The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-03-26
Senator Hansbrough is Working
on New Plan
TO GET into RECLAMATION FUND
STILL TRYING TO GET MONEY TO
DRAIN SWAMP LANDS IN
DAKOTA.

Senator Hansbrough is bringing all
! possible pressure to bear to secure ia
vorable action in the house on his bill
segregating s1,OOO.OOO from the recla-
nation fund to be used in the drain
age of enormous swamps in North Da-
| kota. The house committee on public
lands gave a hearing to Senator Hans
| brough, and he made a strong argu-
| ment in support of his bill, in the hope
OF having it favorably reported. Many
members of the committee showed in
terest in the proposition, and quite a
number seemed favorable to it, is the
report that comes from washington.
But there is another element, par
ticularly men from the arid states,
who do not regard the bill with favor,
for they believe it will interfere with
the work laid out by the national rec
lamation law, and will, moreover, es-
tablish a dangerous precedent. These
men will unite to kill the Hansbrough
bill
It has been pointed out heretofore
that the passage of this bill would
open the way for making further in
roads on the reclamation fund, and in
substantiation Of that prediction, three
different bills have been produced in
| the house, along the lines Of the Hans
| brough bill proposing to use part OF
the reclamation fund for retaining
swamps, one of them in North Caro-
lima, that contributes not cent to
the reclamation fund, and state that
has no public lands.
Objections to Bill.
| But there are some other objections
to the Hansbrough bill. To begin with
| it proposes to utilize government
money in draining vast swamps that
are owned entirely by large cattle
and stock interests. Not an acre of
| the swamps is public property; title
has already passed to private owners
and the entire benefit of the expendi-
ture of this million dollars out of the
reclamation fund would be for the ben
eft of private land owners.
The bill is contrary to the spirit of
| the reclamation law in that it does
not contemplate the reclamation OF
arid lands; it does not contemplate
home building but is purely legislation
in the interest of a few wealthy men.
A peculiar thing about this bill,
was passed through the senate "out OF
courtesy to Senator Hansbrough' and
was given no consideration whatever
! Il was not discussed in any manner
Likewise, it was reported by the SEN
| ate committee on irrigation for the
/ same reason, and Notwithstanding the
| fact that several MEMBERS of the COM
mittee believed it to be bad legislation
It was never referred to the secretary
! of the interior for report, yet it is q
bill THAT proposes to utilize a part OF
| the reclamation fund that is entrusted
entirely to the secretary of the in
terror
Open Discussion Feared.
The truth is, Senator Hansbrough
has endeavored to railroad" this bill
through congress, fearing that if II
should be fairly and openly discussed
it would be defeated.
! From the start made, it is safe to
predict that the passage of this bill
would lead to other bills OF a like
i character each one calling for a mil
lion dollars or more, to reclaim
| swamps in all parts of the United
! States, and the result will be that the
reclamation fund, instead of being
utilized to reclaim the arid lands of
the west will be used to drain swamps
which have, for the most part, passed
into the hands of wealthy land own
ers 1t is time western men walked
up to the Importance of the Hans
brough bill, and kill it before it be-
comes too late