180 



COLORADO. 



acres of fruit lands under cultivation. Mesa 

 County furnishes 1.500 acres of this number, and 

 Fremont 1.000. The live stock of Colorado is 

 valued at $30,500,000. Of this amount the cat- 

 tle valuation is placed at $16,046,133 ; sheep, 

 $4306555. The wool product for 1890 is val- 

 ued at' $12.000,000. 



Irrigation. Official reports to the National 

 Bureau of Agriculture show that there are about 

 6,316 miles of irrigating canals in the State, the 

 total area that is at "present irrigated being 

 4004,409 acres. The estimated cost of these 

 canals is $10,950,000. 



Trans-Mississippi Commercial Congress. 

 Under this name a convention of about 500 

 delegates, representing the States and Terri- 

 tories west of Mississippi river, met at Denver 

 on May 19 to discuss the needs and interests of 

 that section. The sessions continued through 

 four days, in the course of which the silver and 

 irrigation problems were discussed at length. 

 Resolutions were adopted urging the establish- 

 ment of steamship lines between the Gulf ports 

 and Latin-American states and the speedy com- 

 pletion of the Nicaragua Canal ; demanding 

 legislation by Congress to prevent mines and 

 mineral lands from becoming the property of 

 railroad corporations under their land grants; 

 urging that the geological survey be devoted to 

 the purposes for which it was established ; favor- 

 ing the improvement of Mississippi river, a deep- 

 water harbor at Galveston, and the immediate 

 construction of the Hennepin Canal; declaring 

 that naturalization laws should be more strin- 

 gent, and that United States courts only should 

 have power to naturalize; favoring the admis- 

 sion of all the Territories; recommending the 

 repeal of the law of Congress preventing non- 

 resident aliens from owning mining property 

 and other real estate in the Territories ; urging 

 the restriction of immigration ; and favoring 

 the passage of the Torrey Bankrupt bill by Con- 

 gress. Respecting the subject of irrigation and 

 the silver question, the following resolutions 

 were adopted : 



Resolved, That it is the sense of this Congress that 

 the General Government should, under proper re- 

 strictions, cede to the several States and Territories 

 of the arid region the public latids within their bor- 

 ders, except such lands as are more valuable for min- 

 ing than agricultural purposes; provided, that no 

 State or Territory shall be permitted to sell such 

 lands for less than $1.25 per acre, nor more than 320 

 acres to one person, nor to any other than an Ameri- 

 can citizen who shall at the tune of said purchase be 

 an actual citizen of the State or Territory in which 

 said land shall be ; and, 



Resolved, further, That such State or Territory 

 shall apply the funds arising from the sale of said 

 lands to the reclamation of the same and to school 

 purposes. 



Resolved, That the Congress of the United States 

 be hereby petitioned to repeal all laws which in their 

 effect work dishonor upon or, in the least, challenge 

 the sovereignty of the silver dollar as an absolute 

 measure of values, and to restore to silver the place 

 given it as perfect money by the framers of our Gov- 

 ernment. 



Resolved, That the only modification of the above 

 which we will accept is the limiting of the operation 

 of the law to the silver product of the United States, 

 and this we will accept, believing it will be but a 

 change of method which will reach at once the same 

 desired result. 



Resolved, That we petition the President and 

 Congress of the United States to once more attempt 

 to bring around an international recognition and ad- 

 justment of silver as money, and, should this effort 

 fail, that a limited agreement be sought with the na- 

 tions of the Latin Union, whereby the mints of those 

 nations may again be opened for the coinage of 

 silver. 



The Congress adjourned, to meet at Omaha in 

 October. 



Political. A successor to Chief-Justice Helm 

 .was the only State officer to be elected this year. 

 "On Sept. 9 a convention of the People's party 

 met at Denver, and nominated J. H. Croxton for 

 this office. The following is a part of the plat- 

 form adopted : 



We arc opposed to the constitutional amendments 

 proposed by the Eighth General Assembly providing 

 for an increase of the taxing power and the voting of 

 $300,000 bonded indebtedness. 



This convention is in favor of a strong employers' 

 liability and mechanics 1 lien act. 



On Sept. 29 the Democratic State Convention 

 met at Denver, and nominated Luther M. God- 

 dard. The platform includes the following: 



We favor the free and unlimited coinage of silver, 

 and repeat our condemnation of the act of the Kcpub- 

 lican party which struck down the currency ot the 

 people in the interest of and at the dictation of the 

 moneyed aristocracy of this country. 



We favor the early completion or the State Capitol 

 building and the proposition to issue bonds to the 

 amount of $300,000, to the end that the work may 

 not be interrupted. 



On the same day the Republican Convention 

 met at Glenwood Springs, and renominated 

 Chief-Justice Helm. The platform approves the 

 administration of President Harrison, while not 

 agreeing with him on the silver question ; ap- 

 proves the action of the last Legislature in en- 

 acting the Australian ballot law and the salary 

 and fee bill ; urges the speedy ratification of the 

 treaty for the removal of the Utes from the 

 State ; reaffirms the doctrine of protection and 

 reciprocity; and contains the following para- 

 graphs : 



This convention earnestly recommends to the peo- 

 ple of the State the voting of the bonds necessary to 

 complete the State Capitol building. 



We favor protection against e\ r ery form of convict 

 or servile labor; prohibition of the employment of 

 young children in factories and mines ; protection of 

 railroad employes ; protection of employes engaged 

 in factories and mines or other hazardous occupa- 

 tions from every danger that can be removed or di- 

 minished; the adjustment of differences between em- 

 ploy 6s and employer by arbitration ; and such legis- 

 lation as may be needed to facilitate and protect 

 organizations of fanners and wage workers for the 

 proper and lawful promotion of their mutual in- 

 terests. 



The monetary condition of the world during the 

 last seventeen years has demonstrated that the de- 

 monetization of silver by the United States was, if 

 not a crime, a stupendous blunder, and bimetallism is 

 necessary to the welfare and prosperity of all com- 

 mercial people. We, therefore, in the interests of the 

 working and producing classes of all countries, de- 

 mand the full recognition of silver as a money iiietul 

 by the opening of the mints of the United States to 

 the full and unlimited coinage of silver. 



At the election in November the Republican 

 candidate was successful. 



