THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



71 



enclosures were a lot of printed sheets containing quo- 

 tations from St. Paul and Minneapolis papers lauda- 

 tory of the organization known as the National Irri- 

 gation Association. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE has made many attempts in 

 the past to enlighten the public concerning the weak- 

 nesses of this band of "halo wearers," but it seems that 

 there are many who are as yet ignorant of its plan of 

 misrepresentation and graft. 



The fact of the matter is that this organization is 

 being supported by a lot of well meaning gentlemen 

 in St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Louis and numerous 

 other cities under the misapprehension that it is found- 

 ed on a clean base and is doing much to assist in the 

 development of the West, by irrigation under Govern- 

 ment control. This was perhaps true in the early his- 

 tory of the organization, but is far from being the fact 

 today. 



To further enlighten our correspondent, the fol- 

 lowing facts may be briefly stated : 



The National Irrigation Association is not living 

 up to its original plan of assisting the National Irri- 

 gation Congress in the way of providing funds to meet 

 ordinary expenses, nor has it ever done so. This asso- 

 ciation is collecting large sums of money from its 

 members throughout the country and is giving nothing 

 of a tangible character in return. 



The ringleader of this association admitted before 

 the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands of Con- 

 gress that its income exceeded $60,000 per year. 



He has also declined on numerous occasions to fur- 

 nish any public statement of the manner in which this 

 vast sum is expended. 



He also poses as the father of the irrigation move- 

 ment, when in point of fact, he was a struggling lawyer 

 in California when the first real work for national 

 aid was being performed by men whose aims were good 

 and whose motives were clean. 



He has secured the support of good business men 

 by misrepresentation. 



He has regularly posed as the friend of the home- 

 seeker when in fact he has used every effort to bring 

 about the repeal of certain land laws which would, if 

 carried out, benefit a few large landholders and pro- 

 duce hardship for the great body of homeseekers. 



He and his employers have regularly aimed to 

 misrepresent facts, and place the present and future 

 generations in bondage. 



This association has done nothing as compared with 

 the work of individuals of whom we hear but little, 

 toward developing the West. 



The National Irrigation Association has done much 

 to discredit the land law known as the Carey Act a law 

 under which many worthy private irrigation enterprises 

 were formed and brought to fruition. 



This one-man organization has regularly attempted 

 to hamper all development under private capital. 



It has interfered with the conduct of associations 

 of manufacturers when it could and its leader has re- 

 cently been censured by the Executive Committee of 

 the National Association of Agricultural Implement 

 and Vehicle Manufacturers for undue interference with 

 the plans of that organization. 



The National Irrigation Association has been re- 

 pudiated by the National Irrigation Congress, a worthy 

 institution which it attempted to control and, failing, 

 is now circulating the statement that the usefulness 

 of the National Irrigation Congress has departed. 



The Irrigation Congress is a strong body and will 

 not be injured by their statements. 



The next Congress at Boise will demonstrate that 

 it is much stronger with that element eliminated. 



The leading spirit of the Association has recently 

 made an arrangement at Washington with a prominent 

 lobbyist of large corporate interests to expend a fund 

 which aggregates a quarter of a million dollars annu- 

 ally to educate the public mind to the corporation's way 

 of thinking. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE does not attempt to say 

 whether or not this plan is worthy, but this combination 

 takes on a strange aspect when it is known that this 

 individual is spending that vast sum to combat the 

 plans of the President of the United States, whom he 

 loves to quote where the quotations on reform subjects 

 suit his purpose. 



The President will, no doubt, be surprised to learn 

 that this man who has so assiduously courted his faror 

 through friends in the Eeclamation Service, is in the 

 pay of his (the President's) enemies. 



These and other facts innumerable are given as 

 an excuse for our persistent effort to expose a condi- 

 tion of hypocrisy and sham. 



Some day perhaps we will know how much money 

 has been paid into the hands of this band. 



A remarkable feature of the situation is that such 

 men as Thomas Walsh, of Washington, and such lesser 

 lights as James H. Eccles permit their names to appear 

 in printed matter as officers of this loud smelling organ- 

 ization. 



The National Irrigation Association has never done 

 anything in the way of assisting worthy projects to 

 accomplishment nor has its close relationship with in- 

 dividuals connected with the Reclamation Service been 

 the means of benefiting any particular locality save 

 that of the Salt River community in Arizona, where it 

 is alleged a large sum of money, several millions of 

 dollars, are being spent on a dam and reservoir which 

 will irrigate some 200,000 acres of land owned by pri- 

 vate parties. 



It is further alleged by residents of Arizona that 



