Iowa's Senior Senator and Foremost Citizen
i in'
X Till! iiimalH of Aiiii't-ic'iin iimIihi'h
there are few records like tli.it of Sen
ator William lloyd Allison of Iowa.
Commencing political life as one of
assistant secrctm-los nf tlu ..micm.
Him which II I'M t nominated Abraham Lin
coln for president, serving eight years
111 the house of representatives dur
ing a trying time in the nation's
history and receiving at tin- hands of tin
people of Iowa live full terms In the fulled
States s-cnuto. Mr. Allison Is rlghtl) con
sidered the foremost man of Iowa. If the
lowu people had had their way he would
lung ago have had placed iipmi him the
more aidiions duties of chief magistrate of
the nation.
William II. Allison was a farimr's hoy,
tile con cf an Ohio farmer, of I'erry town
ship, Wayne county, and was horn March
1!. 1M!H. dining the presidential tot til of
John (Jillticy Adams. Ills schooling was f
the log cahln variety, followeil hy a cmitse
at a private school In Woosler. t)., after
which he I aine a teacher. He enterel
Allighcliy college, at Meadvllle. hut changed
to Western eervc college, ami later
studleil law and was admitted to the liar
at Ashland. Ills Him puhllc olllce was as
deputy clerk of the county. He practiced
law alone for awhile, then formed a part
nership and continued In Ashland for a few
years. It was hen- that he cot his (list
lessons In politics John Sherman came
to Ashland to make a ratification speech
when Scolt was nominated ami Allison
Joined In the campaign. Later he was a
delegate to the convention which nominated
Salmon 1' Chase for governor ami he was
a supporter of Fremont,
tell It) , li.vvn.
In April. l.-,7. Allison started west, stop
ping first at Chicago, hut going on to
liiiliiKiue. where he for I a partnership In
law In h,, attended his fl-st cony n-
tlon In Iowa as a delegate ntld In I p. d muni
nato Saininl J Klrkweod for guv ei m.r in
lfin he was one of the Iowa d legates to
the Chicago convetitlon ami a- n--.s'aiit
secretary called the roll of Mate wlnn the
republicans iiomlliatcd Lln.vln for pteM
dent. When Iowa was asked to furnish men to
meet the lehelllon Allison was urgently ro
iilesled hy (lovenior Kirk wood to become
a uioinl'or of his statT and assist In the or
ganization of the Iowa regiments He siipei
Inti tided the etillsttneni of volunleera an I
was given unlimited atlilioilty In the pur
chaso of supplies ami eiiilpnient.
When Iowa koi six members of congress
In place of two Allison was Induced to enter
congress March I, ls.ix Among other new
iiiemliers In the Thirty-eighth, or "war con
mess " were James A. (Inillotd ami James
!. Illalne. ami the three became fast
friends, which friendship continued until
ended hy death. For eighteen years they
s -rvod togo'her In the house or senate anil
hoth Illalne ntid (kirllcld have left testi
monials of their Kio'it regard for the Iowa
man. Mr. AM-nti's llrst congressional ef
fort was in the illt Hon of securing Im
provement of the Mississippi river. He se
cured the adoption of an amendment to the
Paolllc ifillroad hill providing that no bonds
should he Issued or money paid on accounl
of the railroad tint II it should he completed
from Omaha to the one hundredth meridian
of longltud-. His first speech was In favor
of a hill securing to persons in the military
and naval soivleo homesteads uti conilscatcd
or forfeited iNtates in Insurrectionary dis
tricts. iii'uiui st,,i, ,, rinoi ,
.Mr. Allison served four terms In the
house and in his second term went on the
lommltlce on ways ami means and took up
'he sillily of national llnnnces In which he
Ins ever since lieen conspicuous While
'In Johnson Impeachment i rial was In
wngress Allison wn husy as a nieinlier of
.1 -nlcouimttee of the house wns ami
means coiniultii-e ptcpnrliig the ttiin-r.il
fi venue hill, which Is still the basis of .ill
our Internal revenue work. After serving
In four emigre., s as a representative Mr
Allison declined a teiiomlnatlon and was
ait of puhllc lire for a short time. Hi
friends urged him for appointment to the
senate on the death of S itor lirluu s. hut
h" was not appointed. In lVTi he became
a candidate to succeed Senator Harlan and
he was successful and took his neat Mali h
I. 1 :!, Ill the senate, where he has ever
since continued. He has lieen given live full
tcriiH, or thirty years, and the legislature
which will he elected this year Is already
pledueil to give him another term If he di
shes It.
oi- Ices In l In- Semite,
III his twi nt) -eight years In the filiate
Mr. Allison haa had a rival deal to do with
the real work of Icglshi' ion. He has oerved
iiii the comiiniteis on appropriations, pen
slcins, liuilati allalrs. i;-verntuelil of the
Instrlct of Columbia and llualice. He was
of Hie special committee which pieparod
the hill for tin lesuuipiion of specie pa) -monts
In isT.'i. lie was the author of Un
important nuietldllielltH to tile lllaml hill
ill 17n which wcie accepted and which had
a great t II 11 li nee oil the coinage question.
He served on a coiiiiniltce lo lovlso the
ciiHloms laws. He was a uietnlier of the
suhcoinmll tee which pivpniod Ho- senate
aiiiciiilments to Hie McKiuley tarlll' hill ll
IV.MI e lutrodll-eil the ami llillllclit to the
civil service hill which made the ci.iumls
slnii iiidepcinleiit of all departments of the
government. In all of his concrcssional
work Mr. Allison has been painstaking and
s Mul inns. His name s nut atlaihed to any
one famous measure but his work Is In-
Jeitcd into man) iiicasuris for wb b others
have rccclM-d tin ili-dil lie hi- I . ell all
ideal comtnittK woikii- Mi- lm . tight to
tliiish ami i-iif.it legislation, ti-b, i ih.m
to originate iium-IHis or Indulgi m uusiial
efforts, lie has (iifcred mole .me inluii-uts
than hills, and such has been his i ,p ut.it Ion
and standing, cspcilally In tin n.itc in
his Inter .Mars, that hu alucii-liin nts ate
genernll) i-insldcled I holluhl fulh by Hie
senate, an I more often hecotne Incorpo
rated In Hie ponding hills than those ottered
hy any other member
eeiel nt Ills success,
Mr. Allison has depended Inrgelv on In
dust!-) and hald stud) for Ills so , ess In
puhllc life, lie is not all eloiUctn man, In
the sense of line speaking and personal
liiaKlictlsm, but he Is able to present a
clear-cut argument with foice and direct
ness, lie Is a good political camp linnet
for thi.se who want lo loam and ale will
ing to follow him carefully, for In- is pi s
scsscd of abuiiilaiit Infoi inatlou and he talks
plainly. Mr Mlisou Is a conservative In
politics, lie has been called a couipro
miser, but his compromises have all I u
In the direction if making smooth the leu
ishltlon which Is needed. He has devoted
himself In tmcI.x lo the study of tuiatuii
and the great llnaticlnl problems of the na
tion. In this he has no Hiiperlor Hut his
ion. sol has been sought by eminent legls
lalors and admlnistratloiilsts on all lead
ing questions. He has enjoyed the friend
ship ami conlldi in c of iiicii of all parlies
Twite has Si II Cur Mlisou h.nl llle op or
l ii ill I. v to leave the si-uale for all ailmlnls
tiative position He was Invltul lulu Hi
(iarlhld cabinet lo be secretary of the
ticuHiiry and Ceuetal llairbon tetulei cd
him the same position. He do lined bo'h
lie seldom stepped aside from the strict
duties of his legislative position He it il
incept the chairmanship of the ihiiiiiIhsIou
to go in the lllai k Hills and negotiate with
the Slim v Indians for the opeillilg of tli.n
country In l7ti
Senator Allison was twice iimrrtPd. hi
llrsl wife ln-lng the daughter of D.itllel Cat
tor of Ashland, o and hi- second b -Ihk
Mat) II. Neall), llle adopted diltlRlltcr of
Sctialoi- Ciiltiii s He Inn a pleasant hone
In Dubuque.
slll 'I'l-llll llll liiini I.
Whether or not Semitir Allison aenpts ,i
sixth term lii tin- senate ih pen-Is cntluiv
on his own Im-lliial Ion and desl e and hl-
health. lie has alwn.vs lieen modcsi a
lo Ills own abilities and position. Winn
lie win ele.-ted to a thlid term In tin
seimto b) the Iowa lotils'iii hi c he bad
sttnlig oppuHitlon, which lentird iiiouud
t'ovetuor lu rabce, hut his p uilariiv
swept iiway all olisiachs Within a few
minutes after his election and his spei i li
of thanks to the legl-lature die si u iter
stall il to the writer that In- would in mi
agatll ask re-election to the sitiate. as In
i iillsidi red the people of Iowa had doin
for bltn all lo which he was ciitlilcd II
has not again asked anything, but In- li.i-
bei u le-electcd wllhoill all efliili
pal I. Ho w 111 be re elei te I in xi
without opposition
Iowa has twice sought in make
prislileni. mill already the leading
Iowa have declaicil a willingness go to
the next national i onvi-utloli ami a -k hi
nominal Inn to succeed McKlnlcy ll has
pleaded that he Is too old. bill, In fn-i. Il
ls In vigorous health and his Itiiellici l
as keen as ever. He Is a letn.iikably well
pi'i served man. physically mid mentall) . a
handsome man ul To years, with light step
and steady nerve: a man so well liifonueil
on puhllc questions that he Is lltt.d to
diieet, anil, unless he positively declines
to be a candidate for president when iti'er
lug upon his siMh t tn in the senate. In
will lie llle choli e of Iowa people.
OltA WILLI MS
on hi
w Inlet
him a
men ol
Practical Irrigation in Nebraska
ALTllOUtill irrigation in Nebraska
Is still in Us Infancy, your ques
tion, "What has Irrigation done
lor Nebraska ?" can scarcely he
answered In so shun an article
as your space allows.
The bcnclits already derived from Inlgi
t Ion in the state, are. so far-reachlii;; that II
la illtllciill for auyono to measure, them.
The. records of tho State liuard of Irriga
tion hIiuw that water has been appropriated
for about l.Duu.uuu acres ot land and tlu
Investment in irrigation works amounts u
about H.UOO.OOO.
Assuming that the Incu-n&u in tin; value
of land hy reason of Its being under illtcn
Is only $11! per ncro, the liicrease In the
valuo of the lands under the ditches for
which appropriations have been made would
amount to $1S,000,OUO,
Hut this is only n purtion of the lieiieliu
derived from Irrigation. Tit ImuI Irrigated
along the streams In the western part of
the state is generally sum muled by graz
ing lauds, upon which tlnusands of head of
cattle may ho ranged through the greater
I'olui tur the )car lsay was a'j.ut O.uiu
iiiblc feet pur si-ioiiil. This vast voiuiuo ot
water would cover nioio than l.oua.uou
actes to the depth of one foa during the
year, to that It will he readily teen that
a large part of the water flowing in tho
all cam is still unused. The discharge Is
greater in the mouths of June and July, the
mean for June, lsyy, being i;:,M I cubic feet
per sccund.
This dlschaige being the greatest dur
ing tliu lirigallug scimon makes the North
l'lattu alley all Ideal section for tho
inactive il iriigatli.il and there has been
very little complaint aiislug from scarcity
of water in tills section. In most of the
valley the physical illllleiililcs to ho over
come In the consti uctlon of cauals urc
slight. Olio ditch in the valley about thlit)
miles In length and watciing Ju.uuo or 12,
OUU acivs of laud usui no timber In its con
struction, e.cipl at the hcadgales, thin
holng only one shoit Hume, which is it
masonry.
In tho southwestern portion of the state
Written for The Hoc by
Adim Dobson, State Engineer
I uu h-- ,1... t I 1 . - . I.
part of tho year, and feed may he raised ' '-'""" "i uepuuucan rivers uro
upon thu irrigated land to carry them over . ""' lemiuiy
the wlutcr months, when the loss aiming 1,'naUl' n'OIU lllL'm-
cattlo depending upon the range alone is "r ""' l",', Cihiiii.
greatest. This raises the valuu of uvery A grevt many canals have been taken out
aero of tho range land so situated and In 0f tho Loup rivers. Tho Ureal ICahtern
the QKHregato. it Is an enormous amount canal taken from tho Loup a shoit dlhtance
and is diilleult to estimate. ubovo tJciioa has nhout seventy miles of
Where it u Aiilleil. canal uiul lust year Irrigated nbuiit 2.CU0
In the North l'latto valley water has been ucrL,ii successfully. This canal has demon-
approprlated for nearly ,riUU,0(lU acres of ""'""-'d H"t " !:'' to Irrigate even in the
luml. The last report of the state engineer tU8lu l,i"'i of Nebraska. lho compaii)
MTTINd l-'ilUJl OF HtllKiATKI) COUN W 1 I'll C(). 1 1 It F.STI Nti M(ll IMI
and ganlcii pn ducts which would ho Im
possible wltlii-ut lho water.
Some of thu small streaiiis, biich us the
Ludgu Pole, Freiichmau ami others which
are fed by springs along their beds, irri
gate an atea very much in excess of what
would lie expected from the amount of
water Mowing In them. The Lodge l'ole.
irrigation law wlibh have proven very suc
cessful, Jn boiiiu of these the bonds Issued
to pay for the construction of tho canal
aro largelv held hy the farmers owning
f laud in Km Is lllulf county, which for
merly would have pasturid but u few hend
the lands under it, so Hint the actual debt
to outside parties Is small. On the other
shoAs that In Scotts lllult county alone ;.U,- o""'f eanai lias expended about ?J.'i,- Howing less than ten cubic feet per second hand, unless a district Is managed hy carc-
000 to 00,000 acres have been Irrigated, and ouu 1)11 lllu property and tho prmcnt man- at any otio point, Irrigates over a.000 uerus fill and competent directors, there Is danger
this Is one of the new counties of the state. '-ts consider It a good Investment and the of land. This is accounted for hy the of the district being bonded for an iimouiit
Following along down tho North 1'latte and "-'pons of thu Irrigators who have been fact ih:u the whole stream may ho diverted In excess ot what the works would havu
l'latto rivers a large portion of the valley Is llsl"' tllu water show that the money paid from iu bed at one point and yet, perhaps, cost had they been built by a private com-
utidcr irrigation, in some places reaching lu uier is wen spent. within a n lie further down Its bed, the
a width of twulvo or fifteen miles and e.- uc northwestern part of the state In ainoiint of water llowlne will bo as ercat
tending through Deuel, Keith. Lincoln. l"u valleys of Hat creek, White river and
Haw sou and llulfalo counties, a distance of Niobrara river much Irrigating has been
about 3U0 miles. Kspcclully In Lincoln and 'I0'"-', largely on a small scale, many of the
Dawson counties has the irrigation (level- appropriations being fur a fraction ot n
opment been grcutest, am many thousands cubic foot per hccond and Irrigating only n
of acres of land have been brought under ft'"' ncres each, Theao small ditches are of
the lullueuce of irrigation.
Tho records of the gauging station at
North Platte show that the mean dis
charge of the North Platte river at thot
great vnluo, howover, as even n stnnll
meadow which Is Irrigated will furnish hay
for a largo number of stock, and tho ranch
man Is enabled to ralso a variety of farm
as 11 was before any was diverted.
Clil-lliel s Help TIli'lllHi-lt ois.
Among the must successful Irrigation
enterprises In Nebraska ate those built by
tlie faille rs themselves to water their own
land, cither by mutual Irrigation cDiiipunlis
or by Irrigation districts under the district
irrigation laws of the state. Many dis
tricts have been formed under the distriii
pany.
Few peoplo living in u lounlry where
thcio Is sulllelent rainfall to ralso crops
Pointed Paragraphs
Chicago News: Thu spider has no wings,
) et he often lakes a lly.
Some Juries lose a lot of time In trying
to II in I n verdict.
Tho honest blackmail h H seldom Inclined
lo give up his vise.
The iiicii who hiici eed me those who ar
rive promptly on time.
The treu that hears lho most fruit to
market Is said lo bo the nxlo-trcu.
It's an easy matter for a married man
to get next to lho latest word in use.
nome men resemiile iiyraiuli s bioad al
successfully can realize the value of water tin- foumbitlnii, bin minim at the ln
1 rzzri
N'KHItASKA FA KM SCBNE, SHOWING llKIDdR, CANAL NI) DltOPOATi: FOIl LTI;ltL
lor lrilgatlon in tun urlil or s-ml-arld ri
gious. It Is the life of Hie i (immunity uuil
the salvation of the fanner and stock
raiser, and laud which 1- piaitlcally value
b ss becomes the most valuable us noon as
Alitor Is applied to II As an Illustration
of this I will mention a case which came
to my nollce recently. An elghty-acro tract
was sown In alfalfa and Irrigated
During the season of I'.hmi three cut
tings wen- made from this lund, pio
din lug too tons of hay, which was
Id mi lho ground for j;i no per ion,
r Jl.too for the crop
In older to ullli.o the v is' an mini
if u.i let' now llnwlllg to was e In ill '
stale large roHcivnlis should b
I. will to store the water In limes or
Hood and Hie people edinaleil lo IS-'In-
vval or when It s plentiful and
lee wait until ernpH ale Hlltf . I lug
hi I w a I el scarce.
i i rroncoiiH iinpn ssina pievalls
in the Hiaie thai lei i in decisions of
In siipienie i inn i have thrown dl-r-
lii ti,i.n the In it; it Imi laws of
tin- -i .'i ami lho ml 10 inlsl rut Ion of
id law- This plea has tended
'i 'lis oinage the (lev lopmont ot Ir
gallon works and i oinpllcaled the
-Hi of ndiuinlsioriiiM Hie lu-.v. mi I
'In sooner these mill" is are Retllcd
o l in. nle i lour Hie b 'lor It will he
foi all Interested.
A UNA HOIISON,
Slii'i- Fnglnoor.
not he judged ,v
Inn hy his every
an
lav
Ambition bus prevented many a man
from making a success of small things.
Voting women and iirotulssoiy notes
should be sellleil when they ill live al Ilia
1 tit-It .
A mini tdiould
i llhliill.il exertion,
t ions
I'nlo-H a iiiiiii has an oxi cpHomill) gom
memory he should mil set himself up as a
liar.
1'leilHllle is ofli-n hut a change nt pain
man who has had the gout feels llrst-into
win n he u- is down to ordluaiy t heiimal Ism
The use or the moKilllto is to show Us
that troubles ale not ulwuys In proportion
lo I heir u '..'.
Koine men In pei funning ,iy m,, , )(
they weie hired to do It ami were doubtful
of being paid.
If one mail lolls a woman slio Is beautiful
all the rest of the world can't convince In i
that sho is homely.
A man may m.i objeei n, being eulle-l ,
bull or a heir, but call him u call o. a
cub and he is apt lo declare war.
A girl's best rilcnd will te you mole t ,
the gill's dlsildvalllage in u minille than Mm
can It. ii ii fioiu her avowed enemy In a
week,
Men are horn with two eye. ami ,,l on.
tongue In order ihal thuy should ,. iiu
as much ris (hoy spenk. Of course, ihi.
does not apply to women.