Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-05

| lands of Idaho and other mountain
| states. l had then the most positive
evidence of the wonderful fertility OF
the soil, its marvellous and almost
| abnormal productiveness and was
enthused when l contemplated the vast
| possibilities of the valleys of the west
| When | ssaw the crude and imperfect
bitches, the waste of water, and the
| disadvantages under which these men
worked, 1t occurred to me that Aladdin
was rubbing his lamp in vain, that no
adequate return could be secured UNI
| til the paternal idea of government
could be applied to these vast areas.
| When visited California in 1902
observed the same fearful waste, the
same misdirected efforts, the same
| lack of unity of action. In this crude,
primary system of irrigation the doc
trine of the strong is exemplifed. 1t
is the old savage thought of take care
of ones self and the devil take the
hindmost." Just why the first conner
| is the strongest, should seize and hold
the water, any more than the sun
shine or the air, or any other element
of nature, l can not understand. had
been educated in the atmosphere OF
democracy and I have until recent
years looked with suspicion on the
gradual eneroachment of "paternal-
ism" in government. But no student
of men and things can shut his eyes
to the present trend. Apply jefferson
ian principles to New York city and l
do not doubt 1T would be one of
the most chaotic communities on
earth, instead of one Of the
most orderly, attractive and de-
| lightful Gradually the Jeffersonian
principle is yielding to the march of
time. The city is no longer true
democracy, neither is the town, nor
| the general government. Municipal
ownership and Jeffersonian democracy
will not gotogether. One must grow, so 1t
| follows, the other must give way. The
same evolution is going on in the ma
| tional government. Every year new
and strange forms are exercised by the
government and so used to this silent
encroachment have the people become
! that it is scarcely matter of COM
ment. TO use the medical department
of the army to fight yellow fever in
New Orleans is enough to make Jeffer-
son come back, to say nothing of seiz-
| liiS VI puyIHo SlIlP VI 1u'ld VII LIN
Isthmus of Panama to connect the
oceans for commercial purposes.
/ So l said to myself when the strong
arm of the government is extended to
help these settlers, to shield them from
the robber farmers who occupy sites
higher up the mountains. When the
vast resources of the government can
| be used to build a complete system,
| when a strong central power shall
seize all these rivers and water sources
| and distribute Gods blessings among
all the people, for the people, when
all these little struggling plants are
made autonomous, when the best en-
gineers in the world. with Vast corps
of assistants and unlimited means, are
employed in this great scheme then
will irrigation bring health and happi-
| ness and wealth to millions of people,
and not till then.
AS I looked at all the wasted
effort and the miserable pre-
datory warfare, the disappointments
and the heartaches just felt that If it
were left to me. my Jeffersonian prin-
ciples wouldn't stand in the way of a
general and equitable system Of irriga
ton under the supervision Of the ma
tional government holy minute, so,
when wrote for the Times
a series of articles-six long letters I
think-on the National Park of the
Yellowstone, depressed, and went out
Of my way to call attention to the pos
sibilities Of national scheme of irri-
cation, and 1 urged action upon the
men of the west, and took great
liberty for I actually promised them
that they had a strong and true friend
1T court in President Roosevelt and
was rash enough to say that if both
houses Of congress could overcome the
scrupples of prejudices of certain men
and the selfishness of certain COM
munities, and could agree on a bill,
President Roosevelt would not only
sign II, but he would do all in his pow
er to further its passage, To be frank
about it didn't know what President
Roosevelt's ideas on national irriga-
ton were, but / knew the mans tre-
mendous personality; I knew how he
mad forced the Ford franchise bill thru
a hostile legislature in New York; l
knew he was a man In thorough SYM
pathy with the west and it's develop
ment: I knew he was gifted with rug
ged honesty and largely, with that
wonderful attribute that makes SO
many men seem great-horse sense;
and / was simply willing to risk my
reputation as prophet in what he
would do if the emergency arose.
1t did arise We all recall his message
to congress in the fall Of 1901. the sub
sequent introduction of what is pop
ularly known as the Newlands.. bill, and
how it became law June II, 1902.
This was quick work, but as William
Allen White said of Cleveland, Roose-
welt is a man who does things" The
secret history of this bill is not yet
known, and will not be until the his
torian of the future shall record 1t. We
know some of the things that Roose-
Welt had to contend with. From the
very first, he enthusiastically threw
himself heart and soul into the move-
ment. He found a hostile speaker.
The speaker was from the middle west
and, strange to say, the people of this
region were inclined to look askance
at any scheme that offered greater
agricultural competition. The people
of the middle west were not imhued.
to anv great extent, with the nhilos-
x~.ss 49, '--'---.