Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-23
BURKETTVISITS BRIDGEPORT
Senator Discusses Position Of Repub-
hcan Party on Conservation.
AGGRESSIVE POR PEOPLES RIGHTS
Democratic Party, Tethered by Its
Traditions, f. Unable 60 Solve
Broad and Comprehensive
Problems.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb., Sept. 22-(Specisl)
Senator Burkett completed his two days
speaking tour down the Platte valley here
tonight before large audience OF en-
thusastic admirers. He is travelling all
the way in automobiles and Is accompanied
on the trip by Congressman Kinkaid, H. T.
Dobbins, editor Of the Lincoln News, and
at different places by other local politicians.
He was given a splendid reception here
tonight by the people who remember well
the long, hard fight he made In their be-
half for the completion Of the third section
OF the ditch. as well as in recognition OF
his services in securing the passage Of the
law which enabled the homesteader on ir-
rigation projects to leave their land when
their homestead period had been completed
even though the ditch had not been finished
and the water was not available. The de-
lay in the completion Of the ditch by the
government found many settlers who had
completed the required time on their home
stead entry, but who could not receive their
title until the water contract required by
the law had been complied with. This
worked a hardship on all the settlers and
disaster TO some, because they could not
get their crops to growing without water.
Senator Burkett took the position that the
settler had compiled with his part Of the
contract in living the required number of
years on the homestead and that the only
reason he could not settle up the water
contract was because the government had
failed to furnish the water that the gov
eminent ought not to take advantage of his
position to keep him there until IL had per-
formed its part of the contract He ac-
cordingly introduced the bill which relieved
the settlers. It is perhaps the most i'm
Law 20 he bo.
enacted since the original irrigation act
itself, and enabled many settlers to hold
their lands until the water should be sup
FILED, and in the meantime to remove there
from in order to gain a livelihood.
Aggressive for Peoples welfare.
While the senator made a political speech
and showed the progress that the nation
had made and the prosperity that the peo-
pie had had under republican policies, 1t
might be said that the keynote to Senator
Burketts speech here was conservation of
natural resources. He declared that what
had kept the republican party In power for
fifty years, practically uninterruptedly was
the fact that II had always kept close to
the people and had always been active and
aggressive for the peoples welfare For
fifty years" said the senator, 1.-The demo-
Gratis have been claiming that they were
the peoples party, and yet year after year,
and election after election the people have
disowned them. and am one of those who
beleye that barring the unfortunate Cleve-
land administration the people have known
what they were doing all the time. Every
body knows how they we're mislead in that
campaign by bogus tin-peddlers and false
statements about the Mckinley tariff bill
and that before they had time to find out
the real truth, election day had passed, the
democratic party put into power. and the
protective tariff. the greatest conservation
policy OF all the ages was swept from the
statute books. The American market that
the republican party had conserved for fifty
years was destroyed In one session of con-
gress by democratic hands. The American
wage scale that had been built up and con-
s~rved by republicans was overthrown by
democratic legislation and the American
home, proverbial the world around under
republican conservation policies, was
shrouded in gloom In the disaster of tnat
democratic administration.
What Republican Party Stands For
THE republican party has always stood
for the conservation OF American resources
and American supremacy. 1t was organ.
tied to conserve national life itself, and
10 preserve It in all its glory and power
for the generations Of men yet unborn