Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-12
WAS A CLOSE FINISH
JUDGE SMITHS RECONCILIATION
TO CONGRESS.
Represents the Largest District in
Area in the United States
Texas Constituency.

Judge William Robert Smith, who rep
resents the sixteenth Texas district in the
House of Representatives, and who has
been in Washington since the adjournment
of Congress, has received word of his re-
nomination as result of the recent pri-
marles in his bailiwick. Owing to the fact
that Judge Smith renained here attending
to his sick wife and to matters of business
before the departments affecting his state
and district, his denomination was accom-
plished by very slim majority. His abb
sence, 1t is said, was taken advantage of
by the supporters of his opponent. ]. F.
Cunningham. also a democrat, who
stumped the entire district in his own be-
half.
1T was a close finish after a strenuous
campaign on the part of Cunningham"
said one of Judge Smiths friends last
night, but devotion to duty won notwith-
standing that a large sum Of money was
spent on the other side. Judge Smith came
to Washington last September and has re-
manned here ever since. In the meantime
his opponents went over the big district
with fne-toothed comb, as 1t WERE
Largest in the Union.
The district represented by Judge Smith
is said to be the largest in area in the
United States. 1t is larger than the entire
New England states and includes fifty
seven counties. 1t embraces nearly one
third of the state of Texas and is 500 miles
long by 400 miles wide. 1t is of a sort Of
diamond shape and is as large the great
state OF Pennsylvania One of the counties
Is FL Paso. and person can travel across
the county IT'S miles on the railroad. In
order to reach some parts of his district
Judge Smith has to travel 200 miles in a
private conveyance or on horseback
he ciyfp lie
tr1ct, which form a large part of it's area,
were formerly used as grazing ground for
cattle and horses. 1t was not believed that
they could be successfully cultivated at that
time, but now great quantities of cotton
are grown on them. In other parts of the
district there are said to be great mineral
possibilities that are as yet undeveloped.
Previous to the coming to Congress of
Representative Smith, six years ago he
was reputed to be the youngest judge in
the state. One Of his accomplishments at
the last session of Congress was Dill he
had passed extending the benefits Of the
reclamation act to Texas. 1t appears that
under the act Of 1892 all the arid states
and territories except Texas were included
sion Of the Lone Star state was that when
Texas came into the Union she retained all
her public lands, and there was therefore
no government ownership there.
$7,0OO,OOO Irrigation Plant
In his first term, winter before last
Judge Smith secured the construction Of
an irrigation plant in the Rio Grande VAL
ley which cost in round figures $1,000, 0OO
Since that time he has negotiated through
the Department of State treaty with old
Mexico providing for an equitable distri-
button of the waters of the Rio Grande
for irrigation purposes and settling claims
amounting to s40.0OO.000 which had been
preferred by Mexico against this govern
ment because of the alleged deprivation of
citizens of Mexico of water from the Rio
Grande for irrigating their lands. This
States Senate and awaits ratification by
the senate of Mexico.