THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



VOL. XII. 



CHICAGO, MARCH, 1898. 



NO. 6, 



THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN fiMERICH 



The War 

 Cloud. 



Not since the firing on Fort 

 Sumpter caused the blood of 

 old age to leap with youthful vigor through 

 his veins, and his eye gleam with the fire of 

 patriotism, has anything occured to rouse 

 the American people to such intense ex- 

 citement as did the news of the Maine 

 disaster. The people throughout the land, 

 north and south, east and west, regardless 

 of party, joined in voicing their sorrow for 

 the dead and their horror at a deed so 

 atrocious. Not alone did we mourn, for 

 words of sympathy' came from foreign 

 powers. Not only did the nation weep, 

 but there came from thousands theory for 

 vengeance on the perpetrators of such a 

 deed, and a war between Spain and the 

 United States seemed eminent. John 

 Stuart Mills once said: 



"War is an ugly thing, but not the ug- 

 liest of things; the decayed and degraded 

 state of moral and patriotic feeling which 

 thinks nothing worth a war is worse." 



The Americans cannot be charged with 

 this "decayed and degraded'' feeling, for 

 they are willing nay eager to fight in 

 defense of their country. And this is as 

 it should be. What though it be true that 

 many men in public office are corrupt; 

 what if there are many abuses that should 

 be righted; what though might is oft-times 

 stronger than right; all this and more may 

 be true is true and yet the stars and 

 stripes are still worth fighting for, and 

 brave men are still willing to bleed and 

 die for the sake of the red, white and blue. 



It is not the men in office that we fight 

 for not for the sake of boodling aldermen 

 and scheming politicians, but for the land 

 our fathers bought with sacrifice and suf- 

 fering and the flag they raised is still 

 worthy of defense. 



John Patter- John Patterson, a well known 

 son's Plan. res i(j en t O f Minneapolis has 

 signified his intention of getting 100,000 

 men to go to Cuba, for the purpose of tak- 

 ing up land holdings there. He thinks 

 the Spaniards would not dars molest such 

 a large number of men who would go for 

 the purpose of making a living, not for 

 war. Americans owning large tracts of 

 land in Cuba, will gladly divide these 

 into small tracts for the intending settlers, 

 and will wait for their pay. Mr. Patter- 

 son thinks it would be very appropriate to 

 land his l')0,000 men in Cuba on July 4, 

 and so far his efforts to raise the required 

 number are meeting with such success 

 that possibly his wishes may be realized. 



Trees For Everyone agrees that the de- 

 Tennessee struction of the forests is 

 very damaging to the land. This however 

 will not bring back the trees, and no one 

 seemed to have a feasible method of rem- 

 edying the evil, until a Tennssee man re- 

 cently suggested a plan which seems to be 

 practical as well as novel. The gentleman 

 mentioned is Major Vanderford, professor 

 of agriculture in the University of Ten- 

 nessee, and director of the Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, and he thinks he has 



