World's supply of beet and cane sugar, from 1840 to 1904.

I am opposed to free trade because it degrades American labor; I am opposed to free silver because it degrades American money.Maj. Wm. McKinley to Homestead workingmen, Sept 12, 1896.

American wage-workers work with their heads as well as their hands. Moreover, they take a keen pride in what they are doing; so that, independent of the reward, they wish to turn out a perfect job. This is the great secret of our success in competition with the labor of foreign countries.-President Roosevelt, in message to Congress, Dec. 3, 1901.

Not only must our labor be protected by the tariff, but it should also be protected so far as it is possible from the presence in this country of any laborers brought over by contract, or of those who, coming freely, yet represent a standard of living so depressed that they can undersell our men in the labor market and drag them to a lower level.-President Roosevelt, in message to Congress, Dec. 3, 1901.

The Government should provide in its contracts that all work should be done under "fair" conditions, and in addition to setting a high standard should uphold it by proper inspection, extending, if necessary, to the subcontractors.-President Roosevelt, in message to Congress, Dec. 3, 1901.

The certain way of bringing great harm upon ourselves, without in any way furthering the solution of the problem, but, on the contrary, deferring indefinitely its proper solution, would be to act in a spirit of ignorance, of rancor, in a spirit which would make us tear down the temple of industry in which we live because we are not satisfied with some of the details of its management.-President Roosevelt at Fitchburg, Mass., Sept. 2, 1902.

I am President of all the people of the United States, without regard to creed, color, birthplace, occupation, or social condition. My aim is to do equal and exact justice as among them all.-President, Roosevelt, in a statement to executive council American Federation of Labor, Sept. 29, 1903.

PUBLIC LANDS.

President Roosevelt's Public Land Policy.

President Roosevelt, more than any of his predecessors, has manifested an active interest and exercised a potent influence in endavoring to establish and put into execution a wise public land policy, modified to meet existing conditions.

Much of the unparalleled development of the material resources of the United States in the past has been due to its liberal public land laws, chief among which is the homestead law, which was signed by President Lincoln in 1862. Under its beneficent provisions millions of settlers have established homes upon the public domain, and as a result the great West is to-day teeming with the industry of a thrifty people of good citizenship and many new stars have been added to the flag. But what was once a vast public domain-then thought to be almost inexhaustible embracing an area of over eighteen hundred million acres, through the operation of the homestead and other land laws, enacted to meet conditions prevailing at a time when cultivable lands as well as timbered and grazing areas were abundant, was materially decreased until the remaining public domain, exclusive of Alaska, now embraces less than five hundred million acres, a comparatively small portion of which is susceptible of cultivation without irrigation.

New conditions. thus arose: the extravagant denuding of the timbered areas, the rapidly diminishing extent of the remaining public lands available for settlement, together with the increased demand for cultivable lands, accentuated by increased population, satisfactory industrial conditions, and revival of business in the last few years, rendered necessary and of the utmost importance, new legislation affecting the public lands, in order that the remaining forests and necessary timber supply might be duly protected, the necessary sources of water supply needed for the reclamation of the arid regions properly conserved, and the remaining public land available for settlement saved for disposal to the bona fide homebuilder, under such circumstances and conditions as would enable the same to be reclaimed and thereby rendered capable of its largest beneficial use. In recognition of this, the Congress passed the act of March 3, 1891, authorizing the creation of forest reserves, under which there have since been created fifty-six reserves, aggregating over 63,000,000 acres of land. The establishment of necessary forest reserves having become a well-fixed part of our national policy, the aid of the government in reclaiming the arid lands of the West and rendering the same available for settlement and cultivation was essential, as a necessary complement to this policy.

IRRIGATION.

Although there had been more or less discussion for years as to the necessity for national aid in irrigation, nothing effective was accomplished until Theodore Roosevelt became President. He was quick to recognize not only the necessity, but also the national importance of such policy, together with the benefits to accrue to the people therefrom.

President Roosevelt, in his first message to Congress, took a strong advanced position in favor of great storage works to save the flood waters and to equalize the flow of streams, maintaining that this work should be carried on by the National Government and not by private efforts. He declared that it was as right for the National Government to make the streams and rivers of the arid region useful by engineering works for water storage as to make useful the rivers and harbors of the humid region by engineering works of another kind. He took the position that the Government should construct and maintain these reservoirs as it does other public, works, and that the lands reclaimed by aid of irrigation should be reserved by the Government for actual

settlers. The cost of construction should, so far as possible, be repaid by the land reclaimed. He declared that the reclamation and settlement of the arid lands will enrich every portion of our country, as the settlement of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys brought prosperity to the Atlantic States.

NATIONAL RECLAMATION LAW.

Congress enacted the national reclamation law June 17, 1902, and it is considered the most beneficent public land law passed since the enactment of the homestead law. The passage of this law was due largely to the previous recommendation of the President after he had lent the weight of his influence to the perfecting of its provisions in the interest of the actual settler and to the exclusion of the speculator.

Realizing that the passage of the reclamation act emphasized the importance of saving the public lands for the home-builder, the President devoted particular attention thereto in his second message, declaring that "so far as they are available for agriculture, and to whatever extent they may be reclaimed under the national irrigation law, the remaining public lands should be held rigidly for the homebuilder, the settler who lives on his land, and for no one else."

The President in this message also directed attention as to the best manner of using public lands in the West which are suitable chiefly, or only, for grazing, and he commended this matter to the earnest consideration of Congress, recommending, if the latter experienced any difficulty in dealing with the subject from lack of knowledge, that provision be made for a commission of experts specially to investigate and report upon the same. Subsequently, a commission was appointed by the President, which has already submitted a partial report, making sundry recommendations for the modification of existing land laws in the interest of actual settlers. This report the President submitted to the favorable consideration of Congress.

Under the provisions of the reclamation act over $20,000,000 have already been covered into the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the reclamation fund, derived from the sales of public lands and fees and commissions in the several States and Territories affected by that act, and more than 33,000,00 acres of public land have been withdrawn for reclamation purposes with a view to determining the feasibility of contemplated projects. Sixty-seven projects in fourteen different States and Territories have been under consideration and examination, and the work of actual construction has been commenced on eight of these

President Roosevelt, by reason of his intimate association with Western people, his actual experience in that section of the country, and accurate knowledge of the prevailing conditions in the public land states, is exceptionally well qualified to properly judge of the requisite needs of that part of the country and has exercised a forceful influence toward the perfecting of a wise, discriminating, up-to-date public land policy, and when so perfected will see to it that the same is carefully and properly administer. Such a policy, perhaps, more than any other single consideration, is essential to the prosperity of the West and the happiness of its people, will add to the material wealth and development of the whole country, and should commend itself to every thoughtful citizen.

"The Policy of Washington is the policy of the Republican party."-Cullom.

"The safety and interest of the people require that they should promote such manufactures as tend to render them independent of others."-Washington.

"No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from poverty; none less inclined to take or touch aught which they have not honestly earned."-Lincoln.

"The American system of locating manufactories next to the plow and the pasture has produced a result noticeable by the intelligent portion of all commercial nations.”—Grant,

IRRIGATION FOR ARID AND SEMIARID LANDS.

Irrigation for the arid and semiarid lands of the United States has never had a firmer and more vigorous supporter in public life than President Roosevelt. During the decade before he became President the subject of national irrigation had been under discussion and there was growing throughout the country a sentiment in favor of national action of some character upon this subject. There was, however, wide diversity of opinion as to the method to be employed, and this very condition of diverse opinions reduced the probability of national action. When Mr. Roosevelt became President, however, knowing conditions in the great West as he did, and knowing the benefits which would accrue to it from systematic work in behalf of irrigation, he consulted with the men who had been working for national irrigation, discussed conditions with them and told them of his belief in action by the National Government and his intention to make irrigation one of the topics of his first message to Congress. No President of the United States had ever before mentioned irrigation in a message. The following are extracts from his discussion of this subject in his first message to Congress, December 3, 1901:

The forests alone can not, however, fully regulate and conserve the waters of the arid region. Great storage works are necessary to equalize the flow of the streams and to save the flood waters. Their construction has been conclusively shown to be an undertaking too vast for private effort, nor can it be best accomplished by the individual States acting alone. Far-reaching interstate problems are involved, and the resources of single States would often be inadequate. It is properly a national function, at least in some of its features. It is as right for the National Government to make the streams and rivers of the arid region useful by engineering works for water storage as to make useful the rivers and harbors of the humid region by engineering works of another kind. The storing of the floods in reservoirs at the headwaters of our rivers is but an enlargement of our present policy of river control, under which levees are built on the lower reaches of the same streams.

The Government should construct and maintain these reser

voirs as it does other public works. Where their purpose is to regulate the flow of streams the water should be turned freely into the channels in the dry season to take the same course under the same laws as the natural flow.

The reclamation of the unsettled arid public lands presents a different problem. Here it is not enough to regulate the flow of streams. The object of the Government is to dispose of the land to settlers who will build homes upon it. To accomplish this object water must be brought within their reach.

The pioneer settlers on the arid public domain chose their homes along streams from which they could themselves divert the water to reclaim their holdings. Such opportunities are practically gone. There remain, however, vast areas of public land which can be made available for homestead settlement, but only by reservoirs and main-line canals impracticable for private enterprise. These irrigation works should be built by the National Government. The lands reclaimed by them should be reserved by the Government for actual settlers, and the cost of construction should, so far as possible, be repaid by the land reclaimed. The distribution of the water, the division of the streams among irrigators, should be left to the settlers themselves, in conformity with the State laws and without interference with those laws or with vested rights. The policy of the National Government should be to aid irrigation in the several States and Territories in such manner as will enable the people in the local communities to help themselves and as will stimulate needed reforms in the State laws and regulations governing irrigation.

The reclamation and settlement of the arid lands will enrich every portion of our country, just as the settlement of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys brought prosperity to the Atlantic States. The increased demand for manufactured articles will stimulate industrial production, while wider home markets and the trade of Asia will consume the larger food supplies and effectually prevent western competition with eastern agriculture. Indeed, the products of irrigation will be consumed chiefly in upbuilding local centers of mining and other industries, which would otherwise not come into existence at all. Our people as a whole will profit, for successful home making is but another name for the upbuilding of the nation.

The necessary foundation has already been laid for the inauguration of the policy just described. It would be unwise to begin by doing too much, for a great deal will doubtless be learned, both as to what can and what can not be safely attempted, by the early efforts, which must of necessity be partly experimental in character. At the very beginning the Government should make clear. beyond shadow of doubt, its intention to pursue this policy on lines of the broadest public interest. No reservoir or canal should ever be built to satisfy selfish personal or local interests, but only in ac

cordance with the advice of trained experts, after long investigation has shown the locality where all the conditions combine to make the work most needed and fraught with the greatest usefulness to the community as a whole. There should be no extravagance, and the believers in the need of irrigation will most benefit their cause by seeing to it that it is free from the least taint of excessive or reckless expenditure of the public moneys. The direct result of his action was the passage of the reclamation act.

*

The reclamation act sets aside the proceeds of the disposal of public lands in thirteen Western States and three Territories for national irrigation. The fund thus created is placed at the disposal of the Secretary of the Interior for surveys, examination, and construction of works. It is not a donation, but the money must ultimately be returned to the Treasury by the persons benefited, to be used over again in the construction of other works.

General Irrigation Statistics.

The following table, prepared by the Census Office, gives, by regions, the number of farms on which irrigation was reported,. the number of acres irrigated, the construction cost of the irrigation systems, the average construction cost per irrigated acre, and' the number of miles of main canals and ditches for continental: United States in 1902:

Table I.-General irrigation statistics of the United States, 1902.. Cost of construction. Length of main Per acre ditches. irrigated. in miles..

Regions.

Number Number of farms of acres irrigated. irrigated.

Total.

The number of irrigated farms increased from 110,556 in 1899 to 154,036 in 1902, or 21.2 per cent. The irrigated area increased during the same period from 7,782,188 acres to 9,487,077 acres, or 21.9 per cent. For the three years this is an average annual increase in number of irrigated acres of 568,296 acres.

In 1902 the total construction cost of the necessary head gates, dams, main canals, and ditches, wells, reservoirs, and pumping plants was $93,320,452, an increase since 1899 of $21,797,672, or 30.5 per cent. This is equivalent to an annual expenditure of more than seven and a quarter millions of dollars for the construction, extension, and improvement of irrigation systems. The average first cost of water for irrigation throughout the United States increased from $9.19 per irrigated acre in 1899 to $9.84 in 1902. This naturally follows because in many of the States practically all of the easily available water supply was appropriated long ago, and methods required for its further development must be increasingly expensive. In 1902, the aggregate mileage of main canals and ditches would encircle the earth more than twice, the combined length being 59,243 miles.

The Arid Region.

Table II.-General irrigation statistics of the arid States and Territories, 1902.