THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



to wake up, and soon California will cease 

 gathering all the cream." 



A serious row regarding divisions on 

 California freight traffic has just broken 

 out between the Western Freight Associa- 

 tion and the Southern Pacific Railway 

 Company. 



The bad treatment Western Fruit Grow- 

 ers and shippers get in Chicago has been 

 the subject of much discussion of late in 

 the annual meetings and at the Exchanges, 

 and reform in this respect is demanded. 

 Uniform, fair rates of transportation are 

 also demanded. Cut rates and rebates to 

 certain shippers only injure the general 

 trade. 



DEFRAUDING THE SETTLERS 



A special detective from the Wisconsin 

 district has been investigating the offices 

 in the State of Washington in the guise 

 of a litigant and reports that a cabal ex- 

 ists, composed of many prominent men 

 in Western Washington, some of whose 

 names are given, who are engaged in a 

 gigantic scheme to steal public lands and 

 defraud settlers, and that Receiver Haw- 

 kins' connection with them, innocently or 

 otherwise, calls for his removal. Register 

 Murphy is believed to have had no connec- 

 tion with this scheme. 



WESTERN MEASURES IN CONGRESS. 



The House committee on public lands 

 has decided to favorably report the bill in- 

 troduced by Representative Wilson, of 

 Idaho, to give 25 per cent of the proceeds 

 of mineral lands in public land States for 

 the support of schools of mines. 



"A Free Home bill," making actual 

 residence on railroad land grants unnec- 

 essary where lands had been fenced and 

 improved, has passed the House. 



On motion of Mr. Bowers, Republican, 

 California, a bill has passed the House 

 authorizing the Secretary of the Interior, 

 iinder regulations to be fixed by him, to 

 permit the use of right of way upon pub- 

 lic lands for the purpose of generating 

 electric power. 



A NEW ENTERPRISE 



The Pawnee Pass Reservation Company 

 has filed a request with the State Land 

 Board of Colorado, to be sent to the Sec- 

 retary of the Interior to segregate 300,000 



acres of land in Logan county for recla- 

 mation under the arid land law. The 

 company is represented by R. C. West, of 

 Greeley. The proposition of the company 

 is to construct a reservoir to hold 1,500,- 

 000, 000 cubic feet of water, which will be 

 sufficient to irrigate 300,000 acres of land. 

 The ditch which will be constructed will 

 be fifty miles long. 



A CORRECTION. 



Editor IRBIGATION AGE: In your bio- 

 graphical sketch of me in your issue of 

 THE AGE for January, there is one error 

 which I desire to correct, as it might work 

 an injury to an engineer of high standing 

 and of whom I have the highest opinion. 

 It is the statement that I had exclusive 

 charge of the Jurupa Canal and Vivienda 

 Pipe Line in San Bernardino county, Cal- 

 ifornia. While these works were being 

 designed and constructed I was associated 

 in business with Walter C. Parmley, C. E. , 

 now of Peoria, 111., and his share and re- 

 sponsibility in them were equal to my 

 own. I make this statement in justice to 

 Mr. Parmley, knowing that you did not 

 publish it intending to slight him, and be- 

 cause I do not wish any more praise than 

 justly belongs to me. Mr. Parmley was 

 associated with me in the practice of irri- 

 gation engineering from 1887 to 1889 and 

 I am proud of this fact and the fact that all 

 work done by our firm was highly success- 

 ful. F. C. FINKLE. 



GOOD ROADS IN ILLINOIS. 



At the ninth annual convention of the 

 county supervisors and commissioners of 

 Illinois, held at Kankakee, the convention 

 was organized permanently under the 

 name of the State Association of Super- 

 visors, County Commissioners and County 

 Clerks. The chair was authorized to ap- 

 point a committee of nine to present recom- 

 mendations of the convention to the next 

 General Assembly. A. G. Woodbury, of 

 Danville, spoke upon ' 'Roads and Bridges." 

 He said good gravel roads could be built 

 for $1,500 a mile, macadam from f 1,800 to 

 $7,500. The passage of the Bogardus 

 road bill was recommended; also that the 

 road and bridge law be amended so as to 

 increase the amount that may be levied 

 from 20 cents on $100 valuation to 40 

 cents. 



