170 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



greatness of a nation consists in the larg- 

 est number proportionate to the whole of 

 happy, contented, virtuous, and indepen- 

 dent families it sustains. And I care not 

 what other means of subsistence men may 

 devise." To furnish homes, where now is 

 arid waste land, is the object of the bill 

 now pending. 



The opposition to the measure has not, 

 unfortunately, been confined to the East, 

 but, has come from certain ones of the 

 irrigationists themselves. It is unfortu- 

 nate that when competent men succeed in 

 framing a bill which very nearly meets 

 the requirements of the situation they 

 cannot have the cordial support of all pre- 

 tending to be interested in the cause of 

 irrigation. It is hard to get up a bill 

 which will meet every requirement and 

 be just what its originators hope for, but 

 when this is, in a great degree, accomp- 

 lished, all interested in the subject should 

 support it. Regarding this, Hon. C. D. 

 Clark, of Wyoming, said in a recent 

 speech before the senate: 



"I believe it to be the universal experi- 

 ence that whenever a matter of great pub- 

 lic interest is brought to the attention of 

 Congress, or any other legislative body, 

 that some person, in his own proper in- 

 terest, arises to combat the conclusions of 

 those who have arrived at a satisfactory 

 solution of the matter presented, and will 

 never be contented unless his individual 

 views be embodied in the final solution. 



"There is now extant a certain publica- 

 tion known as the 'National Homemaker,' 

 purporting to be published at Washington, 

 D. C., and to interpret the views of those 

 who are the true friends of irrigation and 

 the reclamation of the arid land. No- 

 where within the covers of said publica- 

 tion is found the name of anyone who is 

 responsible for the same, and from cover 

 to cover it seems only to express the indi- 

 vidual views of one or two persons upon 

 this great subject of national aid. * * * * 

 So far as I am informed, it has no sub- 



Significant. 



scription list, represents no organized ef- 

 fort in behalf of irrigation, but in its edi- 

 torials, illustrations, and general trend op- 

 poses the pending bill and everything that 

 looks toward the reclamation of the public 

 lands except as the same shall be accomp- 

 lished through absolute and unqualified 

 appropriation of public moneys to a na- 

 tional project. * * * It can but ap- 

 pear that the effect if not object of the 

 publication and of the editorials men- 

 tioned is to either postpone indefinitely 

 any action of Congress upon this question 

 or to build up a bureau in the Govern- 

 ment service for the individual remunera- 

 tion or aggrandizement of certain ones 

 opposing the theory and form of the pre- 

 sent bill." 



Our readers may note that 

 THE IRRIGATION AGE is 

 now carrying more advertisements of 

 strong manufacturing concerns than ever 

 before in its history. During the past two 

 years more attention has been given to de- 

 veloping a good strong subscription list 

 than to the matter of securing advertising. 

 We now feel that our paid list of sub- 

 scribers is sufficiently strong to warrant 

 exploiting it. The legitimate advertiser 

 only is solicited, and we can honestly and 

 heartily indorse any claims made in our 

 columns by advertisers. 



The editor would like to 

 hear from individual irri- 

 gators giving their experiences, including 

 failures as well as successes. Send in such 

 matter as you may consider will be in- 

 structive and interesting to others situated 

 like yourself. Tf you do not find time to- 

 prepare matter of this sort in as careful 

 manner as you would possibly like, send 

 in a rough draft of your experiences and 

 we will re-write it and put it in proper 

 shape for publication. 



Indorsed by the When, at the Republican 

 Manufacturers, convention of 1860, Abra- 

 ham Lincoln then a comparatively u n- 



A Request. 



