Mr. Walsh is a great capitalist, but while he has not one dollar concerned in the beet sugar enterprise of his state, he is a loyal and devoted son of Colorado. In a convincing manner he said:
"... It is not a small thing, this robbery of American farmers and home-makers for the benefit of sugar corporations and exploiters of Philippine labor. It means the ultimate ruin of an industry that is full of the brightest promise for thousands of Americans. It means that the people of the United States shall pay tribute to a trust forever for one of the necessaries of life.... The removal of protection to Colorado sugar growers would simply mean that the sugar trust, or cormorants in human form like it, would go to the Philippines, employ the peons at starvation wages, and send millions of tons of sugar to the United States. Would the consumer here be benefited? Not at all. Has the consumer benefited by reciprocity with Cuba? The sugar trust has received a gift from the treasury of the United States—that is all."
And again Mr. Walsh truly says:
"This proposition is merely a design on the part of enormously rich, greedy speculators, who are willing to adopt any means for the accumulation of more money. Money, money, money! They have already a thousand times more than they need, and are simply money mad. They propose to exploit the Philippines for their own selfish ends. Help for the poor Filipinos, indeed! Imagine the generosity of these get-rich-quick sharks towards the peons in their employ. Think of the wages that would be paid, contrasted with the standard of living in the United States! I'd rather have the people of this country exterminated than to be brought to such a level."
Regarding the arid land Mr. Walsh said:
"With the application of water to this land under the National Irrigation Act—one of the greatest acts of statesmanship accomplished under our broad-minded and far-sighted President—the people of Colorado will furnish an outlet for a great population, and the cultivation of beets for sugar will enable thousands of American citizens to establish homes of their own. That is what is now being done in Colorado, and the industry is in its infancy. The people have gone in there at the suggestion of the government, planted beets provided to them by the agricultural department, and started a great industry. There was an implied, if not expressed, promise that they were to be protected in this new industry. Yet it is now proposed to place them in competition with the peons of the Philippines, at the most critical time in the history of the industry. The people of the East," continued Mr. Walsh, "do not seem to be able to grasp the great possibilities of the arid West under the operation of the national irrigation law. The West, properly irrigated with water that we know can be developed by drainage, wells, and underground flow, will easily support fifty millions of people. Think of what this means! Fifty millions of American citizens owning their own homes! It is an incalculable addition to the wealth and strength of the United States."
One of the very valuable and exceptional resources of Colorado is in its stone, which equals the world's best product in its quality. Millions of tons of almost every variety of building stone lie unclaimed on the hills and plateaus. There are quarries in Gunnison County that would make their owners multi-millionnaires, could the stone be made easy of access or transportation. The difficulty of the former, and the high freight charges, combine to delay this field of development. In Pueblo there is a marbleized sandstone that is very beautiful. Its "crushing" strength, as the architectural phrase goes, is between eleven and twelve thousand pounds to the square inch,—a strength which exceeds the most exacting requirements of any architect. This stone is found in unlimited quantities. In the country around Fort Collins there is a red sandstone which is very popular, and this is also found in large quantities at Castle Rock, south of Denver. Near Trinidad is a gray sandstone of great beauty, and the Amago stone, which is used for the Denver Postoffice, is a favorite.
In stone for decorative purposes also, Colorado is plentifully supplied. Specimens of marble from the vicinity of Redstone show characteristics as beautiful as are seen in the finest Italian marble found at Carrara.
Besides the marble for building there are also vast beds of the purest white marble, which will soon be placed on the market for statuary purposes.
Vast deposits of granite are to be found in many different sections of the state. In Clear Creek County, about Silver Plume and Georgetown, there are mountains of granite. In the southern part of the state deposits are found which are used extensively for monumental purposes, and great quantities of this granite are shipped out of the state.