Pursuant to this motion it was further decided unanimously that Attorney Fay Williams was the proper man to send to the capital for that purpose and that he should be sent without delay. A subscription list was drawn up to defray expenses and several hundred dollars were raised immediately for that purpose. As socn as the necessary arrangements could be made, Mr. Williams took his departure for Washington and began to lay siege to the irrigation authorities in the furtherance of his plans.
On December 13, Mr. Williams telegraphed Mr. Spanogle, asking for a petition to be signed by all land owners under the proposed extension, which involved a heavy amount of labor which had to be done at once. Mr. Spanogle responded with his customary vigor and a day or two later a petition was forwarded to Washington carrying the signatures of sixty-six land owners and being couched in the strongest possible terms, urging the secretary of the interior to give his personal attention to the manifestly fair and just claims of the signers.
Of Mr. Williams' work at Washington we are not in a position to speak in detail, but he left no stone unturned to influence the irrigation officials and on December 15 a hearing was had before Director Davis at which Mr. Williams presented the case of the land owners very vigorously and strongly. Of this hearing, the Omaha World-Herald, under date of December 15, has the following to say :
"As a result of the hearing today before Director Davis of the reclamation service, on the proposed extension of the Bridgeport ditch, surveys will be made early next summer as a basis for estimates to be submitted to congress next session. F. E. William- of