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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1903)
THE SUNDAY OKEGQNIAN, PORTLATO, KAY 24 190?, PACIFIC COAST AND THE TWO NATIONAL TICKETS Both Parties Arc Seeking to Secure the Vice-Presidental Nomination in 1904. v St. XjOuIs Globe-Democrat, May 17. THERE Is some significance In the "bid -which the Pacific Coast is mak ing for the second place on the Na tional ticket of each of the great parties. Franklin Key Lane, of California, ia the aspirant for the selection off the Demo cratic side. Several persons on the north ern end of the Coast have been mentioned la connection with the Hepubllcan candi dacy, and one of the persons who have "been urging such selections is Senator Addison G. Foster, of the State of Wash ington. Says the Senator: "The Pacific Coast would like to furnish a running mate for Mr. Roosevelt, and it will make & strong effort to do so. It is an honor we deserve, and ought to have. There is no scarcity of good material. In my own state there are a dozen men who would make splendid presiding officers of the Senate." He mentions several, and says the whole Pacific Coast Is going to make an earnest effort to get a man from that region put up in the second place on the Republican ticket. Mr. Lane, the Democratic aspirant, has ,en advantage over the Republicans of his region who have been mentioned In this connection, In that be has some following outside of his own state. A movement has been started in Texas in his favor. Many prominent Democrats m that state are for him, and it la said he. has found friends in. the rest of the South." If the Democrats .choose their Presidential candidate from JJew York, and there is a strong proba bility that they will, the selection of a California man for a partner would give i a. continental scope to the ticket which would be imposing. Mr. Lane is a man of" considerable distinction in his own lo cality. He "was the Democratic candidate :for Governor of California in 1902, and, al though he failed of election, he ran so retrong that the Republican candidate, G. C Pardee, had a plurality of only 2500. The fact that he cut to that small figure the Republican margin of 40,000, which was trolled up for McKlnley and Roosevelt two years earlier shows that he Is a man of .considerable popularity In his locality, tend probably Justifies him in hoping that jhe can get the eolld support of the Pacific ICoast in the National convention of 1504. First Claim of the "West. , It is now a little over three-quarters of fa. century since the Kentucky Legisla ture, placing Henry Clay in the field, said Jt felt that the time had come "when the .people of the "West may, with some con 'fldence. appeal to the magnanimity of the whole Union for a favorable consideration of their equal and Just claim to a fair participation in the executive government of these states." Kentucky asked, In its overtures of 1S22, for a Presidential nomi nation, while all that California and "Washington in 1903 seek is a Vice-Presidential candidacy. The Pacific Slope's modesty stands out strongly In the com parison. In the case of Kentucky, of course, the favor was asked for one of the largest personages in the country of his day, and his day extended through 40 years. At the time when Kentucky ap pealed for a consideration of Clay's claims for the Presidency 16 years had passed elnce he entered National politics for the first time by going to the Senate. In the House of Representatives, which he en tered after he served a short time in the upper chamber, he was the dominant fig ure from the start. He was chosen speaker on the first day of his .entrance in the Houser and he was re-elected re peatedly. His service as speaker, which lasted almost ten years in the aggregate, was longer than that of any other man In the whole history of the country. The Federalists who called the war of 1812 Madison's war would have been nearer the truth if they termed it Clay's war. In fact, Clay in 1&2 appeared to have showed about as much contempt for Madi son as he did for Harrison in the month of that official's service in 1S4J, and for Harrison's successor, Tyler, immediate ly afterward. The Pacific Coast today has no man on cither the Democratic or the Republican side of such com manding importance as Clay pos sessed In 1522 when the Legislature of his state asked for the country's support for him for President. Nor has any part of the "West such a personage now. Moreover, Kentucky and the other states on the western side of the Alle ghenles had a larger vote in the electoral college relatively to the whole country's poll three-quarters of a century ago than the Pacific Coast States have today. The "West of that day, with Its Clay, its Jack son, its Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, "Tecumseh's slayer"; its Ninlan Edwards and Jesse B. Thomas in the Senate from Illinois, the second of whom was the author of tho Missouri compromise proper, and its Benton, Barton and Scott of Mis souri, was socially of more consequence In the 20s of the recent century than the Pacific Coast section of the "West is, pro portionally to the rest of the country, to Bay. The TrnnnOIouiitnln Empire. Yet the region on the Rocky Mountains sunset side has some claim on the coun try's favor In a political way. Of tho B.000,000 square miles of territory in the contiguous part of the United States, much more than a quarter of it, or SOO.OOO square miles, lies west of the Rocky Mountain divide. The rivers which flow into the Pacific and tho waterways of the great basin drain an area which is grow ing in population much faster than is the rest of thq country in the aggregate. Of the 76,000,000 of the country's Inhabitants in 1SO0 nearly 3.300.000 were west of the crest of the Rockies. "With the westward 6Wlng of the course of empire, which is represented by the relatively greater in creaee of tho region west of the Rocky Mountains than of the entire country In the aggregate, considerable political power Is certain to pome to that locality at an early day. As tho trade of the Pa cific Ocean Increases, and this Is undoubt edly destined to be one day nearly or quite as great as that of the Atlantic, the region bordering on it is bound to have a commanding place in the social and po litical life of tho country. Benton 60 years ago said the settlers in Oregon, which included the present states of Ore BPn, "Washington and Idaho and parts of Montana and "Wyoming, would open for us the North American road to India, which lay, as he said, through the South pass and tho mouth of the Columbia. Two other avenues to Asia have been earned since then, neither of which was in the great Miseourfan's calculation at that time one by way of Puget Sound, which was in the Oregon country, and the other by the Golden Gate, which was Mexican territory then. Coast Political History. The Pacific Coast has figured with con siderable prominence In politics at one tlmo and another for many years. The contest over Oregon was an Issue in tho Presidential canvass of 1S44, and excited the Interest of the country for many years bettre that date. A controversy as to the title to that region was waged be tween the United States and England for several decades, and more than once it threatened to result in war. The United States claimed everything up to the pres ent Alaska, then Russian territory, while England asserted a title to the whole locality down to the mouth of the Colum bia and even farther south. In the Dem ocratic platform of 1S44; on which Polk was elected, it was asserted that "our title to the whole of the territory of Or egon is clear and unquestionable; that no portion of the came ought to be ceded to England or any other power and that the reoccupatlon of Oregon and the rean nexatlon of Texas at the earliest prac ticable period are great American meas ures which this convention recommends to the cordial support of the Democracy of the Union." The expression about Ore gon was intended for use in the. North chiefly. That about Texas was designed to strengthen the party in the South, The Oregon expression was crystallized Into the campaign cry of "Fifty-four-forty or fight," the northern line of the Oregon country and the southern boundary of Russia's territory of Alaska being at the parallel of 54 degrees, 40 minutes. A com promise, however, was entered Into with England In 1S46, a little over a year after Polk went Into office, whereby we ac cepted the parallel of 49 degrees as our northern boundary on the Pacific slope. Afterward, until Oregon became a state In 1SS9, the slavery question as applied to that region took up a good deal of the country's attention. California's "Uncertainty. California furnished a very exciting, po litical issue very soon after she became United States territory. The discovery of gold there in 184S peopled California so quickly that while the politicians in Con gress were wrangling about organizing it as a territory It was knocking for ad mission as a state. This was in 1S19. Tho Issue became so portenous, aa California would enter as a free state and break tho balance between the sections, that It forced the series of deals between the North and South which are called col lectively the compromise of 1S50. A great deal of Interest was felt In California's partisan attiude In the early days. The state was Democratic at the outset, but the Democrats split on the slavery Issue. Lincoln carried the state on this account In I860, though his margin was perilously narrow. He received S9.173 votes, while Douglas had 3S.516", and the other section of the Democratic party, led by Breckin ridge, had 34,334. Breckinridge's propor tion of the California vote was far larger than it was In any other free state in the country. There was a strong seces sion element in that state in the Civil "War days. After the war for many yeara tho state was uncertain. Grant carried It in 186S, though by only COO votes. Hayes lead in It in lS76, too, was short, while in 1SS0, on account of the bogus Morey pro Chinese letter, attributed to Garfield, the state went to the Democrats by less than 100 votes, and In 1892 Cleveland carried It by about 300 votes. This doubt as to California's partisan status naturally gave It much interest for the politicians. In those days of narrow margins in the Electoral College It was easily seen that California might sometimes turn the scale, as, indeed, it did In 1876. Oregon and Washington. Oregon's politics has been uncertain enough at one time and another to render it an object of some solicitude to tho par ty leaders. The slave state element In its population put ah ,antl-negro clause in its first constitution which bothered the Re publicans a good deal at the cutset. Many of Oregon's original Immigrants were from Missouri and Arkansas, and they carried with them their prejudice against the block man. Although tho Republicans made a hard fight for Oregon's admission as a state. Its first Presidential election, that of I860, was so close as between Lin coln and Breckenridge that Lincoln's lead was less than 300 votes. Moreover, the Vice-Presidential nominee on the Brecken ridge ticket in that year, Joseph Lone, was from Oregon. Oregon's attitude in that contest was a decided surprise for the Republicans of the county In tho election of 1864 tho Republicans had a longer lead in Oregon, but in 1865, even with such a popular man as Grant at the head of their ticket, the Republicans lost the state, though by less than 200 votes. The- Democrats have often carried tho state for3overnor and Congressmen. Even in 1902, although the Republicans carried Oregon by largo majorities on Congress men, the Democrats, on account of a Re publican squabble, elected the Governor. The other states of the Pacific Slopo are likewise doubtful enough to make them Interesting In the big canvasses. Bryan carried "Washington by a good-sized plu rality in 1896, and, though McKinley won it in 1S00, the Democrats carried it in the same year for Governor. There is no cer tainty about its alignment In 1904. al though the chances seem to favor the Re publicans, largely on account of President Roosevelt's personal popularity on the Pa cific Coast, as well as throughout the whole of the "West. In Idaho the Demo crats have been powerful from the begin ning, and the Populists were strong in that state during the days of their party, though they drew more from tho Demo crats than they did from the Republi cans. In 1895 Bryan swept the state by an almost unanimous vote, but In the elec tion for Governor two years later the fuslonlsts' lead was short, and Bryan's mangin in 1900 was rather narrow in it, but sufficient. Idaho was one of the four states which comprised Bryan's entire following outside of the old slavery region. The Republicans carried Idaho in 1902 for Congressman, but they are not claim ing it for 1904, despite the popularity 6f the President in that quarter. GroTrth of the Const. The recent drift or population In the "West seems to show that tho states on the Rocky Mountain's sunset side are growing faster at this moment than are those of the region between that chain end the Mississippi, unless, perhaps, in the case of Texas and the Dakotas. The trade from the Pacific ports is increasing much more rapidly at this time than Is that from the Atlantic seaboard. The construction recently for the Pacific trade of some of the largest vessels afloat shows that Hill and the. rest of the shrewd per sonages who are Interested in the com merce of that part of tho country believe tho growth of the Pacific Slope Is going to be rapid In the future- Of course, the Increase "of Ihe country's commerce with China and Japan will register itself chief ly in the transactions of the ports of the Pacific Coast of the United States. The Lewis and Clark Fair at Portland, Or., in 19G5 is certain to' call the country's atten tion in a direct and effective way to the great natural resources and capabilities of the Pacific Slope. San Francisco is said to be anxious to get the Republican Na tional convention of 1904. and. of 'course, she may succeed, although the chances now are that that gathering, as well as the Democratic convention, will come to St Louis In that year on account of the "World's Fair. Yet the prospects of the growth of the far "Western States In pop ulation, wealth and political power are so bright that their residents are justified In seeking even now for some of the big prizes of politics. "When the Republican party. In its first Presidential canvass, se lected its candidate. Fremont, from Cali fornia, which was only six years old as a state at that time, it paid a tribute to the march of empire. California celebrated Its half-century of statehood three years, ago, and Oregon will soon reach the 50 year mile post The tlmo is near at hand when the pacific Coast tier of states may reasonably aspire 'to a participation In the political favors, which the n,earer "West has been having for many years. CHARLES M. HARVEY. GOVERNMENT AND THE NEW Its Attitude Toward Private Enterprises $t Forth IRRIGATION i;AW Jpr the rst iirje. Cattle RhhhIhk at Large. Is there a law against cattle running at large in Multnomah County? If so, when does it come in force? W. E. C The last Legislature passed a law un der which each election precinct may de cide by ballot whether stock shall be al lowed to run at large. In such precinct That Is to say, the voters may decide whether the general law to regqjate stock shall apply to their particular precinct. Here Is the statute In full: "Section 1. The act of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon, ap proved February 21, 1S93, entitled 'An act to regulate the running at large of stock.' In counties having a population of 50.000 or more, apply to a single election pre cinct On the petition of 0 or more legal and being sections 4243, 4244. 4245, 4246, 4217 (of Bellinger and Cotton Code), shall, voters of any election precinct In any such county, the question as to whether or not stock shall run at large in said election precinct shall be submitted to tho voters of said election precinct at the next general election. In tho same manner as Is provided In said act for the submis sion of the same question to the voters of any county; and If a majority of the votes cast In such election precinct at such general election be against stock running at large, all the provisions of j Increasing said act shall apply to and bo in force in said election precinct" , Tho law goes Into effect May 21. There is great- rejoicing ia Phoenix, Ariz., over approval by the Secretary of the Interior of the plans of a lecal irri gation company practically the first of ficial declaration of the Government's at titude toward enterprises begun by pri vate capital. The following from the Ari zona Republican Trill be read with inter est by all residents of Oregon, Washing ton, and Idaho Interested in ihe irrigation of arid lands: Yesterday was the proudest day In the annals' of PhoenlxTs history, "forltbrought the assurance from an official source that the storage reservoir at the Tpnto site on the Salt River will be built, and at tho earliest possible moment if the plan heretofore formulated by theWater Users. Assoclatiqn Is parried out What that means for this city and this valley there la no need to relate at this time, for It has been the subject of "countless news paper articles heretofore and. will be the text of volumes yet to be written. Suffi cient to Ifnow that the crisis Is passed, that the realization of tt)e hopes and am bitions of years. Is definitely settled; that an expanding and a. glorious, future re mains In wWsh there will, be, ample time to talk about it In conformity with the announcement made, the board of governors of the Water Users' Association, leaders of the so-called mlnbrlty stockholders pf the, as sociation and representatives of the press met at the rooms of the association and heard from the ilps of Charles Df. Walcott. director of the Geological Survey, the con clusion arrived at by the Secretary of the interior, that the Tonto site, met his ap proval from an engineering standpoint that "the articles of Incorporation of the Salt River Valley Water Users' Associa tion also met his approval, that Director Walcott s authorized to secure rights en abling construction, and that if assur ance can be given that the Government will be reimbursed for Its expenditure, construction will begin In the near future. The meeting was called to order by President Fowler, of the association, who wasted neither .time nor words in stating Its object and presenting Mr. Walcott who, addressing himself at once to the matter in hand, spoke as follows: Director Walcott's Statement. "Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: As you are all perfectly aware, for the past ten years tho Geological Survey has been In terested in the water supply of the West Through its bydrographlc division it has been making Investigations and obtaining data as to the water and the feasibility of the supply for irrigation. Shortly after the reclamation act was passed the Secretary of the Interior be gan through the survey the investigation o various reclamation and storage pro jects through pie 17 spates, "and territories mentioned in the bill. That investigation was begun early In July last "I do'not recall the date" now, but about a month ago, I enpuld. say, five plans were submitted to the Secretary for his approval. One of those projects was the Salt River reservoir. The Secretary ap proved the recommendation that the res ervoir on the Salt River be looked' Into further with a vlevr o ultimately con structing it Under that authority, we continued the investigation at the Salt River or Tonto Basin site, and pur sur veying parties are now $t w;ork. I in formed the Secretary that I wished to Visit several of these localities for which was contemplated the construction of ir rigation works, and. first, the Salt River Valley and the Tonto Basin. "I arrived here, I think, March 25. and spent nearly two weeks" in looking Into the Valley from the Arlzopa head, taking in both sides of the Valley, north and south of the river, visiting the principal points and looking at the Irrigated lands, giving me a general view of the physical situation. Recently I have visited the Tonto Basin, examined the dam site and the basin, and the different alternative schemes connected with the construction of the dam, the power plant and so forth. I wag-accompanied by Mr. Arthur P. Da vis, our civil engineer, whom all of you know; Mr. Wlsner, the consulting engin eer, also a cement expert and we also had an electrical engineer "with a view to Investigating questions connected with the proposed water power at the dam. An Ideal Dam Site. "Wo found everything of the most fa vorable character. The bedrock, at 24 feet, is most satisfactory. The founda tions are solid, and the abutting" walla are as good as any engineer could ask for. We also found that the maps were correct In relation to tho area that could be cov ered by water, and that a dam built to a height of 230 feet above the level of the stream bed would store all the water that would be apt to be available in any one year. The power proposition was pro nounced by the engineer to be entirely feasible, and if this reservoir Is construct ed, I think that this will be one of the first things undertaken, to facilitate con struction of the dam, the operation of the cement works, etc We found an abund ant supply of lime and an abundance of clay, and all the things necessary for the manufacure of hydraulic cement at the site. This will be a great economy, of course, as It will save the hauling of ce ment to the dam. "I reported to the Secretary shortly aft er arriving in Phoenix, and I gave him as best I could a statement of the history of irrigation in the Salt River Valley, and PULPIT STUDIES OF PROMINENT PORTLAND MISTERS C-QupO p-SC t SSQT dressed Life mn 07 YAlkiiPa de-- boit yea? accompanied it with various documents, with all of whjch ypu, are more or less familiar, Indicates the growth," and devel ppnient of this irrigation association and the development of the canal svstems- ' and the present condition of the farmers in the Valley. He received tftat repqrt, and yesterday I had information from him. I was authorized to tell the people of' his decision In1 relation to the matter. The "Secretary has officially authorized me to inform the citizens of the Salt River Valley. Secretary Hltetaceck.'s Sesltlea. "First, that the Secretary of the In terior has granted authority to the di rector of the Geological Survey for the ac quisition of necessary property, rights of way, etc, preliminary to the construction pf irrigation works on the Salt River, Arizona, under authority of the reclama tion act, approved June 17.' 19CCL The con struction remains subject to the feasibility Of obtaining the necessary rights, and the adjustmcnfbf private claims in such man ner as to comply witli the provisions of the act "Second, that In response to inquiries from a citizen of the Salt River Valley, the Secretary pf the Interior has decided: A. That the Secretary of the Interior can. under the law, deal with an organ ization in receiving payments from indi viduals who have contracted for water rights under the terms of the' reclamation, act B; It Is not necessary or advisable at the present time to determine upon a gen eral form of organization to be taken as a basis in organizing every reservoir dis trict C. The particular form of prganlzatlon for the Salt River Valley may be modi fled in the future as necessities may re quire, but for the present the form al ready adopted by the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association Is considered sufficient D. It Is probably possible ?n completing the details of distributing to make ar rangements whereby the owners of vested rights may be benefited. Such details, however, are not essential for present consideration, and may safely be left for Initiation by the local organization of water users. Their united' "opinion upon the matter should have weight In the final determination. In regard to the case of Salt River Val ley, where there are several thousand owners of small tracts who desire to be supplied with water under the terms of the law and In other similar cases, it Is clearly essential to insure unUy of pur pose and to secure the best results that such owners unite in an organization which will act as the agent for the In dividuals. Security Required. It Is also essential that such organiza tion as a whole guarantee that the pay ments be made and that the strongest possible security be given the Government for the faithful performance of contracts which may be made. Third, th.at the department has consid ered the appeal fif th? minority of the Salt River Valley -rfater storage confer ence committee, and decided that any in terposition on the part of the department would appear to be unnecessary and tend rather to delay and complicate affairs, and would not result to advantage In the execution of the law. I wish to add. it should be understood that the Government will deal with the individual in issuing to each person a water right and patent to his land If the latter has not been obtained before, and that the final water right or patent will be issued to the individual when all pay ments have been made to the Government The department has alsp noted th.at tho articles of Incorporation of the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association provlda that they are subject to the rules and regulations of the Secretary the- In terior or the Government concerning the storage, diversion, delivery, application or use of any water stored, developed or delivered to the association. This assures the water user that he will receive his due share of the water as he is protected by the right of appeal to the Secretary if the rules and regulations of the -department are not carried out by the association. A3 a whole,, the articles of Incorporation of the association are approved. Friendly Interest. Having concluded the reading of his formal statement the director continued his extemporaneous remarks: "Gentlemen, I wish to say a word or two personally; not about this -so much, but about my visit here. I have had a very pleasant time'. I am greatly inter ested in the development of the Salt River Valley. This Is one of the projects which was called to my attention early, but I told Mr. Newell, who has charge of the hydrographic work, that I should not 'visit the Salt River Valley and Phoenix until there was a fair prospect of carry ing forward storage. I passed through the territory, north and south, for a num ber of years, but I knew pf the situation here so thoroughly from various descrip tions by our engineers and by persons from here who had been in Washington, that I felt there was no question about the feasibility of storing water for this Valley. It has been a great pleasure for me to come here, and I sincerely trust ttiat the conditions will be such that work can be begun at an early date. Our en gineers are how at work gathering fur ther data, and if in the early Fall satis factory proof has been given to the Sec retary that security will be given for the money expended, work will undoubtedly be begun at an early day. "As you know, you have conditions here which "are found nowhere else. A system of canals has grown up, and a situation has been created which is unlike the Qii dltions" In. any other place where we are likely to initiate work. Rests WItk People. "And there is no other project that I know of at least no other project that we have under consideration at present Where the decision remains with tlje peo ple whether the work shall b.e gone; pr not "In other places we have large, fi-ref of Government land, and any man taking up his homestead of 160 acres agrees with." JhQ Government to pay back his share pf tfte cost of the reseryolr pr irrigation work?, and the Government retains the tide, tP the land until the last payment Is made, which, will be ten years, in any cas,e. When the ast payment "is made, the Gov ernment gives him full tltjs to the, iapa And In putllning thjese various proposi tions the five which have been mentioned attention was especially called to the fact that the lands of the Salt River Val ley were to a large extent in private ownership, and -if water could be stored which the lands do not require, there is public land, to which It can be carried; that the power plant wiil develop from SOOO to 5000 horsepower during the season It will be desirable to pump water, and the plant after the construction of the dam presumably will be transferred to the Valley. Tbe operation of thja pump ing plant will largely Increase the irri gated area." Ome Little Lesaea. Little children, tell m true, yvhat make life so sweet to ypu7 . "Mother-love and "sunny skies; Light or Heaves la oaf eyes." little children, tell xh true. Wljat snakes some days sad for. you? ''Seldsb thoughts" and) $elfih. ways Spoil the lqyejlest of. days." Little children, tell rae true, Can I be as gay as you? "IyOve, aad try the' world to bless; You will find true happiness." Janet Brae. v -- ' Have you friends cosalng frosa the East? If "ae. send their names to the'Deavee & j Rio Grae 0$e( lf-third street, Port 4 4- V