The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-27
TRUTH AS TO THE
IRRIGATION ACT
Senator NewIands Justly En-
titled to the Credit.
FOUGHT BY THE REPUBLICANS
CLAIM OF PREsI-
DENT ROOSEVELT.


n ENVER. Colo. Sept. 26.-'The unex-
IL pected development of the nation
al campaign is the prominence of
the irrigation issue. The Democrats
are forcing the fight while the Repub-
Hcans have been compelled TO assume
the defensive.
The St Louis platform boldly de-
ciares that the national irrigation law
now on the statute books is "a measure
framed by a Democrat, passed in the
senate by a nOn-partisan vote. and
passed in the house against the Oppo-
sition of almost all the Republican
leaders by vote the majority of which
was Democratic"
The opening Of the campaign in the
east was marked by vigorous Demo
cratic assault on the Republican policy
of growing extravaganza for military,
naval and colonial expenditures, and
an equally vigorous demand for the
building of the republic at home" in
accordance with the following plank of
the St. Louis platform:
we call attention to this great. Dem
0cratic measure 1.-THE Newlands' acD as
an evidence Of the policy OF domestic
development contemplated by the Dem
power"
Thus the line is drawn clearly be-
tween the two parties. IT is not ques-
ton of tariff nor currency. not of anti
Imperialism in the sentimental sense
1t is a plain matter of dollars and
cents and of how and where it is best
for Uncle Sam to spend his money. The
Democrats stand for home development
as against foreign expansion, and for
the armies Of peace as against the
armies cf war" They claim that their
record and platform completely justify
them in this attitude.
Shaw to the Rescue.
Leslie NJ. Shaw, secretary of the
treasury. devoted his recent Denver
speech largely to the defense of the
administration upon this question lie
took for his text a widely
article by William z. Smythe. father
of the national irrigation congress-
and a well known California Demo-
crat, who is taking an active part IN
the western campaign for Parker ana
Davis.
Secretary Shaw denied that the Dem
ocrats are entitled to any credit in con-
nection with national irrigation, and
asserted that history will give the en-
tire credit for what has been accom-
plished to Theodore Roosevelt. He de-
clared that the president was the first
man to risk his political fortunes by
the cspOusal of irrigation. and thaS, no
matter what others had tried TO do.
both i'm and out Of congress- they were
no nearer success than they were ten
years ago until the president advocated
a national irrigation policy in his mes
sage of>Dec g. 1901. He analyZed the
bill originally drawn by Senator New
lands. and declared that it did not con-
tain the ideas embodied in the present
legislation
Democrats Answer.
Mr. Smvthe replied to Secretary Shaw
i'm a speech at Denver. He said Pres
idenf Roosevelt recommended irrigation
eighteen months after the policy hao
been endorsed by every party IN the
United States-Democrats ReDubH
cans. Populists. Socialists. and, OF
course. Prohibitionists, who always
favor water" He asked now a man
could risk his political fortunes by
advocating a policy officially favored
by the representatives of every voter
I'm the United States.
He hitcheC his wagon to the riser
star of national irrigation as it shon2
resplendeut Ia the western sky. said
Mr.. Smythe 'at a time when its light
was So brilliant that man could read
a presidential message at midnight
The speaker ssid that the presidents
name may live alone in irrigation his
tory. provided history be written by
his cabinet. but an unprejudiced his
torian will mention two other facts:
First. that thousands of patriotic men
labored for more than dozen years to
convince their countrymen of the po-
tentiaI greatness Of the arid west. and
at length succeeded in committing
every political party to their policy.
Second. that previous to Mckinley
second inauguration Francis G. New
lands of Nevada a Democrat. intro
duced a bin so Just and reasonable that
il instantly united the west and dissi-
pated the opposition of the west and
SOutb