The Ordway new era., 1906-10-12
coloM9L RoAN'o Avro.
piTcHgR INVENTION.
TO RETAIN THE RAINFALL
Machine That Saws Grooves In the
Soil 70 Absorb Watsr-Endorssd BY
Senator Teller st Denver Cham.

Senator Teller st Denver Cham.
bsr Of Commerce Meeting.
At q recent weekly luncheon OF tho
Denver Chamber OF Commerce. the
most important topic discussed was
that OF Col. Albert T. Morgnn's auto
saw ditcher as a means Of conserving
the rainfall upon our arid plalnB. Sen.
ator Henry NJ. Teller was the princi.
pal speaker and the subject was con.
sidered by n large number OF promi.
movement to raise $4,000 to give Col
onei Morgan's invention for iririgat.
ing Colorado's arid regions. known as
the auto-ditcher. n thorough test.
After tho luncheon. President A. J.
Spengel introduced the subject by com.
pIimenting the chamber In having Sen.
ator Teller us one of its guests. He
announced the latter an the first
speaker. Senator Teller said In part:
"Thc reclamation of arid lands IL
really the most important thing we
have had to deal with In Colorado. 1t
Is true We have reclaimed some land
and the United States government Is
making some progress In retaining
more.
I'VE are pretty near the limit OF wa.
ter. and still we have millions OF acres
OF fertile land. Can II be watered?
Still another vital question arising Is.
can II be watercd Mt n cost not to ex-
ceed So an acre. Colonel Morgan
seems to think that II can be done for
less than that amount. Even II II can
be watered at 81 an acre n proht can
be made to the farmer. II II can he
accomplished for less than that
amount the farmers profit would be
correspondingly greater.
But II the arid lands OF Colorado
are to be thus used. you gentlemen OF
the chamber OF commerce Will have to
help. You must pu. your shoulders TO
the wheel and help raise the necessary
money to try an experiment. i have
looked into tho matter OF cutting
bitches as suggested by Colonel Nor
gan. and / believe he knows what he Is
talking about realize how hard 1t Is
for all inventors to get the public to
take hold of new inventions. :.
I'm the sixty years OF my HE
could name you at least dozen things
that are today the wonders OF the
f,rst. Colonel Morgan's invention Is
new and the public doubts It. ! be-
lieye his invention is n good thing,
and I have aided him. One thing is
certain, Colorado cannot get enough
water between Denver and Its Kansas
and Nebraska borders to accomplish
successful farming. We evaporatc
more than twice as much water an
nually from lakes and rivers as they
do In the east. Think OF what Is
would mean to Denver and the state
OF Colorado II by testing the invention
of Colonel Morgan even n small part
OF what he claims could be accom-.
plished. In no time Denver would
have twice as many people and the
state would increase in population ac-
cordingly.
Senator Teller was frequently inter
rupted by applause and when he con
cluded 1t was n moment or two be-
fore President Spengel could Introduce
Colonel Morgan. He did SO by an
nouncing that the members would
next be called upon to listen TO
dreamer" Mr.. Spengel prefaced MS
Introduction by explaining that when
young man in an Office in st. Louis
his employer, then president OF the
Board OF Trade of that city. had told
the inventor of the telephone that al
he had was toy and that 1t would
never amount to anything. IL oniy
illustrates, Mr.. Spengel argued. that
all great inventions are first brought
about by persistent dreaming.
Colonel Morgan said:
ut is with some embarrassment
that am about to invite you, the city
of Denver and the state OF Colorado,
to take little step in the dark. In
all history, all progress of the human
race has come to us out of the dark.
promise you that all discoveries
have transformed the world, but none
shall outshine mine. II has been pro-
posed that you raise $4,000 to take
this step into the dark. The first ma
chine had constructed only cost $3.-
900 and the step you are asked TO
take now may not cost more, yet 1t
is always best to be prepared for any
emergencies.
What propose to do is to take
strip OF land covered with brown
green patch. There are now some
370.000.000 of acres OF land lying
above the ditch line OF water, and
with my invention ! propose to re-
claim every acre OF the land. wish
to demonstrate that there Is not "a
single acre of land above ditch line
| that cannot be made adaptable to az
| r.culture or horticulture.
Possibly we could move the bitches
a little higher up. but how about the
| reservoirs. The government is plac-
Ing them beyond the reach OF farmers.
away out on the plains. I have seen
one inch of water fall on the plains
and quickly be sucked up into mist
and carried away, to fall and irrigate
sections that really did not need 1t.
| Before going further / wish to say
that the Campbell system Is good and
30 are all systems that will help to till