

490 



NEVADA. 



can not be reclaimed until the question is deter- 

 mined as to ownership of water. The courts 

 and Congress can lend a helping hand by giving 

 the State complete control of its waters and 

 overthrowing the old common law ' riparian 

 rights doctrine ' that obstructs our way and 

 hangs like a millstone round our necks." 



Agriculture. Nevada has over 70,000 acres 

 under cultivation, and over 750,000 acres capa- 

 ble of cultivation by individual effort. The Gov- 

 ernor reports that the live-stock and sheep-rais- 

 ing industries have made rapid strides since the 

 winter of 1889-'90. Dairying has sprung up 

 within the past year and a half and has become 

 a valuable industry, not only supplying the 

 home market, but also leaving a handsome sur- 

 plus for exportation. 



Political. On any question affecting the sil- 

 ver-mining industry the people of Nevada are 

 naturally a unit. Without regard to party they 

 demand the free coinage of silver. Accordingly, 

 when the Republican State Convention met at 

 Virginia City in May to select delegates, to the 

 national nominating convention, it instructed 

 them to contend for a plank in the national 

 platform for the coinage of silver on the same 

 basis as gold, and to oppose any candidate for 

 President or Vice-President not favoring free 

 coinage of silver. The resolutions of the con- 

 vention set forth that the people of Nevada uni- 

 versally favor free coinage of silver. 



At the Democratic State Convention, held at 

 Winnemucca on May 26, the following resolu- 

 tions were passed : 



That our delegates to the Democratic National Con- 

 vention are hereby instructed to use all honorable 

 means to secure the adoption of a plank in the na- 

 tional platform declaring in favor of free coinage of 

 silver at a ratio of 16 to 1 of gold, and under no cir- 

 cumstances to vote for any man for nomination to 

 the office of President or Vice-President unless he 

 shall stand upon the free-coinage platform. 



That in event of the Chicago National Convention 

 failing to nominate a candidate who is unequivocally 

 in favor of the free coinage of silver and upon the 

 free-coinage platform, the Democrats of Nevada are 

 hereby absolved from all obligations to support nomi- 

 nees of the National Democratic party. 



This convention also nominated George W. 

 Cassidy for Congressman and C. H. Belknap for 

 Justice of the Supreme Court. In addition to 

 the resolutions quoted above, declarations were 

 adopted in favor of revenue reform, urging the 

 construction of a competing line of railroad 

 through the State, and favoring the election of 

 a Democrat to the United States Senate a man 

 who is an actual resident and bona fide inhabit- 

 ant of Nevada. 



As a means of asserting their views more ef- 

 fectively, the people of the State early in the 

 year began to form themselves into local asso- 

 ciations called silver clubs. This movement ex- 

 tended to every part of the State, and resulted 

 in a State organization, which was formed at a 

 convention of the clubs held at Reno on June 

 24, which was styled the Silver party of Nevada. 

 The following resolutions were adopted at this 

 convention : 



The citizens of Nevada, representatives of the va- 

 rious silver leagues, irrespective of past party affilia- 

 tions, in convention assembled, do set forth the fol- 

 lowing declaration of principles : 



1. We demand the full remonetization of silver and 

 the free and unlimited coinage thereof at the present 

 ratio of 16 to 1. 



2. We are radically and unalterably opposed to the 

 National Eepublican and Democratic parties on the 

 question of the free coinage of silver, and we de- 

 nounce the action of their recent national conven- 

 tions as inimical to the material interests of the people 

 of the United Slates, and especially to those of Ne- 

 vada and all the other mining States and Territo- 

 ries ; and we hereby repudiate the nominees of their 

 conventions. 



We pledge the nominees of this convention for 

 presidential electors to support no man for President 

 or Vice-President of the United States who is not 

 unqualifiedly in favor of free coinage as denned by 

 this convention. We reserve to the silver leagues of 

 Nevada, in convention assembled, the right of direct- 

 ing said presidential electors for whom to cast their 

 votes should contingencies require. 



Thomas Wren, M. S. Bonnifield, and C. C. 

 Powning were nominated as presidential electors 

 upon this platform. The sentiment of the con- 

 vention was largely in favor of the principles of 

 the People's party, and 12 delegates were chosen 

 to attend the national convention of that party 

 at Omaha. 



A second Republican State Convention met 

 at Reno on Aug. 30 for the purpose of nomi- 

 nating presidential electors and a State ticket. 

 At a preliminary caucus it became evident that 

 the independent free-silver men would control 

 the convention, and a division in the party was 

 the result. Forty-nine of the delegates, headed 

 by Enoch Strother, chairman of the Republican 

 State Committee, met and selected presidential 

 electors pledged to vote for President Harrison. 

 The congressional nomination was tendered to 

 P. G. Newlands in case he would approve the 

 platform adopted. This he refused to do, and 

 William Woodburn was chosen in his place. 

 The anti-Harrison majority of the delegates, 85 

 in number, met and adopted the nominations of 

 the Silver party for presidential electors and 

 Justice of the Supreme Court. They nominated 

 Francis G. Newlands for Congress, and H. L. 

 Fish and C. E. Mack for Regents of the State 

 University. 



On Sept. 15 a second convention of the Silver 

 party .met at Winnemucca. At the prior con- 

 vention the 'right to instruct the electors then 

 chosen was reserved to any subsequent conven- 

 tion of the party that might be called. Accord- 

 ingly, this convention instructed the Silver elect- 

 ors to vote for Weaver and Field, and approved 

 the platform of the Reno convention. Before 

 the election the name of J. C. Hagerman as can- 

 didate for Congress was substituted on the Demo- 

 cratic ticket for that of George W. Cassidy. who 

 had died on June 24. 



The result of the balloting in November was 

 a victory for the Silver ticket. The Silver party 

 electors received 7.264 votes, the Republican 

 electors 2.811, the Democrats 714, and the Pro- 

 hibitionists 86. For Congressman, Newlands 

 received 7,171 votes, Woodburn 2,295, Hager- 

 man 345, Gardner, Prohibitionist, 67. For Jus- 

 tice of the Supreme Court, Belknap, who was 

 the nominee of both the Silver party and the 

 Democrats, received all the votes. The State 

 Legislature that was chosen at the same time 

 will be composed almost entirely of men belong- 

 ing to the Free-Silver party. 



