The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-08-20

/ the congress should go to Portland.
And all that the Idaho men could do
was to make a trade with the Ore
gon delegation to support Boise for
the 1906 congress. At all of these
meetings, Reno, New, was still try
ing to get one session and the Idaho
men nearly lost to Reno that time
The Reno delegation put up the ar
gument that the congress had gone
from one extreme to the other, Ell
Paso on the south to Portland in
the rainy country on the coast, where
nobody knew or cared anything
about irrigation, and it was time
now to get it back to the center Of
the great droutH, Reno, New.
Reno Versus Boise
The Reno fellows were pledging
one delegation after another, until it
seemed as if they were going to win
the day. Judge Richards happened
to be in Portland on some legal
business and was just starting
home when the convention was get
ting together for the session that
was to determine whore the next
meeting would be. Some of the
Idaho men who thought that the
battle was likely to be lost sug-
gested that if they could get Judge
Richards to go before the conven-
ton and make a speech, he would
win the day for them, and they
hunted him W. He was on Pull
man ready to start for Boise, and
they took him back up to the con-
vention, and got him on the plat
form in behalf of Idaho. He told
them a simple story of the great
river thru the Oregon country, with
it's great body, its great plains, and
it's history. He told them how the
forces of creation had exhausted
their energies in titanic struggle
to create the biggest irrigation prof.
ects on earth, and to supply water to
irrigate them all. He told of how
we were building reservoirs and can
al systems, and applying the prin-
ciples of irrigation and the enact
ment of the Carey law. He remind
ed them that in Idaho there Is the
demonstration of great resources,
combined with great capital, great
plans, and tremendous undertaking
in the reclamation and irrigation SER
vice that constituted an object les
son worthy of careful study of the
greatest irrigators of the world. He
told them that Idaho wanted them
to see their state and their recla-
nation projects, that special train
would be at their disposal, and they
could ride the full length of the
Snake river valley, viewing some OF
our greatest irrigation projects from
The windows of the Pullman sleer.
err. He stood before the conven.
ton with his hands in his pockets
and told them all these facts in such
plain everyday language that it ap-
pealed to their ideas and the wnoie
delegations were won across to vote
for Boise City and Idaho. After he
had put Reno out OF the running by
making Idaho look big and import
ant, a vote was taken and Boise was
booked for the 1906 convention.
Then he slipped out of the conven-
ton, shaking hands all the way with
the men who pressed forward to con-
graduate him, and he took the next
train for Boise.
In telling you these circumstances,
! have departed somewhat from my
beet story, but l thought you might
like to read of some of the acts OF
men who are still alive and working
in the interest of the sugar beets
and irrigation. We little fellows who
20 and look in and look on at these
operations and see the really able
men play their hands find about half
of the fun consists of reviewing the
maneuyers afterwards to see how