Irrigation

Can poverty be abolished in America?

Lee C. Spooner believes Americans share the sentiment that poverty can and must be abolished and proposes how this can be accomplished, primarily by turning competition into cooperation. He argues that the laborers are the enemy of the republic, as they either turn to crime or revolution. To feel the responsibility of citizenship, the laborer must first own property. Spooner proposes they be granted a one-acre, suburban tract of land with a house through a federal initiative. Next, the prohibition of liquor will prevent laborers from wasting their earnings. Instead, they can then invest their earnings in federally regulated trusts. This redistribution of wealth will bring “socialism by purchase” and the end of poverty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Willard S. Hopewell and Ralph Emerson Twitchell

President Roosevelt thanks Chairman Willard S. Hopewell and Secretary Ralph Emerson Twitchell of the Board of Control for the National Irrigation Congress for their invitation. Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior Frank Pierce will attend in Roosevelt’s place, as irrigation and the conservation of the nations resources are crucial topics. Roosevelt hopes to co-sign bills that designate New Mexico and Arizona as states.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-23

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Gifford Pinchot

President Roosevelt asks Gifford Pinchot to pass on his best wishes for the success of the National Irrigation Congress and his belief in the important work of their movement.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-27

Letter from E. M. Sanchez to Theodore Roosevelt

E. M. Sanchez informs Theodore Roosevelt that they have 65,000 acres of land and plan to publish a catalog on irrigation in Western lands. Sanchez asks Roosevelt to give them his view on the subject of irrigation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-22

Letter from William A. Richards to Theodore Roosevelt

William A. Richards returns a letter and pamphlet produced by W. A. Reeder and critiques Reeder’s argument as unconvincing. Richards disagrees that undue influence is held by corporate interests over the General Land Office and feels Reeder slanders the people with whom he disagrees and naively suggests federal oversight where it is not needed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-19

Message of the President of the United States communicated to the two houses of Congress

Message given by President Roosevelt to Congress at the beginning of the second session of the Fifty-seventh Congress in which Roosevelt describes his legislative priorities for the year.

Collection

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Creation Date

1902

Letter from George B. Cortelyou to William Loeb

Republican National Committee Chairman Cortelyou informs William Loeb that President Roosevelt will be invited to an irrigation convention and suggests that, while Roosevelt will not be able to attend, he should decline with a strong letter that would indicate his support of irrigation issues.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-17

Buffalo Bill and timber news release

Buffalo Bill warns that the continued destruction of timber and underbrush in the Bighorn Basin will threaten the region’s ability to acquire water for irrigation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-03

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to H. V. Meyer

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary recommends H. V. Meyer checks a public library for books collecting Roosevelt’s thoughts on irrigation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Bailey Willis

Theodore Roosevelt thanks author and geological engineer Bailey Willis for his volume on irrigation in Patagonia, possibly referring to Northern Patagonia: Character and Resources, which he enjoyed. Roosevelt also expresses appreciation and enthusiasm for the Mylodon remains Willis sent. Roosevelt is writing to Dr. Francisco P. Moreno of the La Plata Museum about the specimen.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-01-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ralph Emerson Twitchell

President Roosevelt sends his greetings and congratulations to Ralph Emerson Twitchell and the Irrigation Congress, which will be meeting in September. Roosevelt attributes the changing public perception of the importance of irrigation to the work of the Congress. The conservation and proper use of water and irrigation is of prime importance to the American people, and Roosevelt calls Twitchell’s attention to the accomplishments of the Reclamation Service in irrigating a large area of land, and the landowners settling here have already begun to repay the investment the government has made.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles W. Beeman

President Roosevelt informs Charles W. Beeman that he is unable to accept Beeman’s invitation to attend the New Mexico Irrigation Celebration. However, he extends his congratulations to the people of New Mexico for their achievement, which is “of real national interest.” Roosevelt observes that irrigation has been carried on in New Mexico for thousands of years and now Americans are developing irrigation further, which is a necessary precondition for further development of the West.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George E. Chamberlain

President Roosevelt regrets that he cannot attend the National Irrigation Conference in Sacramento, as he has a strong interest in the irrigation of semi-arid regions. He praises the people developing the United States west of the Mississippi.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore E. Burton

President Roosevelt appoints an Inland Waterways Commission and requests that Representative Burton serve as chairman of the commission, along with Senator Francis G. Newlands, Senator William Warner, Representative John Hollis Bankhead, General Alexander Mackenzie, Dr. W. J. McGee, Frederick Haynes Newell, Gifford Pinchot, and Herbert Knox Smith. He explains the purpose of the commission to develop a “comprehensive plan for the improvement and control of the river systems of the United States.” The same letter was sent to the other prospective appointees.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Gifford Pinchot

President Roosevelt remarks on the successful work undertaken since the passing of the Reclamation Act in 1902, but cautions of “dangers and difficulties” still ahead. Roosevelt heralds the success of the Forest Service, whose policy has been shaped by the will of the people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt dictates a letter to, and in the presence of, Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock, recording the attitude of himself, Hitchcock, Senator Frank P. Flint of California, Director of the Geological Survey Charles D. Walcott, and Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot, on the topic of the Los Angeles water supply bill. Hitchcock believes that the city should be prohibited from using the water obtained by the bill for irrigation. Flint worries that because the water bill aims to supply water for the next half century, there will be a surplus at the beginning of the term that will need to be used in order to keep their rights to it. Walcott and Pinchot believe there is no objection to using the water for irrigation so long as it is surplus water not needed for drinking, washing, fire, and other work. Roosevelt notes that much of the opposition to the bill as a whole comes from power companies, and ultimately recommends that the bill be passed without a prohibition on using the water for irrigation, but with a prohibition against the city selling water rights to corporations or individuals for the purpose of subletting it for irrigation purposes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles D. Walcott

President Roosevelt sends Charles D. Walcott, Director of the United States Geological Survey, the text of a letter from Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp relating to the situation of the Ute Native Americans on the Uintah Reservation in Utah. Leupp informs Roosevelt that the Ute population will be unable to farm unless they are able to irrigate their lands. This will be difficult, as politicians from Utah are more likely to allocate water for use by white settlers. Leupp therefore proposes executive actions that Roosevelt could take in conjunction with the Reclamation Service that would help meet the needs of the Native Americans. In accordance with this letter, Roosevelt directs Walcott to stop work on the reclamation project Leupp names until they can meet and consider the needs of the native population.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Philip Battell Stewart

President Roosevelt sends Philip Battell Stewart a complaint from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce which will outline the “serious side” of the situation concerning David H. Moffat. Although Roosevelt trusts Stewart’s judgment on the matter, he makes it clear that in general he is in favor of the public using irrigable water.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to C. B. Boothe

Theodore Roosevelt declines an invitation to attend the National Irrigation Congress in El Paso. Roosevelt believes that irrigation is essential for national expansion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to E. A. Williams

President Roosevelt will not be able to attend the North Dakota State Irrigation Congress. One of the first things President Roosevelt did in office was work toward a law on irrigation systems, and he congratulates the people for the work already accomplished.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-19