Abilene weekly reflector. [volume], September 08, 1910, Page 8, Image 8

About Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935

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1
ABILENE, WEpKLT REFLECTOR, ABILENE, KANSAS, REP, 8, IfMO.
ITOSflflLY:
President Taft'i Address Before
W Congress at St Paul.
: DANGER IN CONTINUED WASTE
Chief Executive OutllnM Plan Which
I H Blhvt Should B Adopted
ik Statistic Mikt poh Com.
i . prhnlv to Hearer.
' , 8t Pd'ul, Jflnn, Bept (.-President
; Ttft delivered tie long-expected
peech before the National Con-
' Miration conrreii here today. Sub'
tantlally It was as follow:
Oentlemen of the National Conarvauon
Congress:
Conservation ae an economic and po
tJUoei term na come to mean the preser
' -ration of our natural resources for
I economical un, ao aa to secure the great
.. ast arood to the greatest number.
Tha danger to the atata and to the peo
jila at large from the waste and disslp.
tlon at our national wealth ta net one
which quickly Impreoses Itself On the peo
ple of the Older communltlea, beeauia Ita
meat obvious instance ao no occur in
their neighborhood, while In the newer
part of the country the sympathy with
expansion and development la ao strong
. that the danger le soonea at or ignored.
junong eclentlllo men and thoughtful ob
erven, however, the danger haa always
ee preaent: but It needed tome one to
' ln-lng home the crying need for a remedy
ef Mile evil ao aa to Impress Itself on the
jpubllo mind and 'oad to the formation of
public opinion and action by the repre-
' wnutlvee or the people. Tneoaore ttoose
welt took up thle task In the last two
areara of hie eecond admlniatratlon, and
wall did ha nerform It.
J Ae prealdent of the tTnlted gtate I
jtav, ae it were, innerjtea tms policy,
. f vainly In mv Aarltua-a. I nrlia BIT
high opportunity to do all that an ex
exmtlve oan da to help a great people
g-eallae a "great national ambition. - For
conservation la national. It affecta every
man of us. every woman, every child.
What I can do In the cause I ahall do,
. not ai president of a party, bat ae presi
dent of the whole people. Conservation
4a not a question of politics, or of fae-
Alone, or of pereone. It la a question that
esneois ine tiin wvitare vi an ui u
ur enuaren ana our entiaren s entiaren.
J urge that no good can come from. meet
SnM at this anrt unless wa aaorlbe to
se who take 1art In them, ana wno
apparently striving worthily In the
e, all proper motives, and unless we
Judicially consider every measure or
method proposed with a view to Its effec-
tlvenea in acnieving our common pur
pose, and wholly without regard to who
proposes, H .or who will claim the credit
for Its adoption. 'The2 problema are of
werr great difficulty and - call for the
calmest oonslderatlod' and clearest fore
night. ' Many of the questions presented
have phases that are new In thle coun
try, and It la possible that In their solu
tion we mar-Jtave to attempt first one
iway and then another. What I wish to
emphasise, however, la that a eatlsfac
tory conclusion can -only . be reaohed
ttromptly If we. avoid acrimony, Imputa
tion of' bad faith, and political contro
versy. ,
The publld domain of the government
f the United States, Including all the
cessions from those of the thirteen states
'tthat made cessions to the United Btatea
auad Including Alaelta, amounted In all to
about 1,800.000.00(1 acres. Of this there le
left aa purely government -property out
side of Alaska something like 700,000,000 of
stcres, Of this the national forest re
serves In the United Statee proper em
brace 144,000,000 acres. The rest Is largely
anountaln or arid country, offering some
opportunity tor agriculture by dry farm
ing and by reclamation, and containing
SAietala aa well aa coal, phosphates, oils,
eutd natural gaa. Then the government
etwna many tracts of land lying along the
margins of streams that have water
ftowor, the use of which Is necessary In
the conversion of the power Into elec
tricity and Its transmission.
1 ahall divide my discussion under the
heada of (1) agricultural lands; (I) mln-
- eral lands that Is, lands containing
metalliferous minerals: (3) forest lands:
44) coal lands; 6 oil and gas landa; and
(G) phosphate lands.
Agricultural Lands. -'
Our land laws for the entry of agricul
tural lands are now as follower
The original homestead law, with the
requirements of residence and cultivation
for Ave yeers, much more strictly en
forced than ever before. ' ,
The enlarged homestead act, applying
to nonlrrigahle landa only, requiring live
years' residence and conttnuoua cultiva
tion of one-fourth of the area.
The desert-land act, which requires on
the part of the purrhaeer the ownership
of a water right and thorough reclama
tion of the land by Irrigation, and the
payment of 11. ill per acre.
The donation or Carey act, under which
the etate selects the land and provldea
for Ita reclamation, and the title vests in
the Battler who resldee upon the land and
cultivates it and pays the cost of the
reclamation.
The national reclamation homestead
law. requiring five yeare' residence and
cultivation by the aettier on the land Ir
rigated by the government, and payment
ty him to the government of the ooet of
the reclamation.
' The present conrreee passed ft bill of
great Importsnce, severing the ownership
of coal by the government in the ground
f mm the surface and permitting ho.ne
tead entrlee upon the surface of the
land, which, when perfected, give the
ettler the right to farm the eurrare,
white the coal beneath the surface te re
tained In ownership by the government
and may be disposed of by it under other
taws.
There Is no crvlng need for radical re
form in the methods of dist-oslne of what
are really egrtrultural lan.1a Tne pres-"
ent lews have wo'kM well. The en
larged homestead law baa encouraged It s
ucoesaful farming of tends in the eeml
artd reekms. of rnures the teachinr of
the seriruitin-al dej,rrmeot aa to how
these subarsd lan-le may ha tre,', and
tha soil pr-rrved f'r uaef.il culture ere j
ml tha r, eeavw rr w-wn-iikin Toen
conservation of ,cvur.:.ti l..r '. is j
In Itie ra-"l".''-J of arid Isas
sost or profit af this water te private
owners by the government la held by the
federal court of aooeale mat to no
usurpation of power. But certainly this
ouaht not to be don except from sur
plus weler, not needed for government
land. The total sum already eccumule
ted In the reclamation fund le I60.nl,
168.15, and of .that all but kMM.IU.M haa
been expended. It became very clear to
eoneresa at Ita but session, from the
statements made by experts, that these
W projects could not be promptly com
pleted with the balance remaining, an
hand or with the funds likely to accrue
In the near future. It was round, more
over, that there art many settlers who
have been led Into taking up lands with
the hope and understanding of having
water furnished In a short time, who are
left In a moat distressing situation.
recommended to congress that authority
be given to the secretary of the Interior
to Issue bonds In anticipation of the as
sured earnings by the projects, so tnai
the projecte, worthy and feaaible, might
be promptly completed, and the settlers
might be relieved from their present In
convenience and hardship. In authorising
the Issue of these projects, congreea lim
ited the application of their proceeds to
those nroiecto which a board or army en
etnacra. ta be amnlnted by the president.
should examine and determine to be
feasible and worthy of completion. The
board haa been appointed and noon will
make Ita report
Suggestions have been made that the
United Statee ought to aia in ine araur
age of swamp lands belonging to the
states or private owners, because,' If
drained, thev would be exceedingly val
..-v.1 ae aariauitiire ana. eontrtDute to
the general welfare by extending the
area of cultivation. 1 deprecate ine agi
tation In favor of such legislation. It la
inviting the-, general government mto
contribution from Its treasury toward en
terprises that should be conducted either
by private capital or at the Instance of
the etate. In these days there Is a dispo
sition to look too much to the federal
government for everything. 1 am liberal
In the construction of the Constitution
with reference to federal power; but I
am firmly convinced that the only safe
course for us to pursue le to hold fast
to the limitations of the Constitution and
to regard as sacred the powers of the
statee. We have made wonderful prog
ress and at the same time have pre
served ' with Judicial exactness the re
strictions of the Constitution. - There it
an easy way In which the Constitution
can be violated by congress 'Without
Judicial Inhibition, to-wlt, by appropria
tions from the national treasury for un.
constitutional purposes, It will be a sorry
day for thle country if the time ever
comes when our fundamental oompect
hall be habitually disregarded In this
manner. r. . , - -
.: Mineral Landa.
Bv mineral landa I mean those lands
bearing metals, er what are called metal
liferous minerals. The rules of owner"
ship and disposition of these lands were
first fixed by custom -ht the west, and
then were embodied In the law, and they
have worked, on, the whole, ao fairly and
well that J do not think It la wise to
attempt to change or better them.
,.!...' Foratt Landa. . , f.
Nothing can be more Important In the
matter of conservation than the treatment
Of our forest lands. : It wee probably the
ruthless fleetruetlon of -wrests, tn jne
older statee that first called attention to
a halt In the waste of mir resources. This
was recognised by congreea by an act
authorising the-executive to reaerve from,
entry and set aside public timber lands
as national forests BpraKtng generally.
there hat been reserved of the existing
forest about seventy per cent, or an
the timber landa of the government
Within these forests (Including JJaXl.trW
acres In ten forests In Alaska) are 162.
ooa.ooo.of acrea, of which 166.ooo.ooo oi
acres are In the United mates proper ana
Include within their boundaries some
thing like 11,000,000 of acres that belong
to the state or to private Individuals. We
have then, excluding Alaska forests, a
total Of about 144.ooo.otn aoree oi wrests
hotAnatna tn the government which Is
being treated In accord with the prlnej.
plee of scientific forestry.
Tha anvernment timber In this coun
try amounte to only one-fourth of all the
timber, the rest being In private own-
aaahln OnlV three Oar OSM. Of that WhtCn
la In private ownership la looked after
properly and treated Becoming w mw
ern rules of forestry. The ueual de.
structlve waste and-neglect continues In
the remelnder of the foreete owned by
prlvote persons apd corporatlona. It le
aHmate that nre a one aesia-nya ,, -
nm aineth of timber a year. rne
management of forests not on puouc
tana ta nevnnd the hirlsdlctlon of the fed
eral government. If anything can he done
bv lnw It muet be done by tne etate ieg
dlaturee. I bel'eve that It le within their
cnnatlttttional power to require the en
forcement of regulations In the general
public Interest, aa to fire and other
causes of wnnte In the management of
foreets owned by private Individuals and
corporations. -
I have shown eumrjentiy Inn conojuons
to federal forestry to Indicate that no
further lea'slstion la needed at tne mo
ment except en Increase In the fire pro
tection to fmtUinal forests and aa act
vesting the executive with full power to
make forest reeervetlons In every stnte
where government land le timber-covered,
or where the land la needed for.foreetry
purposes- -.,..
, Cod Linda.
The next subject, and one most Impor
tant for our consideration, la the dtepoei
tlon of the coal landa In the United
Btatea and In AlaeVn. First, aa to those
In the 1'nited Ststea At the beginning
of thle administration they were cleast.
fled ooel lands amounting to 1.475,010
acres,, and there were withdrawn frem
entrv for purnoaee of claeelfloattoa 1?,
IsjT.oi acree. Blnce that time there have
been withdrawn bv mv order from entry
for claaeiniatlon T7.6f.lt a-ree making
a total withdrawal of 5.tlS.t a-rea.
Meantime, ef the acres thus withdrawn,
ii-m.me have been elaselfted and found
not te contain cOai. and tave "een re
stored to agricultural entry, and t.SMOo
aoree hive been classified aa coal lends:
while T7fA,fl0O aeves remain withdrawn
from etrtrv and await clss!nat!on. la
addition W one acres have been rtasst-fl,-d
ea coal landa without prior withdraw
al, thua Increasing Hie . claaaified coal
landa to hu,flfl0 acrea.
T'ader the laws providing for the tfsno.
elttoe nf coal landa the minimum price
at which landa are permitted to be sold
is $' an acre: but the eeretery of the
interior bae the power to flx a maximum
price and eell at tt'at prtre, Bv the flrvt
r-irulstlen governing anorataal. an
proved Aprtt t, tt.e minimum was 10
ae provided by tew. sod toe irtaximotn
was and the h'ehest pr'ce actually
pif-..t upon anv land eotd was fl t'n
nr t' e new rer-Jiftlioia. adopind April 16,
- the maximum hilce was tw reaaed te
,1 sonant In re.rne where tt-ere see
r t. i - -a at'e ao nre, n t it Is
n . . t e- I t e J ts pi.'- -I tr I
e- -i-it-.-l t -r,i rt r 1 1 to li e -e 1 -
area ef H.41I acren which gold tor
111; and down to August, 11)10. there were
but 17 entries, with an arc of 1,710 acres,
which sold for fal.llO.ge, making dispo
sition of the coal landa In the lest twa
tfaaea ai a hoot mm) acrea for tl.IO6.00O.
The preaent congreea, aa already said,
haa separated the aurface of coal landa,
either classified or withdrawn for classi
fication, from the coal beneath, so sb to
permit at all tlmea homestead entrlee
upon the aurface of landa useful for ee
rtculture an to reserve the ownership
In the ooal to the government The ques
tion which remains to be considered
whether the existing la for the sale of
the coal In ibe ground ehiuld continue
In force or be repealed and a new nu-i"ou
of disposition adopted. Under the present
law the absolute title In the eoal be
neath the surface paaeea to the grantee
of the government -The price fixed la
upon an estimated amount -of the tone
of coal per acre beneath tha surface, and
the prlcea are fixed so that the earnings
will only be a reasonable profit upon the
amount paid and the Inveetment neces
sary. But. s nurse, this le more or leas
guesswork, w . tne government pane
with the ownership of the coal In the
ground absolutely. Authorities of the ge
ological ourver estimate that In the
United fltatee today there la a supply of
about three thousand billion of tons oi
eoal, and that of thlB one thousand bllllona
tre In the public domain. Of court , the oth
er two thousand bllllona are within private
ownership and under no more control aa
to the use or the prlcea at which the,
coal may be sold than any othse private
property.' If the government leases the
ooal lands and acta aa any . landlord
would, and Imposes condition In Its
laaaea Ilka thoaa which are now Imposed
by the owner In fee of eoal mine In the
various coal regions oz tne east, men u
would retain over the dleposltkra of the
ooal depoeit a choice ae to the aaslgnee
of the lease, or of resuming possession at
the end of the term of the lease, which
might easily be framed to- enable it to
exercise a limited but effective control
In the dlsposlilop and sate of the coal to
the public. It has been -urged that the
lABslna svstem haa never been adopted In
this country, and that Its adoption would
largely Interfere with the Investment of
capital and the proper development ana
opening up of the coal resources, i ven
ture to differ entirely from this view.
The auestlon as to how great an area
ought to be Included In a lease to one
Individual or corporation, la not tree from
difficulty; but In view, of tha fact that
the government retains control aa owner,
I think there might be aome liberality In
the amount leased, and that 1.(00 acrea
would not be too great a maximum.
By the opportunity to readjust the
terms upon which the coal ahall be held
by the tenant, either at the end of each
leaae or at serlod during the term, the
government may secure the benefit of
aharing In the Increased price of coal and
the .additional profit made by the tenant.
By Imposing conditions In respect to the
oharacter of- work to . be done in the
mine, the government may control the
oharacter of the development of the
mines and the treatment of employes with
reference to aafsty. By denying the
right to tranafer the leaae except by the
written permission of the governmental
authorltlea. It may withhold the needed
consent when It Is proposed to transfer
the leasehold to persona Interested in es
tablishing a monopoly of coal production
In any state or neighborhood. The change
from the absolute grant to the leasing
system will Involve ft - good deal of
trouble In the outaet, and the tralntaa of
experts In the matter of mak'ing proper
leases; but the change will be a good
one and can be made. The change Ib In
the Interest of conservation, and am
giao v approve i(. y . ' .
. , Alaska Coal Landa.
Tha Investigation of tha geological sur
vey ahow that the coal propertiee ut
Alaska cover, about. 1,100" square mflee,
and that there are known to be available
about 15,000,000.000 tons. This Is, however,
an underestimate of the eoal In Alaska,
because further development will prob
ably increase this amount many tlmea;
but we can my with -conalderabl cer
tainty that there are two fields on the
Pacific alope Which can be reached by
railways at a reaeor eble ooet from deep
water In one case about fifty miles and
In the other cam of about 160 mllea
which will afford certainly 4,000.000,000
tona of coal, more than half of which la
of ft very high grade of tntumlnoua and
of anthracite. It Is estimated to be worth.
In the ground, one-half ft cent ft ton,
which makes Its value per acre from 160
to S?00. The coking-coal landa of Penn
sylvania are worth from 1800 to 12,000 at
acre, while other Appalachian fields are
worth from 110 to I3SS an acre, and the
flelda In the central statee from tlO to
tf.ooa an acre, and In the Rocky moun-
talna 910 to 1600 an acre. The demand for
eoal on the Pacific- coast la for about
4,&00,0Ot) tons a year. It would encounter
the competition of cheap fuel oil, of
which the equivalent of 12,lO0,000 tona of
coal a year la used there. It Is estimatec
that the coal could be laid down at Se
attle or San Francisco, a high-grade bl
tummoua, at 94 a ton and anthracite al
as. r at .a aoa. The price of coal ,oa the
Pacific slope Varies greatly from time to
time tn the year and from year to year
from 94 to 111 ft ton. With regular coal
aupply established, the expert of the
geological Burvey, Mr. Brooka, who haa
made a report on the aubject, doee not
think there would be an excessive proft
In the Alaaka eoal mining because the
price at which the coal could be Bold
would be eoneiderably lowered by com pe
tition from theae flelda and by the pres
ence of crude fuel oil. The history of the
laws affecting tha disposition of Alaska
coal landa shows them to need amend
ment badly.
On November 11 Wot, President Roose
velt Issued an executive order with
drawing all coal lands from location and
entry in Alaaka On riay It, lm7. he1
modified the order so aa to permit valid
locatlone made prior to the withdrawal
on November It. ire, to proceed to entry
and patent Prior to that date some But
elalme had bean filed, moot of them mid
to be Illegal because either made fraudu
lently by dummy entrymen m the Inter
est of one Individual or corporation, or
because of agreemente mede prior to lo
etlon between the appHcanta to co-tiperate
ta developing the landa There are 11
claims for 160 acres each, known aa the
"Cunningham claima," which are claimed
te be valid oe the ground that thev were
made by an attorney for SI . different
and bona fde claimant who. as
altered, pld their money and took the
prop stafal to locate their entries and
protect them The rrr-reaantetires at ttse
sovrnment in the haarvnrs before the
tend effii-e have attacked the valMiiv of
ee Cunnir.f ent claims on the ground
that prior to their location tnara wwa an
unrterelaodme between tae ctaiman'e to
po.a th--r claims after ttv-v had bn
perfected and unite them in one osn
u THa tran.1 oX tw.AM - ta
snow I ! su- 0 sn ir- . -t w-is.nl In-
ulete t -e r!;rr-. ant-r-urh ur:-l-r the
'--tent law of Mr t . 4 I -.-w;-n
of .r cl-v'i e:s pr-r sv-
aarry up tha maximum of rain to tffle
an acre, in my Judgment it la eeaentlej
In the proper development of Alaaka that
them coal landa ahould be opened, and
that tha Pacific elope ehould be given the
benefit of the comparatively cheap coal
of fine qunllty which can b furnished at
a reasonable price from theae Aelde; but
the public,1 through - the government
ought certainly to retain ft wise control
and Interest In them coal deposits, and 1
think It may do so safely if congress will
authorise the granting of leasee, aa al
ready suggested for government coal
landa In the United Statee, with provi
sion forbidding the transfer of the
lease except with the consent of the
government, thus preventing tnetr acqui
sition by a combination or monopoly and
upon limitation as to the area to oe in
cluded In any one lease to one Indlvlduel,
and at a certain moderate rental, with
royalties upon the ooal mined propor
tioned to the market value of the coal
either at Seattle or at San Francisco. Of
course such leasea should contain condi
tion requiring the erection of proper
plant, the proper development by mod
ern mining method of the properties
leased, and the use of every known and
practical means and device for aavlng the
life of the miners, !,,-. t
I Oil and Oa Landa.-
In the last admlniatratlon then wer
withdrawn from agricultural entry t.Sa),
000 acre of supposed oil land m Califor
nia; about a million and half acre in
Louisiana, of which only too acre
wer known to be vacant unappropria
ted land; 75,000 acres in Oregon ana ivi,
000 acres In Wyoming, making a total of
nearly 4,000,000 acres, In September, l0t,
I- directed that all publle oil lands,
whether then withdrawn or not, should
be withheld from disposition pending con
gressional action, for the reason that the
existing placer mining law, although
made annllcable to deposit of this char-
?-cter, la not suitable to auch lands, and-i
or the further reason that It seemed de
sirable to reserve certain fuel-oil deposits!
for the use of the American navy. Ac
cordlngIy,the form of all -existing with
drawal waa chanced, and, new with
drawala aggregating 17SO.0OO acrea were
made In Arliona. California, Colorado,
New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Field
examination durlng"the year showed
tleat of the original withdrawal. 8,170,
000 ftcrea'were not valuable for oil, and
(hey were restored for agricultural entry
Meantime, other withdrawals of public
ell lands ln-thes states were made, so
that July . 1. 1910. the outstanding with'
drawale then amounted to 4,550,000 acrea
The needed oil and gas law Is essential
ly ft leasing law. In their natural occur
rence, oil and gas, cannot be measured In
terma of acrea. like coal, and It follotva
that exclusive title to them product can
normally be secured only after they reach .
tha surface. Oil ahould be disposed of as
commodity In terms of barrel of
tranaportahle product rather . than . In
acrea of real estate. This le. of course,
the reason for the practically universal
adoption of the leasing system wherever
oil , land 1 In private ownership. The
government - thus would not.be entering
an experiment, but simply putting
Into effect ft plan successfully operated tn
private contract. Why ahould not the
government aa ft landowner deal directly
with the oil producer rather than tnrougn
the Intervention of a middleman to whom
the government gives title to the land?
The principal underlying feature or
such legislation should be the exercise of
beneficial control rather than tne collec
tion of revenue. A not only th largest
owner -of oil lands, but as a prospective
largo consumer of oil by-'reason of the
Increasing use of fuel oil by the navy,
the federal government Is directly con
cerned both In encouraging rational de
velopment and at the same time Insuring
the longest possible life to the oil sup-
..: :.:
One Of the dimeuitie preeentea.N espe
cially In the California flelda, la that the
Southern Pacific railroad owns every
other section of land- In the oil field,
and In those fields the oil- seem to be In
a common reservoir, or serie of reser
votrs. oommuntcatlng through tne - oil
sands, so that the excessive draining of
oil at on welt on. on the railroad terri
tory generally, would exhaust the oil In
the government land. - Hence It la Im
portant that If tht government la to have
Its share Of the oil It should begin tha
opening of well on It own property.
It baa been suggested, ana oeiieve ine
auggestlon to be ft sound one. that per
mits be issued to ft prospector for oil
giving him the right to prospect for two
years over ft certain tract of government
land for the discovery of oil, the right to
be evidenced by a license 'for which he
pays a small sum. When the oil la dis
covered, then he acqulrea title to a cer
tain tract, much In the same way as he
would acquire title under a mining law.
Of course If the system of lenslng la
adopted, then he w.iuld be given the
benefit of a leaae upon terms like that
above auggested. Whit haa been mid In
respect to oil applies aim to government
gaa land. . ., ' .. ;
Phosphate Landa. "
Phosphorus Is one of the three essen
tials to plant growth, the other elements
being nitrogen and potash. Of, these
three, phosphorus Is by all odda the
scarcest element tn nlture. It is enelly
extracted" In useful form from the phoa-
nhata rock and the United states con-
talna the greatest known deposits of this
rock In the world. They are founa in
Wyoming, Utah and Florida, aa well ae
In South Csrollna. Georgia and Tennea-J
The government phosphate landa are
confine tn Wvomlnv. Utah and Florida.
Prior to, March 4, 1909, there were 4.000IK1B
acrea withdrawn from agricultural entry
In the ground that the land covered phoa
phate rock. Bmce that time, 1,122.000 acres
of the land thua withdrawn was found
not tn contain phosphate In profitable
ouantltlee. while l,i 000 acrea was ciassl-
-(Icd nmocrly as phosphate landa. During
thle edmlnli-ratMn mere new oeen wine
drawn and classified 4H.l0 acrea. so that
today there is daselfled aa phoephate rock
land tlU.OOS acre. . Thla rock la most
Important In the compoeltlon of fertilisers
to Improve the soil. ad aa the future le
certain to create aa enormou demand
throughout this country for fertilisation.
the value to the public of such dVposite
aa thesesn hardly be exareeratea. ier
talnlv wtih reenect to these depnelts a
careful policy of conservation ahould be
followed. A law tnai wouiu pru.-w -leasing
svstem for the phosphate depoa
ita t,-eethee with a provision for the sep
aration of the aurface and mineral rixhtr
aa la already provided for In the case of
cost would seem to meet the need of
pmmntme the dvet'-r-ment of tnna ae-
poslts and tl-eir utilisation n tne ?n
rultural len-ts of the, Vest. If It ta
thousht dn!-stile to diiK-ourre tt-e expor
tation of phiwphat ""- and the vm
of ft for our turn lands, trie r'ip
muld be scconu-Uehed by con-lili-ms Ir
he ler,ne grin'ed bv the rovem-ont tr
leasers. Of course, oni-er the c-mt-
urtnn te eovrrn-nt om'o not
t the exocrtatlu 4,
nd tounl nut nr.-
lite
or nt-fl e '
of ll-,e b-'.:
that tlm l,17,4ij acre have li
tared for settlement of the erlgnal four
million, becauee they do not contain pow.
er sits: and meantime there nave been
newly withdrawn l.ttf.sal acres on vacant
pubilo land and 111.0OT acres en entered
publla land, or ft total of 1,4M,IM acrea
Them withdrawal mad from Urn to
time cover all th power sites Included
In the first wlthdrawala, and many more,
on m rivers and In la- statu. Th dispo
sition of these power Bite Involve on
of the most difficult questions presented
In carrying out practical conservation. .
The statute of 1891 with Ita amendments
permits the secretary of the Interior to
grant perpetual eaeements or rights af
way from water - aourcea over public
landa for the primary purpose of Irriga
tion 'and aucb electrical current a may
be Incidentally developed, but no grant
can be mad under thla statute to oon-
cems whom primary- purpoee la gener
ating and handling electricity, The stat
ute of 1901 authorises, tha aecretarr of
the Interior to hunt revocable permit
over the publla landa to electrical power
oompatiM, hut thi statute a woeiuity in
adequate because It doe not authorise
the collection of a' charge or fit a term
of year. Capital la , alpw, to Invest In an
enterprise founded on A permit revocable
at will,
It I the plain duty of the government
to see lo It that In th. utilization ana
velopment of all this Immense amount
of water power, condition shall be Im
posed that will prevent monopoly -and
will prevent extortionate ohargsa, which
are the accompaniment of monopoly. The
difficulty of adjusting the matter la ac
centuated by the relation of .the power
site to the water, th fall and flow of
which create th powen In the statee
where these Bites are, the riparian earn
er doe not control or own th powsr In
the water which flow past Me land).
That power I under the control and with.
In the grant of the state, and generally
the rule la that the first water user I en
titled to the enjoyment - Now, the pos
session of the. bank or water-power site
over which the Water la to be conveyed
In order to make the power useful, gives
to Ita owner an advantage and ft eertaln
kind of control over the use of th water
power, and It ia proposed that the govern
ment In dealing with It own landa should
use this advantage And lease landa toi
power sites to those who would develop.
the power, and Impose condition on tht
leaeehold with reference to tne reason
ableneaa of the rates at which the power.
when transmuted. Is to be furnished tr-
the public, and forbidding the union of
the -particular power with a oomblnaltnn
of other made for the purpose 01 monop
oly' by forbidding assignment : of th
lease save by conaent of the government
Serlou difficulties are anticipated b)
Borne In Buch an attempt on -the part oi
the general government because of -the
sovereign control of the state over the
water power In Its natural condition, an'
the mere proprietorship of the govern
ment In the riparian lands, ' It la con
tended that through its mere proprietary
rlclit In the site, the rentral government
haa no power to at'ompt to exercise po
lice Jurisdiction with reference to how
the water power In ft river owned and
controlled by the state shall be used, and
that It is ft violation of the state's right.
I question the validity of this objection.
The government may Impose any condl
tlons that It choose In Its lees of Its
own property,-even though-It may have
the same purpose, and In effect accom
plish Just what the state would aecon
pllsh by the exercise of Its sovereignty,.
There are thorn (and the director of the
geological aurvey, Mr. Smith, who haa
given ft great deal of attention to thla
matter, la one of them) who Insist that
this matter of transmuting water, power
Into electricity, which can be- conveyed
all over the country and across stats
lines, la a matter that ought, to be re
tained by the general government and
that It ahould ftvail Itself of the owner
ship of theae power site for the very
purpose of co-ordinating In one general
plan the power generated from these
gdvernment owned aite. ' -.-
Argumanta Agalnat ld. " .
On the other hand, it I contended that
It would relieve ft complicated situation
if the contror of the watertdWr ait
and the control of the water were vested
In the same sovereignty and ownership,
vis., the Btatea, and then were disposed
of for development to private -lessees Un
der tht restrictions needed to preserve
the Interests of the public from the exto
Hons and abuses of monopoly. Therefore,
hills hava been Introduced In congress
providing that whenever the stale ftu ,
... a . ntaw naaful thev .'
ingriura uwiu a r i
may apply to the government of the I
of", X'e'nM.n'd 'for". ...'.V-power
site, and that this grant from tha fed
eral government to the etate shall con
tain ft condition that the state ahall
never part with the title to the water
power site or th water power, but BhaH
lease It only for ft term of yeera not ex
ceeding fifty, with provlalona In the
lease by which the rental and the ratea
for which the power I furnished to the
public shall be readjusted at periods less
than tne terra or tne lease, ao.y, i,
yeera The argument la urged against
this disposition of power altee that legis-
l.mra and etate authorities are more sub-I
Jeot to corporate Influence and control j
than WOUId De tne central govvriunan,,
reply It la claimed that ft readjuetment
of the terms of leasehold every ten yeare
would secure to the publle and the stat
ju,t ,nd equitable tarma.
I do not exprem an opinion upon tha
controversy thua mad or ft preference
a to the two method Of treating water
power site. I shall submit the matter to
congress and urge that one or th other
of the two plana be adopted. - r
. I hava referred to the course of the hut
administration and of the present on In
making withdrawals of government landa
from entry under homestead and other I
laws and of congreea m removing all I Bj built one of the greatest commoa
doubt a to th validity of them with-1 we4ltBi . thc country. Tou are Bot
drawale aa ft great step In the direction " ..
of " "l enervation. But It la only the flrat Kanaang-to use the worts
one of two necessary atepa to effect what , progressiva and Insurgent Your fore
should be our purpose. It haa produced j ,atlier, vere the creators of the very
d Principle, oo-'1" '
the method for their proper disposition If they had not been progressive fe sa
wn be formulated. But It le of the ut- I (u would Bot be the Stat today urn
moat Importance that such wlthdrawala , . -.'-
ahould not be regarded as th final atep ' "' ..
In th course of conservation, and that I "Keep on pushing until the word
the Idea should not be allowed to spraao t
that eonaervatlos. la the lying up or .n.
natural reeourcee of the government for
Indefinite withholding from use and the
remission to remote generatiooe to decide
what ouebt to be done with the means
of promoting preaent eeneral human com
fort and prorresa. For. If so, ft Is eertaln
te arouse the greatest opnoaltlon to coo-sej-vatlon
ee a cause, and tf It were a
correct egression of the purpose of eon-aerv-ioniis
It onsht to arouse thla op
po.it,.n. A I hae said eiMwhere, the
pr(,t-;m te fenar to eav end l,nw to nnl-
It. " ""'V .,.,,;'
- -r no eanv - --
' r i' e en n e---d tlist ee - f birse-
nnuul be awed of-r nnoorn
I,: ,.-,:.' !.
1 ha of yoa. IS'-"" M '
OUT AT ST. P.UL
Told Westerrf Governors What He
. ' Thought of Their Plans.
WOULD KICK BALLINGER OUT
Ha Noticed That Every Man Who
Beaks t 8ecur Natural Rt- ,
"" gourcea tor Prlvat Gain , j
::-..:.-. Oppoaa Plnehot. " i
8t Paul; Sept . Got. Btubta who
wag prealdjog at the governor' aea-
Jion oi lue conservation .cuugieoB t,
trifled tha meeting y a vlgoroui Ilvo
mlnutea apeeoh In which big tb.oJgb.ta
were expressed tn plain language. -
'.Governor Hay of Waahlngton at
tacked the , officer of. the congress, ,
charging them with having tried to,
prevent proper preaentation of; Wjh
fountain and Pacific states sneered '
at' ' tie conservation j astoclatlcn' of
wnlch Jlncliot 1 president and laid
that the bureau "conservation tg and
their gupportera could not have served
the special Interest! better It they had
been In their pay. j It wag then '.bat
Stubba manifested restlessness,' XVhc n
Governor Brooks s of Wyoming fol- .
lowed with a similar though leas ex--treme
speech Stubba got ready for ac
tion. , Before Brooks waa seated,
Stubba was standing.
. - Old Not Com to Talk.
' "1 came her to preside, not to
talk," he said, "but I am going to taik."
I will not stand for the abuse of the
men who are responsible for the con
servation, movement The : greatest
man In the country today .Is Theodore
Roosevelt, . and the greatest thing :
Eoosevelt ever ;. started was this con
servation business. And the next great
est man on this score is Glfford Pln
ehot The country ought to "put up
monuments to both of them. It was
Plnehot who prevented the validation
of the Cunningham claims,- which If
they had been validated aa Ballinger
proposed would have . robbed the
country of ita Alaska coal. If I were
president I would kick Ballinger out of
my cabinet In five minutes. .- , -
No Government Monopoly.
J"
"It Is all sheer foolishness to talk
aging monopoly.: I -notice one Ihlno,
ever? 'land thief, every water powefr .?
grabber1, every man or corporation 'or
trust aeeklng to use the natural re
sources of the public landa for private
profit, la In favor of fltats conserva
tion. That's because these Interest
believe they can handle state legisla
tures better than they an handle tha
federal government.
President Taft's speech this Jnorn- -
ing was In fine support of the federal
idea. The thing that's the matter with
these western interests is mat iaej
do not want the kind of regulation -that
Roosevelt and Plnehot have ea-
tabllshed ,and that President Tart pro
poses. -They wait a free hand to grab
and use the natural wealth for their
own uses.. They do not like this con
servation association, because it keeps '
tab on them and la ; educating the
...ni.
r
, -
,
GOMPERS MESSAGE TO KANSANS
Should Prove True to Their Fathera
Who. Laid Foundation Upon Which
. Great Stat la Built '
" Kansas City, Kan, Sept. 6. Sam
uel. Gompera, President of the Amer
can Federation of Labor, spoke to a
Urge crowd of union men and visitor!
t carnival Park last night, where tht
. ... t-i.
Merchant's and Manufacturer's Fait
la being held. Mr. Gompera went di
rectly to the park after speaking 'at
Electrio park and later left for hi
home In vVaahicgton, D, C.
,- -j have brought a menage to tht
fallen of Kansas." he said, "and amY
going to make it a abort one, because "
yoa people are here tonight for pleae
are, not to hear a long talk on 'Work '
"You must prove true to your lath
era. They were the men who laid
the foundations upon which Kansas
- nrogretslve' will not be used as a po-
lltlcal term alone, but at aa isduauiaj
term alto." : -
,
Drowned Returning from Funewal,
Heaeanton, K., Bept 7. While re
turning home from the funneral of W.
G. Scost who was ar-citJcntaKy
drowned, Vss Mlntti Dk-bm. vai
drowned in a ravine which Is d ? ai!
y.-ar eirvpt after heavy rains. A I I
ii g culvert overturned the t- r-v o .- -,.
p ro- t-r Y t-a I 'i' ' rr. 1-r r i l.e- i i
tiroustir.
1 -.- ( t and 1 . ' 1 a few
" ,t It, fiLiedue
i 4 ll aoiJ:g ta IMS
Re-c'srrstn,
-, p
.e f
a.1 en
tr
St. L
"it f-
ft be nf