THE REPUBLIC OF IRRIGATION. 



195 



of the conditions existing in the western half of the 

 United States and to assist in turning the attention of 

 the people in that direction. You have only to thor- 

 oughly comprehend our objects to become our zealous 

 champion. The eastern boundary of the Republic 

 of Irrigation and mind you, we use the word in .its 

 economic rather than political sense will cut your 

 own Nebraska in twain. If you will put your stalwart 

 shoulder to the wheel we shall gain several years of 

 valuable time. For you are a Populist Senator who 

 enjoys the entire respect of Congress and the nation. 



TO THOMAS B. REED. 



We hail you as the first Eastern statesman to grasp 

 the mighty significance of Arid America. In your 

 speech at Pittsburg on the night of April 27th you said, 

 with splendid eloquence: 



Mighty as has been our past our resources have just been 

 touched upon, and there is wealth beyond the Mississippi which 

 in the not distant future will astonish even the dwellers on the 

 shores of Lake Michigan. 



From the time my eyes first rested, on the great uncultivated 

 plains which lie between the Mississippi and the Pacific ocean, my 

 wakening dreams have been filled with visions of the incalculable 

 wealth which the touch of living water will bring to life from those 

 voiceless deserts. There wealth only can produce wealth, and man, 

 singly and alone, might as well try to subdue the Himalayas as to 

 cope with these wastes, but the hand of united and associated man is 

 already reaching forth to grasp the great results. 



The same power which wastes millions on the Mississippi can be 

 utilized to make the desert blossom with the homes of men, for whom 

 and for all of us the norv blighted soil will bring forth the fruits of 

 the Garden of Eden. 



We recognize in these ringing words the voice of 

 a statesman of national vision almost the first New 

 England has given us since the passing of Daniel 



Webster. W T ill you help us to make real these 

 " wakening dreams" of yours and these lofty hopes 

 of your countrymen of the West? 



TO ALBERT SHAW. 



As editor of the Re-view of Reviews you speak to 

 an audience which makes public opinion in this 

 country. Perhaps no other man reaches so many 

 people whom it would be desirable to have familiar 

 with the future possibilities of our arid region. You 

 are national in your sympathies. You are well 

 acquainted with the West. You can do as much as 

 any man to help us carry home to the American 

 people the practical wisdom of developing, as 

 largely and rapidly as possible, the resources of their 

 great national estate. Will you give the influence of 

 your powerful magazine to help us found splendid 

 institutions and make homes for millions of people ? 

 And if you could gain the co-operation of William T. 

 Stead you would do us a double good. We have 

 heard his trumpet call for " the union of all who love 

 in the service of all who suffer." A free translation 

 of this great battle-cry would apply as well to our 

 cause, for we want to see a union of all who believe 

 in the destiny of the human race in the service of all 

 who desire to find better conditions of living for aver- 

 age people. 



THE MESSAGE MUST BE HEARD. 



This is the message of the men of Arid America. 

 It will be reiterated until the world hears and listens, 

 and until the splendid proportions of the new civiliz- 

 ation rise grandly against their mountain background 

 in the new and Greater West. 



- ' " 



A SENTINEL OF THE DESERT.- WESTERN COLORADO OR RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILROAD. 



