WORK OF SHAM REFORMERS
How the Fusionists Are Preying Upon the In
terests of Taxpayers of Nebraska.
NOME FOR FEEBLE MINDED YOUTH AT BEATRICE SCENT OF TURMOIL AND DISCORD
■ — ■ #
Fraud and Spoliation, Drunkenness, Incompetency, Dishonesty,
Treasury Raids and Kindred OlTences Committed by
Officers High and Low—Public Officials and
Employes Held Up for Part of Their Sal
ary Each Month bv Party Leaders.
Shameful Incompeteney—gross per
version of the public funds—use of the
appointive power to reward party satel
lites regardless of merit—manage
ment's hands tied by high-up fusion
officials—official records in bad shape—
and over the Poynter administration in
its entirety hangs the shadow of cul
pable negligence and scandal. This in
brief is an epitome of the condition of
the Home of the Feeble Minded Youth
at Beatrice.
Several years of fusion mismanage
ment and Jugglery have sufficed to
bring about a state of uffairs in this
institution so terrible as to almost
challenge public credulity.
Dispassionately recited, if the truth
be only half told, it is enough to cause
the cheek of every citizen to burn with
indignation. Especially is tills true,
nnd especially does it become a fit sub
ject for careful and solemn Judgment,
when it is considered that the victims
of these abuses are among the most
helpless and defenseless wards of the
State.
When the fuslonlsts came into power
in Nebraska the republicans relin
quished supervision of ttiis institution,
bequeathing to their successors and to
the public a record of splendid achieve
ments. In selecting officials, teachers
and employes for this Institution it was
tlie unvarying rule that merit and flt
ness alone should command recogni
tion. Then, as now, the institute had
upwards of 225 inmates. There were
few changes lu the official family, and
in no instance was a change made for
political reasons or party expediency.
The last republican in the superin
tendency held tlie position for upwards
of seven years; and a change occurred
at the end of this time only by reason
of the fuslonlsts acquiring control of
the state government.
How does this compare with the re
cord of the fuslonlsts? The fuslonlsts
have been in power about live years,
and in that time two superintendents
have come and gone and the third one
has been compelled to enlist the ah
of the courts to keep his official lifad
from under the axe. Thus, in about
five years (including the recent ap
pointee whose right to tlie office is be
ing contested in tlie courts) four differ
ont persons have been appointed to the
Buperintendeney. This has kept the in
stitution in strange hands nearly all
the time, as a result of which, and by
reason of other causes hereinafter
enumerated, discipline* has disappeared,
disorder prevails, feeble minded in
mates, slow to familiarize themselves
with strange faces and restless in their
presence, have progressed slowly, if at
all, and the state has expended thous
ands of dollars wholly without com
pensatory results. Never since the fu
sionists acquired control has there
been harmony in the official family of
this institution. This is due entirely
to the fact that positions high and low
have been acquired through political
'pulls" and not by reason of merit.
Since the populists obtained control no
superintendent has gone in there free
handed. All of them have been under
the party bane, and, no matter how
much it Impaired or interfered with
the welfare of the institution, they
have been compelled to accept such
teachers and appointees as the party
managers have seen fit to give them.
On can easily judge of the condition of
things by considering that the party
bosses have invariably selected for
these positions the sons, daughters, or
henchmen of leading politicians.
They have done worse than this,
they have selected for positions of
trust and responsibility persons, not
alone mentally incompetent, but mor
ally as well. Making selection with
out regard to qualifications, giving
no particular person authority to con
trol, hut making each a superior unto
himself, thus causing incessant clash
ing of authority and wrangling among
themselves, and placing the party or
appointive authority under direct obli
gation, by levying an assessment
monthly on all appointees and compel
ling them to pay a fixed per rent of
their salary to some one designated to
receive it by the triumvirate for a cor
ruption fund-combine to account for
tins sad state of affairs. There are
nome facts connected with the con
temporaneous history of this institu
tion painful to recite. They go beyond
the confines of ordinary happenings
and trespass upon the domain of scan
dal ami criminality.
Pluming by the history of the insti
tution under the superintendent of
Dr. Fall und Dr. Sprague land there Is
little, difference between lhai portion
of the history und that to which refer
ence will be made (.attention will be
given evil, wrongs and outragrr preva
lent i.ow
Dr l-ang the present superintendent,
was appointed about one year ago.
The nest moat responsible position—
that of bookkeeper and steward was
given to Janos MiHIkln, a political
satellite from Fremont Though Mill
kin kuew nothing id bookkeeping be
was entrusted with keeping the ree<
ords tiow be kepi them need* only
to Ice seen to be c o'uprehendcd llad
the figures leern blown Upon the {cages
of the record* by a ryc-loae they would
be Just AS easily Interpreted The de
hits are mited with the credits and
the credits With the debits Follies
are seldom property made and there
la no way of ascertaining fmm the rec
ord the foil ittl.iit of accounts. I'f I be
funds rr whether anybody Is debtor or
c reditor of I he state The undisputed
fact it that the records have not men
hep* at all and • «arch*ng laceettg*.
lion would no doubt result In startling
dim leisures It la an open tettl ah ui
• he iMs'ilutui i tea * MilMkln was not
ai-ctie in omp tent I * t that k< w is
freef-ontly in.oti at I wh-.e ns 4u"»
Foreman \211is of the brush factory of
the institution stated that lie hail re
peatedly seen Mlllkln with a bottle of
whiskey a* the institute, and that he
did not only drink the liquor himself,
but prewlsted in making other em
ployes drink with him. One of the
employes who had taken the Keeley
cure and who had not tasted liquor
for several years was persuaded by
Mlllkln to Indulge. He then again be
came a confirmed drunkard and finally,
to get away from the temptation, bad
to leave the Institute. Superintendent
Lang remonstrated with Mtlllkin, tell
ing him that be was setting a bad ex
ample for the Inmates and employes,
but to no uvall. Mtlllkin claimed that
he was backed by Governor Poynter,
by the fusion contingent of the beet
sugar element at Fremont, and was not
amenable to the rules or orders of the
superintendent.
NEW BRAND OF "CORN MEAL.”
Nor were Mflfkin's shortcomings con
fined to traditional consistency.
Scarcely had he entered upon his du
ties when be resorted to methods most
questionable. On one occasion Super
intendent Lang discovered, among sup
plies delivered, a choice lot of straw
berries. There was no provision In the
contract covering supplies for the in
stitution for this quality of food, and,
looking over the bill or statement of
the goods delivered, ho observed that
the bill called for corn meal, but there
w^a.s no corn meal delivered. “How Is
this, Mllliken?” said Superintendent
Lang, “I fail to see any entry on the
bill for strawberries?’
“There It Is,” said Millikln, pointing
to the entry, “corn meal.”
“It was right then and there," said
Dr. Lang to the writer, “that I discov
ered that Millikln would bear watch
ing. I told him that kind of dealing
would not do, and that lie must stop
It. But lie paid no attention to me.
Only a few days afterward he became
possessed of a half dozen boxes of ci
gars. 1 asked him how he got them
and he said the boys down town gave
mem 10 mm. i Knew mat he got
them in one of two ways—either by
the ‘corn meal' dodge, or that some
body was dealing witii tlje Institution
selling supplies and with dishonest mo
tives had given them to him. 1 again
cautioned him against doing wrong,
but he met my warning with a defiant
sneer. Finding I could do nothing
with him I went to Lincoln and laid
all the facts before Governor Poynter.
That ended it; Governor Poynter never
stopped to consider the matter for a
moment. Miilikin followed this up by
getting drunk and coming to the in
stitute in a drunken condition and
bringing liquor with him. Again I pro
tested to the governor, and again noth
ing came of it. Finally things became
so bad that in desperation I went to
the governor and begged of him to act.
The governor came down but did not
have the moral courage to do any
thing. Miilikin himself told the gov
ernor that he was unable to keep the
books and wanted to be relieved of it,
but still no action. The governor at
last concluded that he would get rid
of Miilikin, and he asked me to hand
in my resignation that he might show
it to Miilikin and have an excuse for
asking him for his. He said my resig
nation was only a blind to fool Mtlll
kln, and that he would not consider It
as effective, and would use it only to
get Miilikin out of the way. I re
garded it a strange mode of procedure,
but I complied with his request, think
ing 1 was dealing with a man of prin
ciple. Imagine my surprise when he
announced a day or so later that we
had both resigned, and subsequently
lunuweu uus announcement ny me ap
pointment of my successor. It was an
act of subtle and flagrant perfldity. un
worthy of a man of honor. I resisted
and the courts will determine whether
a resignation obtained In that way
shall be effective
"I lay much of the blame for the
condition of affairs In the institute
upon Governor Poynter and his hench
men. They have forced upon the sol
ary- list of the Institute as teachers and
for one position and another, persons
who are notoriously unfitted for such
service. These appointments have
been made on Ihe strength of polit
ical "pulls” and without regard to
rpinliflcntion or fitness. The governor
has done more than this, he has tacit
ly, If not openly, advised subordinates
that his whims and not my rules
should tie respected. He has encour
aged them to resist my authority as
superintendent from nlmoyt the very
commencement of my t« n. I'nder
such condition* the wars' * the best
that could tie expected
ROTTEN WITH KII.TII
"When I came to this Institution It
was rotten with filth. My predecessor
had had Just such experience us I am
having There was no such thing a*
discipline There was constant strife
among the employes and teat hers
The rooms in the buildings were very
filthy and unsanitary. This caused
sh kuess among the Inmates and In
soiio* Instances deaths incurred
EKAHTINO AT THE t Til It
One ha* only lo glance at the pay
roll to see to what extent the fusion
reformers are milking the public ireas
ury.
of the ftprei her family, the son and
MmttI recentlyt the mother are draw*
Ing fat salaries and the daughter was
until recently Hying In luxury at the
•tale's expense
The dotttvun • are represented Alt
the supreme court bench and as ms*
iron at the institute gt Norfolk
t*x Mcaator Muta has a daughter m
the pay mil at (teatrbe tor rather
up tu a hew weeks ago did have she
hating been discharged hv ttupettn
tetidenl lsii| I it !ns4bor<lin.ittwa t
Belle Spanogle, of Bed Cloud, Is ou
the pay-roll at Beatrice at the instiga
tion of one of Puyuter'e clerks at Lin
coln.
Edith Ross, daughter of ex-Rrpre
seutative Ross of recent fame, la an
other name on the pay roll.
Several fusionists who have not even
been brevetted are on the pay roll as
farm hands at the munificent salary of
125 a month and everything found.
In no instance has there been an
appointment made on the grounds of
merit. Indeed, it Is an open secret,
that not one of the teachers has a cer
tificate, and It is admitted by those
who are familiar with the facts that
none of them could pass a teacher’s ex
amination.
DOCTORING THE BOOKS.
As lias been said before, the accounts
of the institute are in very bad shape.
The records are so badly mixed up and
confused that no one knows anything
nbout the status of the funds. Goods
have been bought and sold, but for
what, or what became of the money,
nobody can tell. When the governor
| removed Steward Mlllikin, who was
lK>okkeeper, he then learned of some
of the fruits of his blunders. He dis
patched a bookkeeper from his office
at Lincoln named Mclntee to Beatrice
to untangle the mess. Mclntee pro
ceeded to arrange the records as ha
saw fit, and before Superintendent
Lang knew what was going on he had
(hanged about C>0 accounts. Fearing
tiio governor and his repiescntatives
had ulterior motives the superintend
ent ordered the "expert" out of the
building, and he departed.
The records as they now stand are
In a had way, and constitute a sweep
ing Indictment of the fuslonista, being
mute yet unimpeachable witnesses to
glaring lncompetency and possible
fraud.
It Is due to Dr. Lang that he be ex
culpated from all blame. His hands
have been tied and be bus been a su
perintendent In name only. At no time
lias lie been free to administer the
affairs of the* Institute without interfer
ence from sources Involving a higher
power.
Sl’SIHCIOrfi REVELATIONS.
Steward Ball and Superintendent
Lang are hard at work rectifying er
rors In the records and about the in
stitute. One tiling is already notice
able and that 's a decrease In the cost
of groceries tor the institute. The
grocery hi 11 for the month of May is
$157. less than for April, and $172 less
than for March. Milikin retired atKiut
April 1st, but his errors did not ceare
to hear fruit until recently. He used
to permit the contractors to bill goods
in bulk like, say for example, he pur
chased ii sack of flour or sugar, it
would he billed "one sack of flour or
sugar $1.60," or whatever it might be,
without giving the quantity in pounds
or the quality. Tills left an opening
for fraud, and a rectification of this
practice has resulted in n large de
crease in the expenses and in the com
plete cessation of presents, such as
cigars and other luxuries which used
to lie sent lo the steward by parties
selling goods to the institute. Why
the cigars were sent and why they
stopped coming, and why the cost of
the groceries dropped nearly 30 per
cent, is a problem carrying with it the
odor of suspicion and fraud, and is a
problem which Steward Millikln might
experience some difficulty In satisfac
torily explaining.
CORItl PTINH THE PUBLIC SER
VICE.
Every month all the employes of the
Institute from superintendent down to
farm laborers are required by the fu
sion leaders at Lincoln to give tip a
portion of their salaries. The amount
which they have to give up varies all
the way from three per cent to five per
cent. The rule Is that this money must
be paid over or those who fall must,
step down and out. Last year the de
mands for money were heavy, and one
of the employes, an engineer named
Adams, rather than submit, handed in
his resignation. In this respect the
present year reveals no disposition to
reform. Already the officials and em
ployes In the various state Institu
tions are being bled by the committee
on extortion. Under date of April 2nd,
15*00, the following letter, which shows
very clearly hew the work Is being
done, was received at the Beatrice in
stitute:
LINCOLN, Neb., April 2, 19t>0.
viru i irim u .
We, the Finance Committee appoint
ed by the populiet, democratic and free
silver republican state central com
mittee, do hereby call on you for the
amount of assessment due from your
department, or office, as provided for
by the resolution sent you. The
amount due at this time from your
department is $148.84. We desire to
say to all who are called on for funds,
you have been recognized and honored
by our forces and placed where you
are drawing revenues from the state,
and we shall expect you to contribute
the small amount asked for monthly.
T H. T1 HULKS.
J. K. COAD. Jr.
I,. K. CHAPIN
This letter throws the white light of
truth upon the hypocrisy and false
protestations of the sham reformers. It
not only reveals the inside workings of
the machine, but It strongly corrobor
ates the charge often made by populist
officials who have felt the blighting
curse of this evil, that one of the pri
mary elements entering Into the con
tamination and dentoralliai.on of slate
institutions Is the practice of extort
ing contributions to a campaign cor
ruption fund. Thai this Is the prac
| ttce. now a uted policy of the fusion
; campaign managers, the foregoing let
1 ter abundantly proven. Much of the
| insubordination and consentient dis
cord which exists In slate Institutions
among the officials and employes Is
< due largely to the fact that having con
I trihnted to the corruption fund, every
body feels that he Is si liberty to do
as he pleases This has greatly Im
I paired the puhltc service and has '»«
end It to that level where the a.one?
! expended In the maintenance of (ties*
I Institutions is prattles Hv dissipated
Mo VXlfe, Sum, la an ktstenestt
Hanot Muinui i ts ft hwsrzetuitstn.
the new tier man minister to Chins,
married an American at till hit pn>*
iln nl-l the MUK'ered \"it Kelt«lir
' The h*rotten* though tmm in t.oa t<-n
la the dsughit-c of • N< w Ytuber. Mr
j Is Ynvtti a 11 at tin of tiovnrnor
gmesltll Me* husband was hunter*
ly twssolet tith ths i.oBix cm
i assy sl Mstkiiji <n
COLONIAL TRADE.
BRITISH COMMERCIAL RETURNS
SHOW INCREASE#
Aff.trl a Steady Murkft for Product* of
th« Parent Country—Compurhon with
the l nlt«Ml State* Art lot** That France
hnppilce to llrr Puiit'ifioiuk
French colonies show a rapid in
crease in the proportion of their im
portations which they take from the
governing country. An elaborate re
port on the colonies of France, their
government, finances, and commerce,
has been published by the treasury
bureau of statistics. It shows that the
total value of imports Into French
colonies, exclusive of Algeria and
Tunis, amounted in 1898 to 147,741,416,
the imports from France and French
colonies alone being $22,853,921.
The following table shows the value
of Imports of French colonies during
the year 1890, by principal articles:
Textiles .$10,104,917
Spirits, wines, etc. 4,858,154
Cereals and flour. 4,054,325
Colonial products . 3,144,032
Machinery, hardware, etc... 2,977,700
Dulldlug stone, combusti
bles and etc. 2.477,472
Animal products, hides, etc. 2,162,551
Yarns and threads. 1,812,207
Oils and vegetable essences. 1,530,537
Metals . 1.485,202
Chemical products. 1,208,507
Fish . 917.754
Paper, printed matters, etc. 802,501
Pottery and glassware. 747,021
Timber. 733,041
Live animals . 728,252
Vegetables, fruits and seeds. 014,388
Arms and ammunition. 000,818
Furniture and woodwork.... 520,754
Dressed skins and furs. 488,985
Drugs . . 322,814
Coloring j utters. 184,518
Clothing..
Matting, wickerwork, etc— 119,594
Dyes . 111.376
Vegetable fibers, etc. 99,171
Musical Instruments . 38,110
Sundry products and manu
factures . 3,190,283
Total ...
Another and broader way of looking
at it than the mete study of articles
imported is to see the total commerce
which the various nations have with
their colonies, and the relation which
their colonial commerce has to that of
other parts of the world. A recent
London letter to the Philadelphia In
quirer has the following:
The world has been very wide-awake
lately to the fact that the colonies of
the British Empire have been of vast
service and importance to England In
facing the surprise party which has
been subsltuted for the •'picnic to Pre
toria” which was expected to take
place in South Africa. It will, how
evor, amaze a large number of the
mercantile public, even chough they
be well posted In trade statistics, to
learn what an enormously valuable
asset In England’s trade Is the colo
nial business. Without going into
detail, and assuming for the present
that the total of their interchanges
may be1 represented by round numbers,
say 2,000, the shares of the several
holders stand thus:
Great Britain and Ireland. 501
The British colonies. 407
Germany . 3o4
The United States. 348
France .
Total .”oou
The colonies most certainly are Eng
land's best customers, as Is shown In
Mr. Mulhall's paper on ‘British
Trade” In the March Contemporary.
Take some figures for the lest decade,
1889-1898. England's aggregate Inter
changes, export and Import, with gieat
industrial communities were as fol
lows:
The British colonlrs.£1,788.000,000
The United States . 1,399,000,000
Germany . 824,000.000
France. W2.000.000
Total ..£4,093,000.000
Thus England's colonial trade shows
an excess of £389,000,000 over her Uni
ted States trade, an excess of £924,090,
900 over that with Germany, und of
£1,100,000.000 over the French trade in
! a space of ten years. The contrast is
: atm more striking if one divides the
aggregates according to exports imd
imports. It Is well known how Eng
land's sales to European nation*
dwindle year by year under the opera
tion of hostile tariffs and commercial
restrictions. Take the United Htatea
fer the period under review. Her gc
! count gives the following results:
! purchase* from the U. tf f 1,019,000,000
4sles lo th* United state*. 380,000,000
Total ..ti.3W.ooo.ouo
The reports for the British colonies
| indicate much more equal eruditions of
! trading and a Ireer access to their
markets
Purchases from the colo
nies . 3.MS.W0.000
dais# to ths colonic# ..... WS.ootMMW
Total .. .*1 l.tw.soo.oud
lulu It Ivan r»«4e.
Ft [Hitts lo l*»tlo Mb » in May hatr#
i more than doobled as cum pair.I with
1 *h« pre. e>lln« May. and Import# from
Iks isian I nrs Snarly doubted Kv
l>dita ts Ike Island from ths United
Matas IB May Ivj V wars |W '«♦, as I
la Mag. war* •#** *T» Tka lm
imti Into the I ailed sliig* Ich# th#
•aland in M»» 1**» ware •«*#7 IT*, and
In Ms* I • •» It ' Tl*. Mar com
ie> r<-a with Bucto Mbo shows « much
ft*wtar Increase thaw la ths • see with
%ny #i u.e other Isia • ta th‘»»h < *na
the commerce of May differed little
from that of Ma;, 1899, and this was
also the case wl<;h the Hawaiian Is
lands; while In the Philippine islands
the Imports show no increase, though
the exports show a remarkable gain.
trade of our islands.
InrrriMril with the t'nlteil Htttui i.a»t
Year to Old Krcortln.
Kxports from the United States to
Cuba. Porto Itiro, and the Hawaiian,
Philippine, and Samoan Islands,
amounted, In round numbers to $15,
000,000 In the flscul year 1900, and
were more than three times as much as
In 1896 and more than twice as much
as in any year of our commerce with
those Islands except In the years 1892,
1893, end 1891, when reciprocity great
ly Increased our exports to Cuba and
Porto Rico. To Cuba the total for the
fiscal year was, In round figures, $25,
000,000 against $7,530,000 in 1896, and
$24,157,000 in the great reciprocity
year 1893. To Porto Rico the exports
of the year were, In round terms, $2,
000,000, against an average of $2,750,
000 In the reciprocity years of 1892,
1893, anil 1894. To the Hawaiian Is
lands the total for the year was about
$15,000,000, or five times as much as
in 1893, nearly four times as much as
In 1890, and more than double the to
tal for 1898 To the Philippines the
total for 1900 was about $2,500,000, or
more than In the entire fifteen years
since 1885, the date at which the first
record of our exports to the Philip
pines was made by the Treasury Bu
reau of Statistics. To the Samoan Is
lands the exports of the year wire
about $125,000, or nearly as much ns
In all the years since 189(1, at which
date the official records of our exports
to those Islands began.
The total Imports tn'co the United
States from Cuba for the full year
show a total of $31,000,000, against $15,
000,000 in 1898 and $18,500,000 In 1897,
though they still ore less lliun one
half the average for the reciprocity
years 1892, 1893, and 1894, when our
Imports from that Island averaged
over $75,000,000 per annum. From Por
to Rico the Imports of the year are
but $1,350,000, which Is less than the
total for any preceding year since
1880, and Is due to the destruction by
last year’s tornado of the crops which
supply Porto Rico’s chief articles of ex
port. From the Hawaiian Islands the
Imports for the full fiscal year are $21,
000,000, or double the average annual
Importation for the period prior to
1890, and twenty per cent higher than
in any preceding year. From the
Philippines, despite the war conditions
which reduce producing and exporting
power, the Imports are larger than In
any year since 1894.
OUR POSITION IN CHINA.
Our Claim to Ki|uul Karllllln* with
Other Nation* I* A**urml.
The diplomatic history of the United
States affords no better example of
successful endeavor to secure by mutu
al consent an evident right than that
offered by the recent correspondence
carried on under the Presldt nt's direc
tion for maintaining the "open door”
of trade in China. The establishment
of spheres of Influence In that ancient
Umpire by European States, supported
by the control of Important seaports,
has seemed to many to forebode the
practical partition of that country
among foreign powers and the effect
ive appropriation of commercial privi
leges in China to the exclusion of all
not able or willing to claim a portion
for themselves. By a timely series of
diplomatic notes Secretary Hay has ob
tained assurances from the Govern
ments of Germany, Great Britain, Italy,
Japan and Russia, by which they
pledge themselves not to Interfere with
the perfect freedom of trade In those
portions of China where their Influence
may prevail. The unobstructed en
joyment of the privileges of trade Is
thus secured to American manufactur
ers and merchants by the free consent
of tho powers.
Perhapa the most Important fruit of
this unprecedented negotiation may
prove to he that all the powers, feel
ins the assurance of unrestricted com
merce, may he disposed to accentuate
to a less degree, or even abandon, that
policy of commercial annexation which
has apparently been promoted by the
absence of such a Just and reasonable
understanding. The American claim
to unrestricted facilities of trado In
China Is not a sp vlil favor arked and
granted, or demanding reciprocity. It
Is based on treaty rights which prom
ise equal rights to Americans with the
citizens or subj ects of the most fa
vored natioua. The recognition of these
rights has been obtained at a mo
ment when they were apparently about
to be ignored.
laot t»U«r« Than liter.
-I'Nwnt Kali rues for Klghteen
Tear*" Is the headline on Itradstreet a
record for the first half of this year.
Thai nonpartisan business Journal
says:
■ The number of fallurss reported for
the flrst sti months of the caleVdir
year IKO U the smallest noted for
eight* «*n y***r* pat* Compared with a
year ago. the falling off In number Is
J3 p«*r rent, while compared with l»*t
the decrease Is U per cent. Slid even
larger decreases are noted when ion
hariaons are mad* with the list half
f the year* 1 *»T and ItK Tht* year,
in fact, for the Ntst lime In eighteen
yawr* tht six no*ath# failures hate
•%'len l J<>« i.v"* m number
WfcW* |« lib* Nffllfff f
«h*tsMnt you igih*-r #«M corn si U
. nig la t‘hl*ago than at |st« teals'
i |he farmer wsw last months pre*
; the lai'e* sad the lower ggure was ths
| i uusoeram prt * Is Jus*. Im
RECLAIM ARID LANDS.
Hopeful Tiding* for Wentero Htgtoa gad
■Jerri turiea.
Washington, D. C.—Senator Warren
before leaving for his home In Wyom
ing, speaking of the work of the Na
tional Republican Convention, said:
"The platform adopted by the con
vention conveys to the people of my
state, and of every Western state and
territory, the most hopeful tidings
given them for many years. This is
contained in the declaration that, ‘In
further pursuance of the constant pol
icy of the Republican party to pro
vide free homes on the public domain,
we recommend adequate national leg
islation to reclaim the arid lands of
the United States, reserving control of
the distribution of water for Irriga
tion to tho respective states and ter
ritories.'
"The fact that the Republican party
puls no Idle words In Its platforms and
redeems every promise it makes to
the fullest degree is appreciated in the
West, and with the positive declaia
tlon that the party is committed to
reclamation of the arid lands of the
country, all doubts that this will be
done, aud done speedily, are removed.
"Had 1 had such a declaration to
hack me up at the close of the 56tU
Congress, when I attempted tr» securg
an appropriation for the building of
storage reservoirs in the West, suc
cess would have been assured. With
such a declaration now a plank In the
platfrom of the Republican party, suc
cess is in sight, and I confidently be
lieve that before the 66th Congress
closes, it will provide means for the
inauguration of a system of reclama
tion of our arid lands which will do
us much for the arid West as tho
adoption of the Homestead Iaiw did
for the great Middle West country.
‘‘The Republican party has already
taken the preliminary steps in tho
work of reclaiming the arl 1 lands of
the West, and what It has done Is of
such practical and useful nature tnat
a substantial foundation Is already es
tablished upon which the work of rec
lamation can be continued and lie
made of lasting material benefit to
ihe West. The first definite action
taken towards reclamation of arid
lands by (he government was secured
by the Republican party, In 1886, when
by the provisions of tho River and
Harbor Act, under a section which I
had the honor to present, an appro
priation of $5,000 was made ‘for ex
amination of site* and report upon the
practicability and desirability of con
structing reservoirs and other hy
draulic works necessary for the stor
age and utilization of water, to pre
vent floods and overflows, erosion of
river banks, and breaks of levees, and
to reinforce the flow of streams during
urougui ana tow water seasons, ai
least one site each in the states of
Wyoming and Colorado.’
"The examination thus provided for
was made by Capt. H. N. Chittenden,
Corps of Engineers, and this report
made by him showed most convinc
ingly the practicability, utility, and
economy of land reclamation by means
of storage reservoirs to be built at
government expense. The report of
Capt. Chittenden is regarded as the
most valuable contribution of infor
mation obtainable upon this subject,
nnd Is In so great demand that the
56th Congress has directed that 3,009
additional copies be printed.
“The next practical step in the di
rection of arid land reclamation was
taken in the 55th Congress when by
provisions of the Agricultural Appro
priation 1)111, appropriations of $10,000
and $35,000 were provided to make a
series of investigations by experts in
practical Irrigation. These Investiga
tions were plated in charge of Prof.
Elwood Mead of Wyoming, recognized
as the leading authority on irrigation
problems in America. The present
Congress has Increased the amount
for this year’s Investigations under
Prof. Mead to $50,000, and the scope
of his work has been enlarged to
cover many new irrigation experi
iimuis aim
"In addition to these Investigations.
Congress has encouraged and sus
tained by liberal appropriation the
work of stream measurements und in
vestigation of water resources of the
country, conducted by the United
States Geological Survey.
“The Republican party, as I have
said, never makes a promise It does
not fulfill, und 1 confidently anticipate
that at a very early day, the practical
work of Irrigation Investigations un
der Prof. Mead, the collection of data
of water resources by the Geological
Survey, aud the location and survey
of storage reservoir sites In Wyoming
and Colorado by Capt. Chittenden,
will be followed by the erection by
the government, on the headwaters of
our prim l pal Western rivers, of stor
age reservoirs which will serve to re
claim millions of acres of land now
arfd and useless, and transform them
Into productive farms and homes. The
Increase In value of land as suun as
It Is reclaimed and Is Insured a perma
nent water supply ts enormous, and
with the waters of our Western riv
ers. now running to waste, fully m||.
Med, the growth that will come to the
We** wiii Iw aim >*i beyond compre
hension/*
rmSwlhwi *1 Spelter,
The production of spelt >r I screwed
more than to per cent between lt>|
end IIH In the Galena Joplin district
the ewiue of the pro tu t was I-' too
itioiv si tssa than to is*. iu.« *,.*
go« h President M Hiuley s polity «
> p«nin* the mitt*.
a HkS
the li-c* *<* w-sfonly la tOcCHl
was o* ,r tl M« and It was piled a|
against csMuplete fails*, A hst wiU it
i be I* the esh*r dtstsnl
