THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



9 



courts, and Mr. Austin G. Gorkam was 

 appointed receiver in 1894. Under the 

 able management of Mr. Gorliam the 

 property was conserved and improved, and 

 finally in the month of June, this year, a 

 reorganization was effected and the title 

 passed to the new corporation, the Den- 

 ver Land and Water Company, and Mr. 

 Gorham was continued as general man- 

 ager. In the strong hands of the new 

 company the property is being greatly im- 

 proved and large tracts of laud are being 

 placed upon the market. The selling 

 methods are somewhat different tothoseof 

 the usual land company as outlined on an- 

 other page in this issue, and the results 

 are being watched with interest. The 

 process of squeezing out the wind and 

 water in the stock of some companies will 

 be directly beneficial, and the general tone 

 of irrigation securities will hereafter be 

 better sustained. 



The Union The reorganization of the 



Pucif ic 



Railroad. Union Pacific Railway seems 



to be assured. The following telegram 

 has just been received at the office of a 

 prominent stock broker in Chicago : "It 

 can be safely announced that the presi- 

 dent and attorney-general have agreed to 

 accept without further delay the Union 

 Pacific reorganization committee's offer to 

 buy that road under foreclosure. The at- 

 torney-general will take no appeal from 

 the recent decision of the courts ; the road 

 will be sold, the government's mortgage 

 satisfied and the Union Pacific reorgan- 

 ized soon after the president's return to 

 Washington." The reorganization of this 

 immense railroad system is of the great- 

 est importance to a number of states, par- 

 ticiilarly Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, 

 Wyoming and Utah. If a liberal attitude 

 toward the development of the resources 

 of the states in which its main lines and 

 principal branches are located, is adopted 

 by the directors of the new company, it 

 will result in the beginning of an immedi- 

 ate upbuilding of this vast territory. It 

 cannot be definitely stated at this time 



what changes if any are to be made in the 

 officials at the heads of the various de- 

 partments, but it is hoped and trusted 

 that those who have rendered such ef- 

 ficient service in the past will be retained 

 and allowed greater authority in the mat- 

 ter of putting into execution the ideas dic- 

 tated by their experience. The history of 

 the Union Pacific Railroad comprises 

 chapters on national pride and individual 

 corruption. From the first birth of an 

 idea of a transcontinental railroad it was 

 held to be a matter of national importance, 

 and selfish men for their own personal 

 gain set forth specious pleas for govern- 

 mental assistance financially. Tremen- 

 dous private fortunes were made on the 

 construction of the road and its final sale 

 on the first of November under the plan 

 now proposed will mean a loss to the 

 government of many millions of dollars. 

 The history of this railroad from its first 

 inception to the present receivership has 

 been written and published in book form 

 by John P. Davis, M. A., and it is a very 

 entertaining and instructive narrative of a 

 gigantic enterprise. 



The As this issue of THE AGE goes 



Irrigation , -, 



Convention, to press there comes a tele- 

 graphic dispatch announcing the conven- 

 ing of the Sixth Annual Irrigation Con- 

 vention. The irrigation enthusiasts have 

 held annual conventions since 1892, when 

 the first one met in Salt Lake City, Utah, 

 on the call issued by William E. Smythe, 

 formerly editor of this magazine. The 

 one tangible result of these conventions 

 has been the placing of the irrigation idea 

 prominently befo.e the public through 

 the medium of the press, and in this way 

 considerable interest has been aroused in 

 the subject. The present convention is 

 composed of some of the leading men of 

 the western states, who have a direct and 

 personal interest in irrigation, and it is 

 hoped some good results will follow. The 

 November number will contain a report of 

 the convention proceedings. 



