The Columbus Journal

OGDEN, Utah-It developed Wednesday that the fight over the proposition to commit the national irrigation congress in favor of a repeal of several of the extinguished land laws, including the desert land act, the timber and the commutation clause of the homestead act, will be a very close one.

Champions both for and against such action were heard at the session of the congress.

George H. Maxwell of the executive committee and Senator Paris Gibson of Montana favoring such action, while Congressman Mondell, in a lengthy speech, took strong grounds against such repeal.

It was evident from the feeling displayed that if the congress does recommend the repeal of these laws, and it is the belief that the committee on resolutions will report favorably, that it will only be after a hard fight.

Interest in the possible action of the congress on this point, in fact, overshadows everything else that has come before it.

Wednesday was a day of hard work for the delegates. Besides listening to half a dozen interesting speeches, numerous resolutions were introduced and referred to the resolutions committee, of which Senator Scott of Utah has been elected chairman. Action on the long considered consolidation with the TransMississippi congress was also taken.

The committee, through its chairman, Senator Carey of Wyoming reported against such action on the ground that the time had now come for such action and the irrigation congress would best preserve its individuality in the work it set out to do. The report was adopted.

The morning session of the congress was devoted to colonization and the opinions of railroad men and socialists on the best methods of settling the arid region with a desirable class of farmers and small stockmen were listened to with much interest.

The feature of the morning session was the speech of Commander Booth-Tucker of the Salvation army, who gave a very complete description of the methods pursued by the Salvation army colonies of California and Colorado in settling them with people from the tenement districts of the east.

The commander made a plea for government aid for the great colonization projects of the Salvation army to be under the control of the secretary of agriculture. All of the speakers urged more complete co-operation between states, land owners and railroads in the general scheme of colonization, without which, they claimed, the scheme of irrigation would be of no value.