The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-10-06
CASE OPENS 1T.
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upon me to do our part in making
IT yet more glorious. We cannot do
1t alone by resolutions, by speech
making, or by the painting of pictures.
Definite action, hard work with a pur-
pose, intelligent planning and practi-
cal every day common sense in meet
ing conditions are what count Abuse
or corporations radical and ill digest
eo legislation, street corner haran CUES
and populistic schemes do not avail.
TO accomplish the things that make
for greatness we must be broadmind-
ed, fearless and determined to win.
Men OF such character make up this
organization. The whole nation is
proud of what we have accomplished
and it looks to us to suggest. ways to-
do yet more. -..se- ..s ~, 80 =,
We represent today states and ter
ritories that are rich in soil. rich in
minerals, with rivers of power and
ports that open outward to the worlds
markets. Seventy per cent of the ma
tons territory is ours, the granary
of the United States, the bread and
meat baskets of the civilized world
The European and the Asiatic alike
eat our flour and steak, use our ma
chinery, and wear our cotton and
wool. Across the eastern border of
this empire of ours pours an unceasing
every year-not such immigration as
.pollutes the great Atlantic coast.
cities, but men and women who, are
the flower of. American and European
industry, who come to labor by our
sides and want to see the west hlos-
som into a great garden. We well
come their coming for they are of
sterling WORTH like the average west
erner, and. are ready to give and to
take, as the seasons come and CO.. In
nothing is the west more fortunate.
today than in the high character of
its incoming population We welcome
every one-may they all live long and
prosper. Al IS
Reclamation Service.
Our great west, 1.-THE Transmississippi
west, has grown amazingly in fertility
as better nicholson agriculture have
the old areas produce more abundant
| ly. Then the gevGEnment has come in
with its-wondeffsib recla nation service
and, has awakenedsth sleeping. desert
, The work as a. whole rivals the Pana-
ma canal in. the labor and expense in
| volved. The employment of $4,000
men and the. expenditure f 81, 1000
every month ares but incidents in the
service, Already the capals, COM
pleted reach total of 1875 miles
as far as from San Francisco to Kan
sas. City. Homes have been made for
| ten thousand families. where before
was barren land. In the past five
years $50, 900, 900 has been spent, and
the enterprises already planned Will
add more than a hundred millions to
this sum. Nor is this money spent in
one locality. In New Mexico one of
the largest dams in the world is being
constructed. In California and Ne
Vada great reservoirs and irrigation.
plants are being built. In western
Kansas. the beet sugar raisers have a
$3.50, 200 plant for. pumping to the sur
face the "underfiow," found a few feet
beneath the top soil of the Arkansas
river valley that bitches may be filled
and crops made certain. On seven
great projects. involving the expendi-
ture of s51, 100000 and the reclama-
ton of over a million acres. the bene-
fit is directly to the northwest. These
| projects lie in North and South Da-'
| kot Montana and Washington. In
these states lands that have been con-
| sidered as worthless except for the
transformed No private enterprise
could undertake the vast plans being
carried on by the government. 1t has
| excavated forty-seVen tunnels. with a
total length of eleven miles. Among
it's accomplishments are "a large
! structures, SO headworks. fumes,
ETC.; it has built 375 miles of wagon
road in mountainous country, has 1927
miles of telephone lines, has manufac-
tured in it's own mill ninety thousand
mills has cut over three million feet
of lumber. All this indicates a work
of the first magnitude. 1t will be re-
| turned many fold to the nation
And want to praise this branch OF
i government enterprise; it is a marvel
I of helpfulness for which we should all
| be thankful. 1t deserves our cooper
| ation-for it is only on the threshold
! of it's accomplishments. The time will
/ come when every drop of water that
| falls on the states embraced in the
| Transmississippi states will be made to
give it's full measure OF; production to
1 the soil. When that time comes the
! Transmississippi Commercial congress
will represent millions of wealth
where it now represents thousands.
! Along with this utilization of the
rainfall so that it makes the soil pro-
duce up to its limit of fertility are
new methods of agriculture, encour-
| aged and aided by the government
through experiment stations. that are
adding immensely to the ability of the
western farmer who produces crops
regularly, and in satisfactory quantl-
/ ties The western farmer has great
err ability in crop production today
than at any time in his history and the
! income of his farm is increasing stead
lily. In fact there is throughout the
Trans Mississippi country one grand
forward march of production that is
the marvel of the world and reflects
magnificent tribute upon the men
and women who dwell on the fertile
acres that we call home.
Homestead Lands.
Let us hope that settlement of the
unoccupied lands will be encouraged
| by the government in sensible ways:
i The idea prevailing in early days of
the republic. that the public domain
should be used as a revenue producer,
abandoned in favor of the better meth
i cd of using the same for settlement.
should not be- revived. The west
/ should be settled up. The quicker the
/ public domain passes into private
! ownership, the better it will be for US.
Dry farming homesteads should be en-
| larRad to at least 220 or $40 acres.