuable is ab-
solutely false"
Mr.. Mondell-The gentleman says
that they do support this movement for
the repeal, but not with view of in
creasing the value of their lands, OF
which they own a great many million
acres, and the value of their scrip, of
which they own about 2,500,000 acres
In what way does he read the minds
of these gentlemen to know that?
Because l know what the national
organization has been from the start
to this moment, and they never have
undertaken to shape the policy; they
have simply followed it," answered Mr..
Maxwell Explaining further, he de-
clared that he did not believe the re-
peal of the desert land laws would en-
hance the value of land owned by the
railroads or the value of the land scrip
The repeal of these laws had been a
part of the irrigation project from the
first, he said but it was thought better
to postpone action in this direction un-
til after the irrigation act had been Sc
cured.
Representative Hitchcock brought
out the names of railroads and the
amounts each had contributed The to-
tai contributed annually by railroads,
he said, was $4,000.
This money has been used for the
expenses of the National Irrigation AS
scciation," he said, "and is only a part
of the fund that has been available for
the educational campaign for the last
five years, and is still continuing.
think the fund amounts to $4,000 alto
gether" The exact position Of Presi-
dent Roosevelt on the question at is
sue wss controverted, both sides quot
ing the President as favorable to their
aims.