The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1910-12-08
NEWS OF THE
NATIONS CAPITAL
Especial to the Silver State.)
BY r. ]. DYER.

ol JuiS cUuutIy III cOnutctlOH WlJH
millions amassed in the sugar business.
The head of the family died recently,
but left several sons, whom he had
trained up in business ways, to inherit
his fortune, and they have added
largely to what he gave them by their
own efforts. One of these young men,
Rudolf Spreckels, came to Washing
ton about two weeks ago with a plan,
which he has been working on for sew
eral years, to arouse the American peo-
pie to "a sense of their rights and re-
sponsibilities, which they have almost
wholly resigned to the professional
politicians and chronic office holders.
Mr.. Spreckels would go further than
this, and through the people compel a
better and more honest management of
the great corporations of the country.
Eventually he says, cit is the or
binary citizen who has to pay for cor
ruption and mismanagement in bust
ness and politics. 1t is the purpose
of Mr.. Spreckels to establish nation
al movement through which he hopes
the public conscience may be aroused.
Perhaps is is immaterial how the de-
tails for his CRUSADE will be planned
and carried out, but many people will
consider it refreshing that man still
young, possessed of ample fortune and
thoroughly trained in the school of
business, is planned to devote the
remainder of his life and large por-
ton of his fortune to what ought to
be very practical and thoroughly sue
cessful work in the interest of man
kind.
New Major General to Be Named.
Major General Duval, in command
of the army in the Philippines, will
retire for age January 13. Brigadier
General Funston, in command at Fort
Leavenworth, stands at the head of
the list of brigadiers, where he has
been for some years. General Funs-
ton is still young man and he has
advanced with rapidity from rank to
rank since he first entered the army
from civil life and without much
military experience. Tt is not at all
certain that General Fanston will be
promoted to fill the vacancy created
by the retirement of General Duval,
as it is not the custom in the army
to make promotions solely with regard
to sniority. While General Funston
has a great many friends who hope
to see him promoted, there is a strong
feeling in the army that it would be
unfair to advance him to a rank where
he would probably remain for a great
many years, precluding the possibility
of any older men in the brigadier class
from achieving the honor of this pro-
motion before they should die or be
retired for age. There seems to be no
argument against General Funston IS
promotion except these, which in the
opinion of great many army men
are sufficient.
The officer who seems to have the
most consideration for promotion is
Brigadier General Murray, chief of the
coast artillery an officer whose long
and distinguished service points to
him as the natural successor of Gen
eral Duval. He is considered one of
the ablest men in the army. He serv-
ed in Cuba and the Philippines with
distinction. he has ALWAYS been Jealous
and efficient, and he will retire in 1915.
To the other brigadier generals who
have some hope of promotion this last
is not the least argument why General
Murray should at present be con-
sidered for the major generalship.
Interesting Plant Discoveries.
An agricultural explorer of the de-
partment of agriculture has spent the
year exploring the plant resources of
southwestern Asia. Among the large
number of interesting things he has
secured is a variety of alfalfa from
Erivan, which is said to be longer
lived than the Turkestan species of
Medicago from an altitude of over 4,
600 feet, which is already being utiliz-
ed in the work of creating new hybrid
alfalfa for the northwest; a wild al
mond from the Zarafshan valley,
found growing on the mountain sides
at an altitude of 5000 feet; drought
resisting cherry for home gardens in
the northwest; and a collection of april
cots with sweet kernels from Samary-
and; the Afghanian apple and special
varieties of pears for trial in the
Gulf states; some remarkable olives,
lures and still borne good crops of
fruit; late and early varieties of Cau-
casian peaches for trial in the south
west; seeds collected in the Caucasus
from wild plants of the pure Paradise
apple, which is used as a dwarf stock
for the purpose of obtaining seedlings
not infested with crown gall; scions of
newly produced crab apple, report
ed to be better keeper than Ameri-
can crab apples; the Slew Abrikose, a
variety of apricot with skin as
smooth as that of nectarine; re-
markable drought resistant popular for
the middle west; and wild straw
berry, fruiting at the end of February
on the dry calcareous cliffs of the eau
casus.
Irrigation Investigations.
The Office of experiment stations
has endeavored to enlarge its plans to
meet the demands for information. In
the past, water for irrigation purposes
was plentiful, and in the oldschool
wasted. Tn many parts of the west
this old method still prevails, but the
improved principle of irrigation advo-
Gated by the department is rapidly
displacing those of former days and
method of use great quantities were
good results are noticeable. When the
! irrigators of the San Joaquin valley
81 hax,n srrssxat.cn {hax, mead nx-a,