2
The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1
IE
His curiosity
ho attempted
wall to6 i) ro
ll und red foot
the lakca aro
ho will 1)6 careful lo Holoct the beat acod, ho
mm to Hoeuro the inaximuni yiold; ho will investi
gate 1.1 in different; kinds of cultivation and uncer
tain the bent time for planting; ho will uko the
implomontu which will make oach hour's work
iiQcompllKh moHl. That ho Ik entitled to the
rewards lhat naturally follow his work in uni
vorwilly recognized; and,, wo may add, no one has
over traced a swollen fortune to a farm. From
the beginning of history no ono haw actual ly
mado out of Ihn noil by hln own unaided 'efforts,
a fortune largo enough to be, In itself, a men
ace to li Ik country. A man might make money
onough in Homo other way to buy up the land of
a community or of a state, and, through a sys
tom of landlordism, he might Hap the life out of
the producei'H of wealth, but he could not begin
by tho cultivation of tho lands an largo a pieco
as ho could himself cultivate and out of tho
land accumulate enough to make himself danger
ous to his fellows.
It Is posslblo for a man to make money out
of the rise in land, and yet do it legitimately.
Our government has seen lit to offer inducements
for tho settlement of now land. Wo havo had
tho homestead act, the desert act, the timber
claim act, and later onirics under tho Carey act
and tho reclamation act, which enable pioneers
to secure laud by contributing their pro rata
to tho cost of bringing tho land under irriga
tion. Tho purpose of theso acts Is to offer a re
ward to those who open up new settlements and
extend the cultivated area. These acts offer a
bonus fo,r early settlement, and tho results havo
justified 'tho laws.
Wo have recently had an opportunity to
observe tho development of a largo district by
ono man- a development which has brought him
a pecuniary reward, and yet a reward well
earned. Twenty-eight years ago, when but
olghtoon years of age, this man was riding along
tho north bank of tho Snako river in southern
Idaho, whon ho chanced to seo In a eanvon be
low him two transparent lakes,
was oxcltod, and, tying his horso,
to descend, but found tho canyon
clpltous, for bore tho river is five
bolow tho level of tho desert, and
Homo two hundrod and fifty feet abovo tho river.
no went along tno Dank until he found a pluco
whoro ho could descend to tho fiver, and then
ho climbed up to tho lakes. Ho found that they
woro fed by springs, and that tho stream flow
ing out. of the lakes disappeared into the ground.
A hundrod and fifty feet below the lakes he found
a spring with a flow sulllcient to irrigate eight
thousand acres of land, noy though ho was, ho
Haw tho possibilities of tho place, and located
thore. At this point the walls of the river re
codo, leaving something like a section of land
that can be cultivated. Mo began to dig ditches,
and, as time went on, orchard after orchard was
planted, many of tho trees growing among tho
rocks. Vlnoyards and alfalfa fields followed
Tho lumbor for his house was let down into tho
canyon by ropes. In a few years he built a road
up ono wall of tho canyon, later established a
ferry, and built a road up the opposite wall. At
first ho had to haul his produce fifty miles,
then twonty-flvo miles; now the railroad is with
in threo miles of his ranch. When his income
became sufficient ho married, and his wife has
boon his colaboror. For years (hoy lived far
from their nearest noighbors, and devolopod this
sholtored nook which ho had found by tho river.
In tko courso of time ho began to wonder
,h 10,WrUt0i;,oC Ul? SnakG rivor "light not be
utilized for tho reclamation of tho desert about
Mm. Ho surveyed tho river banks, carrying tho
chain Himself, to ascertain tho levels. He esti
mated that live- thousand acres of land could
bo brought under Irrigation in his immediate
neighborhood. Ho selected tho sito for Ua am
and then wont out in search of capital to del
velop the plan. At first people were skeptic
and he had dlfllculty in convincing the nXciers
that tho scheme was feasible. At last hi" perse
voraneo was crowned with success, am within
tho last three years ho has seen 170,000 acres
or arid desert on tho south side made to blos
som Uko tho rose. Whoro three veora Yco sice
b!rllll TIB, th0 only vegetation there a?o now
alfalfa f elds yielding seven tons to the acre and
oat fields yielding eighty bushels to the ac"e
Towns have sprung up on this tract ono with
a population of two thousand people, witlbail
carrying deposits of $500,000 S
On tho north sldo of the river his nlnn ,.
now being worked out; canals are hi ing cl ig fo?
350 000 acres more, and ho has surveyed f3r
still other ditches. Within three years t h,
sand people will find homes o the newlv opened
torritory. Hero is wealth creation" lnnin(I
and industry combined hnvoTrawnSlth'SSS
tho generous breast of Mother Earth, and no
one will begrudge him the fortune not largo
when measured by tho standards of great cities,
but enough for him which he has earned by
tho development of tho land along the Snako
river. This illustrates how wealth can be cre
ated by irrigation. Others havo made fortunes
In tho Improvement of horses, of cattle, of sheep
and of hogs; and still others by tho improvement
of grains, grasses or fruits.
OOOO
TAFT ON INJUNCTIONS
Secretary Taf t has boon answering some
questions submitted to him by a labor organ
ization and, be It said to his credit, he does
so quite frankly, although there are a few
qualifying phrases which weaken the reply. On
the Hubject of jury trial in contempt cases he
speaks clearly and emphatically. He is opposed
to the jury in such cases and insists that the
judgo should hoar and pass upon the evidence.
This is the main point and on this point the
secretary is against the laboring man. The
writ of injunction is invoked because no
jury trial is permitted in contempt cases and
tho great corporations havo stubbornly -resisted
all efforts to provide for a jury in such cases.
The reasons for and against the jury system
are so well known that the secretary's position
may bo accepted as an indication that his sym
pathies aro with tho corporations in thoir deter
mination to use the writ of injunction to coerce
employees into the acceptance of terms and con
ditions offered.
OOOO
Til E REPUBLICAN MASTER
"Referring to tho Aldrich bill the Phila
delphia North American (rep.) says: "It is
meant to penalize still more the business of the
nation for the benefit of New York's stock job
bers. U is meant for the relief only of banks
that havo perverted tho true functions of the
banker. It is meant for the opening wedge to
make tho government ultimately exchange cur
rency for any wildcat security Wall Street may
wish to unload. It is nothing more nor less
than an insult to tho integrity and the intelli
gence of tho American people."
Yet this same Senator Aldrich is the ac
knowledged republican leader in the United
States senate. Indeed, he is more than a leader;
he is master.
OOOO
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PANIC
Tho Milwaukee News has at last located
the responsibility for tho recent panic, being
aided therein by a careful perusal of its repub
lican exchanges. The democrats, according to
the News' republican exchanges, are wholly re
sponsible because "if it hadn't been for Bryan
Roosevelt might have stuck to republican
policies."
The Milwaukee News is
thanks of a wondering people
settled a vexed question and
sponsibility. -
OOOO
AVRITE AT ONCE
Write to your senators and to your con
gressmen (and if your legislature is in session
write to your state senators and representatives)
urging thorn to favor tho plan of protecting de
positors. It will only cost you a two-cent stamp
and it may save you many dollars. Let everv
reader of The Commoner act at once.
OOOO
ARE THEY IN EARNEST?
The fact that so few of the leading remih-
Fnn1! ar0n atlV0?atlns the nomination of Si
Folletto-- ho only real reformer among repub
lican candidates suggests tho question Do the
republican leaders want sure enough reform?
OOOO
PROTECTING DEPOSITORS
No other reform advocated bv The On
moner has grown so rapidly as thnt I ? i ,m"
for its object the protect ofepSsftoT s 01 H
homa has already adopted it nnri ti,i 0kla"
of Nebraska, Kai sas and l TotiS VJ? ?overnc
to call extra leg slativo sPinrfo '1 e being ur&ed
the plan into operation "S In rder lo Pt
Kentucky and Mississippi leelslotn,.
this winter and thev will rtm,iti tures meet
subject, and Lou fcia r the
in May, is sure to bo afl ed ln V h ci! meets
Plan, it is being discusi establh the
cuib discussed in congress and
entitled to the
for having thus
located the re-
A PRESENT FOR REPUBLICANS
F. J. Wagner, Kewanee, 111., writes:
"A. M. Dnlrymplo of Oregon says about
six months ago lie suggested that each
reader and friend of The Commoner pay
for a six months' subscription to some re
publican friend and has been waiting ever
since to see how the proposition would
take. lie says now: 'I see in last week's
paper that F. M. Hall has made the same
, proposition, but he has gone me one better
and sent in $1 for a year's subscription to
one of his republican friends.' Now then
I glory him in his spunk. Ho is the right
kind of a democrat, but I will have to go
him one better. I will send $1.50 for three
good old republican friends. Now then
good democratic friends make your repub
lican friends a present in this way. I think
it is everybody's duty to try and abolish
boss rule and corruption. Let us lend a
helping hand to W. J. Bryan and he will
be sure to win in 1008. I have heard that
under a republican administration the
laboring mun would always have a full
dinner pail. But, alas, the dinner pail is
now empty."
national bankers are beginning to ask for it.
A Pennsylvania banker has sent the comp
troller an argument in which lie offers to join
other banks provided 5,000 unite in protect
ing depositors, each bank to be assessed in pro
portion to capital stock and surplus. This is
a good beginning, but the system ought to be
put into operation at once without waiting for
live thousand to join. When the system is once
inaugurated all the banks will be compelled to
adopt it for the depositors will demand security.
The assessment, however, should be on the
deposits and not on the capital and surplus. It
is the depositor not capital or surplus that is
protected and each bank should contribute to
the guaranty fund in proportion to its deposits.
Security of bank depositors is bound to
come the sooner the better.
OOOO
THE "FULL DINNER PAIL"
They have had "rent" rio.ts on the east side
in New lork, and the Chicago Tribune (rep )
advocates the establishment of a soup house for
the benefit of unemployed and hungry men. And
this is under a republican administration and
tbe1!r,ei)llblican emblem was -'the full dinner
OOOO
POWER
It takes two-thirds of both houses of con
gress to override a president's veto and yet
the supreme court by a majority vote can over
lide both houses and the president all put to
gether. Great is the supreme court!
OOOO
JEFFERSON WAS RIGHT
Jefferson was right; the United States su
preme court is the least democratic of all the de
partments of government and yet a bare ma ority
of it can stretch the constitution out of shape Tor
contract its powers. ipe or
OOOO
NO LIABILITY HERE
JJow that the employer's liability act haq
been, held unconstitutional the peoplethe m
ployers of the supreme court-can not be he?d
liable for the miscarriage of justice that will
fonowfrom the decisions of ud ma?oVtyVtte
OOOO
NOT ALL IGNORANCE
The Buffalo (N. Y.) Timp n ,
the New York World's attack? upon M?C?fs!,1S
says: "The World is eSernrlaine ??
tag to make a newspaper ad it has lit IT
corn about what hannpnQ V , ttle con"
party so long as it if oSo democratic
which willTnfei'est the peSp'le ST S Paper
ers of the World sliouh? w ?e1moc1ratic read
too seriously. It i .no? ihi a?Vts politics
those who L earnestlf ines?ed ingHde fr
cess of their partv Tti ",., In the suc-
fop it is much life a Ti e fly'1 S " How.
Here one minute and there the next be SGen
m??S gme. and other dem
method in the W lLTol
-i. .4ii2:ti
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