Gunnison news-champion., 1911-03-31

The second Annual ConveutIan ef
the Western Slope Isve.apmesi
Congress met las; week "Wednesday
aud Tharsday at Delts aad Resulted
IA mnch good being accomplished
by the interchange ii views. the
focusing Of psbhe opsnion lato Ger
tain channels aud the harmonlzsHg
af ideas of the diverse eommaaIties
represented.
The hrst dav of the congress was
. disappointment, IA that oHly two
thirds Of the expected deiegatioas
were present and many speakers
billed, failed 10 appear la fact the
management seems 10 have pat pro
mineut men ON the program without
either eonsul,atlon or even a promise
b. SPEAK Bv the second day, the
work before the convention had been
cut out. and some systemstle effort
WAS made 30 resrrsaRe the program
and accomplish results
Gsnnison county had the largest
delegation present, aud cur people
were active aud Influential IN the
proceedings. VI. c Bartlett was
made our representative m the com
mittee on credentials, Mrs. X h
Lewis committee member on per-
manent organization, aad place of
meeting, while T w Gray aud Geo
Hetherington acted upon the resolu-
tions committee. Good delegations
were from Grand Junction, Clifton,
Palisades. Fruita. Cedaredge, PaonIa,
Hotchklss, Telluride, Ouray. Silver
ton, Cortez, Durango. Montrose,
0lathe and Delta.
The president Of the association,
Senator Horace LeI.one of Mesa coun-
ty, acted as chairman. with X. j
Mshoney, secretary of the Grand
Junctlon Chamber OF Commerce, as
secretary of the meeting.
Judge John q. Bell of Montrose,
sas chosen az president for next
year, with Tony Mcneil, secretary,
Montrose, is the place Of meeting for
1912. II +. Lake Jr was appoint
cd to represent Gunnison county up
ON the executive board
Daring the first afternoon, DR.
Lory of Fort Collins, made an ad-
dress upon the agricultural college
and its work. and Senator LeLone
outlined the idea of the congress.
That evening, the fret subject pro-
minently discussed was that of forest
reserves and grazing. II is bunch
of ultra conservatIonists down there.
and they had it very much their own
way Isasc Baer, president of that
branch of the stockmen known as
the Colorado Live Stock association,
made an address in which he en-
phasized the needs of the cattlemen
for better range. and fact, accord
ing to his lights that few NAV srlcks
in the hills were worth more than
settlers. Indeed he openly lamented
the ignorant attempt of homsteaders,
to exc out living within the re-
serves, and told of their discourage
ments and offered his sympathy.
In this discussion Gunnison was
represented by r W. Gray who,
however, made the best speech on
the subject from that standpoint
1 1t was topic ON which our Gunnl-
son delegation had agreed to dis
agree, and the net result in the re-
solutions was queer hodgepodee of
resolves, half of them for reserves
, and leasing and conservation and the
other half dead opposed 1t might
be said that the result of the
meeting 30 far was nugatory, al
though the deadly shadow of Mr..
Pinchot hung over the proceedings.
Then came the question Of good
roads, where everybody was intensely
interested. c. r. Allen, of Denver,
president of the Colorado Highway
commission. made a sensible address,
and as he told Of the need of roads.
and the proposed measures before
the legislature, opinion settled itself
in their favor. Warden lyman Of
the state penitentiary told of the
work Of the convicts His recon-
mendation is that the state prisoners
pc used in large gangs and only up
on through state highways such as
the Rainbow Route. Ii is proposed
TO use them first ON the Western
Slope in connection with the road
! being built between Delta and the
junction around southwest end of
Grand mesa. for strange to say there
never has been a good road through
this fifty miles Of broken tablelands,
and adobe gulches lyman told
how the honor system and the open
air work had made men Of the con
victs- Every time a prisoner works
thirty DAYS on the roads, he gets ten