CONVICTS FOR ARID LANDS. 



SENATOR DIETRICH OF NEBRASKA HAS A 

 UNIQUE IRRIGATION SCHEME. 



An open letter to His Excellency, Ex-Governor of Nebraska, Hon. C. H. Deifcrich, 



now U. S. Senator. 



LINCOLN, NEB. 

 Oov. Deitrich, Dear Sir. 



I read with great pleasure and approval your late invaluable 

 article on the subject of ''Irrigation of our arid lands of the west" as 

 it appeared in the Kansas City Star; and as a co-worker in the common 

 cause of the best interests of humanity and philanthrophy, I take 

 great pleasure in expressing to you and the world at large my appre- 

 ciation of your zeal in this the greatest enterprise that is before the 

 American people, and I take great pleasure in reproducing it for the 

 benefit of other readers through the pages of that invaluable medium 

 of exchange of thought, the "IRRIGATION AGE," published at Chicago 

 by that prince of good fellows, Hon. J. E. Forrest. 



And we here submit your article in full : 



"In the next Congress an effort will be made to place all peniten- 

 tiaries under federal control and utilize the energies of all, except the 

 most desperate criminals, in the contruction of irrigating trenches and 

 reservoirs for the reclamation of the arid districts in the West. Sen- 

 ator C. H. Dietrich of Nebraska is the sponsor of the scheme and is 

 now preparing a bill which he will introduce into the next Congress 

 to bring about the desired change. 



"Recently a conference of congressional members from several 

 states with arid lands was held in Omaha. Senator Dietrich gave a 

 brief outline of his scheme and the congressmen who were present 

 pledged support to the measure. As a result of the meeting Senator 

 Deitrich hastened to Washington to begin work on the bill. He will 

 have the hearty support of the Nebraska delegation, regardless of 

 party affiliations, and they will try to secure additional aid from the 

 representatives from the other arid states. 



"Senator Dietrich proposes to divide the United States into dis- 

 tricts, in each one of which a federal prison will be maintained. To 

 the federal prisons all convicts will be sent. The authorities at each 

 penitentiary will be required to select all orderly, well behaved con- 

 victs for labor in the arid regions. These men are to be provided with 

 citizens' clothing and taken to the scene of their labors, where they 

 will be treated as ordinary workmen. Good conduct, and according 



