The Paonia newspaper., 1910-05-27


where honor is due, the following
/ tribute to the memory OF Mead
Hammond by Judge VIM. II. Cab
bert before the Western Slope Bar
association held at Montrose, Mon
day, May %, is timely. Old settlers
know, but new ones do not, that
the phenomenal growth of Montrose
and Delta as well as the whole Un-
comphagre valley is due to the in
domitable will of that diamond in
the rough who claimed Paonia as
his home. Let it be remembered
all that 1t is and all it expects to be
to the ridiculed vagaries and the
tenacious persistence OF Mead Ham
mond. In his address Judge Gabbert
said:
MANY engaged in the practice OF
law have achieved fame and distinc-
ton outside of their profession. OF
this class the Bar of the Seventh
district has furnished a striking ex-
ample. Not many years since. a man.
| AACN sA'eCt-StAtt yooaes oNeah sAS
practice Of law In the town of Pa
onia- He was not educated or pol
ished, but he possessed In an eminent
degree that which contributes to
success-common sense. He prac-
ticed his profession with varying re-
Suits Finally his neighbors, recog-
nizing his sterling worth. elected him
n member of the General Assembly.
He had watched the development of
his own county and the county OF
Montrose and appreciated what a
vast amount of energy, combined
with a little water, had accomplished.
The energy was here, but the water
was not. The flow of the Uncom-
pahgre and it's tributaries was ex-
hausted. and yet there were thou
sands of acres in this vicinity which
only needed water to convert them
into fertile farms. He bad noticed
that down through the almost i'm
penetrable Black Canon vast vol
umn of water flowed which. If d.
verted into this valley, could be util-
lied in converting barren lands into
productive farms.
And so he conceived the plan of
tunneling through the divide between
the Uncompahgre and Gunnison as
the means by which water of no
benefit to any one could be obtained.
with which to make valuable, lands
that were practically valueless. BY
many IL was regarded as impractic-
able. and impossible. but that was
nothing new. Fulton. when trying
to perfect the steamboat. was ridi-
culed. Field, when he first planned
to bring the Old and the New World
into instant communication, was
looked upon as visionary. In fact,
nearly every great enterprise along
new lines which has been carried to
successful termination, has been ridi-
culed at the outset. 1t was a gigan-
tic undertaking. but, undaunted by
opposition, he persisted in his efforts
as n member OF the General Assembly
to induce the state to undertake the
construction of the tunnel which his
foresight convinced him would be of
such benefit to Colorado and the
Western Slope, until he succeeded in
persuading a sufficient number of
his associates to vote an appropria-
ton of $3.50 to start the tunnel he
firmly believed was feasible and
would accomplish so much.
Under his direction it was COM
menced. The money appropriated
did not drive the great bore very far;
but the discussion of the subject by
the press attracted the attention of
the general government, and it un-
dertook the great work which, but
for the persistence OF the one who
believed IL would be a success, would
still be subject to talk about as a
possibility instead OF a reality.
"You know the results. The coun-
ties of Montrose and Delta took on
new life. The towns of Montrose
and Delta began to grow. Farm
lands have increased In value.
Thousands have come into this