The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-11-05
SEE RESULT OF
PIONEERS WORK
Members of Senate Committee
interested in Local In
SpectiOn Tour.
WARM PRAISE FOR UTAH
STATES REPRESENTATIVES, IN
CONGRESS DO GOOD WORK.

Members of the senate committee on
reclamation of arid lands spent yesterday
in Salt Lake, going over the ground where
irrigation was first practiced on the west
ern hemisphere and viewing the results
of this work on the Mormon pioneer as
shown in Salt Lake, Davis and Weber
counties.
Included in the party were Senator
Thomas II. Carter OF Montana, CHAIRMAN
of the committee; Senator Wesley Il
Jones of Washington; Senator trancls Z
Warren of Wyoming; Senator NnIlaIn ~.
BOrah of Idaho; Frederick II. Newer
chief of the reclamation service IL w
Smith of san Francisco. +. AZ Wadieigh
of Denver, assistant general passenger
agent of the Denver x RIO Gfande; ote-
phen J. Murphy, sergeant at arms or TIE
TTnifed States Senate, Governor William
Spry. Congressman Joseph HoWeH anu
Senator George Sutherland, VINO Is
member of thu senate committee; ); T.
Cosgriff of Salt Lake, a personal IIienu
of Senator Warren, also accompanied the
partv on an automobile trip around salt
Lake and Fort Douglas. a..
After. seeing the city and making a TRIP
to the lake the party, including Senator
Sutherland left for FallO1, New, at z:5O
Yesterday afternoon, where they viii IN
spect the Carson-TTIckee irrigation prof.
eel and the Lake Tahoe reservoir, before
proceedings to the Pacific coast, Inc
senators will go to the northwest ana
then return to Washington by way OF Ar
iona, New Mexico and Texas
Work of Pioneers.
? Irrigation work in Utah, as outlined to
the visiting senator's began on the day
the pioneers entered salt Lake valley,
July "a, 1871 when their first act was TO
turn the waters Of City creek out upon
the barren waste, before they could pene-
trate the soil with their plOWs- IL was
Arthur L. Thomas, then governor OF the
territory OF Utah, who was chairman OF
the first executive committee of the trrl-
cation congress of the United States, and
it was Postmaster Thomas, then governor,
who called the first irrigation congress
81 that ever met in the United States, and
it convened in Salt Lake. The
work of Governor Thomas, as one of the
prime movers in organizing the first ma
tiOnal meeting of men interested in re
claiming the west. was commented on by
members of the committee yesterday, who
called attention to the TACT that tht
United States government. since thai
time, 1891, had spent S50,000,000 in reclaim
ing the deserts OF the west through irri-
cation and had pans for spending as
much more in the next few years
The election Of Arthur I. Thomas as
chairman of the executive committee OF
the first national irrigation congress fol
lowed suggestion of Francis G New
lands, who at that congress said
Mr.. Chairman and gentlemen of tbs
convention: We all realize that this con
vention has been a success. We all know
that the organization of this convention
is due to the untiring energy of the gov
iernor of Utah. Governor Thomas. and l
seems to me it would be a graceful anC
appropriate thing by unanimous consent
TO add Governor Thomas 70 this executive
committee, that we may avail ourselves
of the abilities which he has shown 81
largely in the organization of this con
ventiOn. I make a motion to this effect.
This motion was carried unanimously.
Utah's Part In Plan.
"Utahs participation in the work o
the reclamation of arid lands, which be
gan before statehood, has been carried
on with increasing effectiveness since tn
days of your pioneers" said a membe
of the committee yesterday. Senate
Sutherland. a member of our committee
has been an earnest supporter of ever,
measure in congress that had for its oh
iect the enlargement of the scope OF lam
reclamation in the west and although
Utah is directly affected by every NOV
in this direction, the work of Senate
Sutherland has been broad in every de