Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-09-10
WHAT DANIEL
DIDN'T KNOW
He Declared That the Entire
West Wasn't Worth
a Rap
GREAT PROGRESS SINCE THEN
Eight States Created and Two
More Now Stand at the
Door.

OF today, commonly called boosters" ;"
are used to having their visions and
predictions taken with a grain of salt
in painting the future of the west un-
der complete development by means
Of reclamation and intensive cultiva-
tion, yet beside the prophets of old
concerning this section, their state
ments of what the future will bring
are not at all startling.
With the figures before him showing
the marvellous growth of the vast
country beyond the Missouri river, a
man recently delved into the past his
tory of what was once known as the
Great American Desert" so that he
might prepare a few comparative
tables. He went so far back that he
found a beginning not only in the
nothingness quite usual to new coun-
try but found also a prophecy that
the region, which now produces in var
ious ways over two thousand millions
Of dollars worth of marketable things
a year, was relegated seventy years
ago to the position at present occu-
pied by the Desert of Sahara.
The period of prophecy was 1S43,
The occasion was bill for the estab-
lishment of a mail route across the
desert" The place was the United
States Senate, and the prophet was
Daniel Webster. He knew OF the
Lewis and Clark expedition, and had
read about it. He knew of the Ore
gon and California trails. He opposed
the bill. He called the vast area now
one of the richest sections OF the
country "a vast and worthless area"
He referred to it as region OF
savages and will beasts.
Steel rails were laid along the old
trails. The savages and wild beasts
were brushed aside, and waving fields
of grain and great herds of cattle took
the place Of the land of waste and
destruction. In recent years irriga
ton has supplied part of the bar
rem regions with abundant water, ant
the last vestiges of the desert" viii
have been removed when the govern
ment and private plans for an exten
sion of the system of canals and ditch
es have been completed.
One concrete example is the Ar
kansas Valley of Kansas and Colorado
once treked by buffalo, dreary will
sagebrush and greaseweed and sand
dunes, but now comprising half mil
lion acres of irrigated garden lands
and producing last year 16 million dol
lars worth of agricultural and horti
cultural products. It is within this
section that the greatest development
agency of the land, the National Irri
cation Congress, will hold its session
Pueblo, September 26-30.
Another example of the change Ii
the valley of the Platte, once disma
and dry region, produced corn in 190'
valued at s9O,00O,O0O. Superlativt
expressions only tell the story ade
quately of the advancement in th'
"Great American Desert" Kansas val
ued her livestock in 1908 at nearl!
$500,000,000. The output of mines o
gold and silver dwindles into insight
ficance when compared with the year
" productivity of the farming states
Colorado in fifty years got out of hel
mines a little more than $1,OOO,OOO,O 600
Webster knew nothing about the flu
ture of Great American Desert" He
knew as little about the Pacific coas,
region. He called it "a coast Of three
thousand miles, rockbound, cherries
uninviting." 1t was to be reached b!
mail service. There are rocks ou
there But if any earthly paradise il
luninviting, then is the Pacific coas
"cheerless, uninviting."
It can be understood why there wa:
ignorance of conditions in the grea
western dominion seventy years ago
Travel and romance go hand in hand
The travellers in those day gave added
flavor to their tales by pictures of the
difficulties they had to overcome. Bu
the railroads annihilated rich fielt
for the imaginative writer.
When the Union Pacific railroad
was projected it's inception was du
to what President Lincoln believed t.
be a military necessity The govern
ment lent it's aid to pay the enormou
expense of the undertaking. Today tn
railroads are carrying thousands Q
: settlers into the former desert" an
: as soon as the great irrigation plan
are completed there will be room i
: that district for a population as grea
as there is at present east of the Mi:
sissippi.
There are eight states that come e'
pecially into this zone of vast deve
opment that is in continuous progress
They are Nebraska, Kansas, COLORADO
]. Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon an
Washington. In their varied climati
conditions, diversity of so,ls and ell
vations every taste or need OF tn
settler can be satisfied. In the irr
gated districts there is enough Ian
at moderate prices for many tho'
y sands of homeseekers.
y These states in 1908 produced ce
e eals, fruits and by-products Of hv
;, stock worth more than $1,000,000,00
The value of the livestock owned