The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1912-04-18

ers will not be disenfranchised, that
they will have their preference re-
corded. It is their demands that will
be heard in Chicago and that will re.
suit in Colonel Roosevelt's nomina.
ton.
NOW THE IRRIGATION CLUB
Work on Reclamation Projects Held
Up Until States Send Taft
Delegates.
Letters received at the Taft head.
quarters in Washington from some Of
the arid land states of the Rocky
Mountain region show that the use
OF the Federal patronage club as .
means of forcing the election Of Taft
delegates to the Republican national
convention Is only one of the schemes
By which the Taft managers are seek.
ing to bring about the denomination
of their candidate, regardless of the
desire of the rank and file of the Re
publican party. These letters report
a new method Of applying Federal
pressure. 1t is an astonishing meth
cd, and it evidences a desperation on
the part of the Taft managers which
could hardly be believed If the evi.
dence were not so clear.
This new method has to do with
the national irrigation policy. Ono
of the greatest achievements of Theo-
dore Roosevelt's administration was
the adoption of this national irriga-
ton policy and the creation of the
reclamation service for the establish.
ment of irrigation works in the dry.
land states Of the west, and the open.
ing up Of the lands thus reclaimed to
farm settlement. The work has been
enormously successful Thousands of
substantial farmers have found homes
upon land made astonishingly fertile
by irrigation, which before the adop-
ton of this policy lay idle and unpro-
ductive. Millions of acres of sage
brush have been made productive Of
enormous crops. The work has been
Of fncalculabie value to the nation as
whole. Now. for purely political
reasons and in the effort to force
the selection Of delegates to the Re-
publican national convention who win
vote for the denomination Of Mr.. Taft.
this great irrigation work has receiv-
ed a tremendous check. A single H.
lustration sufaces to show: In tho
State Of Colorado there are two irri-
cation projects under way. one IL
what is known as the Grand Valley
project, the other what is known as
the Gunnison Tunnel project. The
Grand Valley project was started by
the reclamation service ir 1908, when
James r. Garfield. one Of Colonel
Roosevelt's enthusiastic supporters,
was Secretary of the INTERIOR The
contracts were approved rand tts
work commenced. Thirty days after
the Inauguration of MFnTa5t andnthe
installation of Richard A. BALM gar Ias
sss's stecDeS Of |, .os.
soss. s sGIs:5 se a.' s ss:s
s sssas of sas '2 SgHss p's Il.
whole project is YOU'D up ia red
tape and delay. Tbedsah6 or acfes
Of land that might by thi} time Have
been brought under w{tef aOLfnrnish
homes for many families, and pr6duo-
tive farms of great k1uo to The ma.
as5s'5Sai SE:uk 81 81! 9 s;.. e;
department At the SANE tfmy. work
on the Gunnison tA&I kQtx stand.
s :'''' '1s e sistPsti1s s 6:
ss% 9sss .s s YssS; e. ssas :.
twenty-five million dollars ($2b. 900.
o00) in order that certain Of these
projects which had been started
Hight ID hurried through ID fdmple-
don. eOf this fund one million Ave
hundred thousand dollars ( $500, 00ed
was allotted to the Grand Valley
project fbdtI -stilf THE word war mot
given itos commence work under this
allotment and nothingiisa done Word
now comes to- the Roosevelt head.
quarters in Washington that the re-
clamation service agents upon some
Of these suspended projects have re-
ceived direct information from the de-
partment Of the interior plainly stat
ing that this and other irrigation
projects are being held up until the
different states affected report prop
erly to Washington on the subject Of
delegates to the Republican national
convention,
It is not a question with. the Taft
managers Of the development, of the
arid lands of the, vert it is not q
question Of the reclamation of thou.
sands Of acres Of sagebrgsh and the
opening up of hundreds Of productive
farms,it Is not a question of the in
creAses 81 the com of the coun.
try. itGisl lonlytai question: Of driving
through the selection ofs q few more
TAFT delegates to the, Chicago ;conSSn.
ton. .0oasd aiIIs1'd--.isdmy3
.'Ths Roosevelt delegates, not ne
TAFT delegates, viii SIT and vote In sIhs
Republican national conventions In oht
eako. tbecause the aRepublican p1rty
A>ss