THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



VOL. XIII. 



CHICAGO, NOVEMBER, 1898. 



NO. 2. 



THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN HMERICS. 



Those who oppose territorial 

 Trouble at . ... 



Home. expansion for this country 



bring forward to support their 

 arguments the late Indian outbreak in 

 Minnesota and more especially the war of 

 the mining operatives in Illinois, as proof 

 that the United States ought not to ex- 

 tend her territory so long as complete 

 harmony cannot be sustained within her 

 present boundaries. The Indian outbreak 

 which occurred last month, in which Maj. 

 Melville C. Wilkinson. U. S. A., was killed, 

 was the outcome of a long-continued injus- 

 tice to the Indians in regard to the selling 

 of their timber. After the expenses of 

 Ceiling the timber was deducted the pro- 

 ceed* were to be distributed among the 

 Indians owing the timber land, but the 

 men who had charge of the sales took 

 good care that there should be no surplus 

 after the "expenses" were paid. The out- 

 break was due to the dishonesty of some 

 of the political agents, and for a short 

 time it was feared that a general uprising 

 of the 7.000 or 8.000 Indians in that section 

 would occur. 



The war at Virden, 111.. Oct. 12. between 

 the colored and white miners was still 

 more serious, eleven lives being lost and 

 twenty-three persons being injured. This 

 was not so much a protest against negro 

 labor, as some claim, but a protest against 

 any labor being brought from other states 

 to take the places of the strikers. Gov. 

 Tanner did not improve affaire by refusing 

 to send troops, though probably the sym- 

 pathy of the majority of the people is with 

 the strikers, as the history of the treat- 

 ment of the coal miners of Illinois is not a 



subject of which the state can be proud. 



Because these disturbances have occurred 



does not prove that we cannot contend 



with problems of Cuba or the Philippines. 



Tfce In- In speaking of the inquiry now 



vestigating pending of the investigating 



Board. board the jfafoy, O f ^e^rg 



says: "The methods of an investigating 

 committee ought not to be those of a judi- 

 cial tribunal. In the administration of 

 justice it is assumed that things are right 

 until they are proved to be wrong. In the 

 investigation of charges and complaints. 

 on the other hand, it is the usual plan to 

 assume that there is a good deal of founda- 

 tion for the charges, and to give real en- 

 couragement to those who have grievances 

 so that they may not be frightened or dis- 

 couraged in telling what they know. * * 

 Meanwhile we have liberty of the press in 

 this country, and the public will conduct 

 its own investigation. Mistakes of the 

 past cannot be undone, but the country 

 has a night to expect that such mistakes 

 wi,ll not be repeated in the future.'' 



We wish to emphasize one 

 A Division point in Mr Maxwell - s art icle 

 of Irrigation, f 



in this issue, and that is the 



proposition to have a "Division of Irriga- 

 tion in the Department of Agriculture." 

 This meets our hearty approval and en- 

 dorsement. The two are so closely allied 

 that irrigation is as much a part of the 

 agricultural department as is forestry, etc. 

 There is a crying need for a division of 

 this kind to aid the dweller in the arid 

 west to solve the many problems which 

 present themselves to him: which wonld 

 supply him with bulletins and literature 



