The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-10

DER lnaL irrigation may De successfully
ed. Herein is to be found one of the
0 devastation OF the forests by means
lber act. The objection is SO great as
Of the act and the substitution Of more
It and disposal of the public domain:
{ SO smugly as Mr..
Tracy does the .feddalism Of wealth
would be upon US in a moment.
There is danger that in approaching
wealth we may magnify it, that in recog-
nizing it's good, we shall fail, as Mr.. Tracy
does, to see potential good In anything
else. Mr.. Tracy's preaching. may be
summed up as advice for the crowd to
initiate the example of the ancient Roman
rabble and be- happy and content so long
as the masters provide bread and the
circus. Political liberty, individual indie
pendence, are nothing to Mr.. Tracy COM
pared with a fat pocketbook, full larder,
fine raiment and physical comfort But
liberty is not yet a meaningless word.
Men will still give up all for it, as a hun
dred years ago; and the old enemy Is Just
as much to be opposed whether it comes
in the form Of political despotism, as. Of
old, or of Industrial despotisrn' as now.
''There will be. a trust bill passed if it
takes all summer to get it."-Roosevelt.
How cruel to make those poor congress-
men do something
---------aA-----
Utilization Of Natural Products.
With house and senate committees in
vestigating the acute shortage in the coal
supply, and general disposition to in
quire. into the cause Of the harrassing in
convenience, and suffering also, In many
localities, it is evident that the public have
a strong disposition to prevent the recur-
renee of such conditions The senate in
vestigating committee yesterday deter.
mined to send for Baer, the aggressive
monopolist Of the Reading railway, but il
is not likely that anything satisfactory viii
be extracted from him.
There are things which need explana-
ton, certainly. Why is it that hard Goa
is sold, at $3.50 per ton in Scranton, Pa.
and three times that amount is asked fol
it il shipped out Of the state a compora
lively short distance? How is it that i
| is shipped to the eastern Canadian -coas
and sold 81 So below the Boston price
Washington is hit hard by the coal short
age, although. very !, near the source o
supply. 1t. Is said that lack of cars is !:
leading cause OF the restricted supply
fbut, If this we're tie ease, the, sidetrackfr1l
Of rtains az 5qadedI f Gsals cars would not y
permitteds by the railwaN companies. Ap
parentIy7 sther operators are fatten1ng o.
the conditions for which they are largel
Responsible. They are profitinsc by tn
}distress of consumers" rs IL: =. :
t. AS might be expected, several will
meausres: have been. introduced in con
gress intended to relieves>the public. TIL
notion Of establishing a community OF in
terest in the coal measures Of the coun
try and compelling their development
seems to be favored by some, who woul
not object to the introduction Of Icaria
features into our domestic economies
There lies at. tho bottom Of such PROPOSE
tons a very ancient principle to the eft
feet that the people have a right to re
claim unproductive land, unimprove
land, from waste and cultivate it for thel
Subsistence, such reclamation forming a
Equitable title to a permanent property l
1.-THE land. In the counties of Cornwall an
|Devonshire in England, it was long Gus
tonary for any person to enter upon til
unoccupied and unutilized land Of anothe
dnd dig for tin in an area marked out b
him, and work the mine for his own Der
eft, paying a royalty to the land over
land continuing in such possession indef
nitely. The queen 8 bench, in. a cas-
where the right was disputed held tha
the custom was rational and good, for 6
Hong as the ore-was in the ground it wa
useless to the owner as well as the pull
lie, and the bringing of the ore to the SUI
face and into the market is eminent
for the benefit Of the public, and, if tt
owner Of the land cannot and will not d.
velop the ore, he shall not be allowed !
) lock it up from the public, but any. or
can secure to himself the right to dig IL
mines, rendering a percentage; of the proc
uct to the owner of the land. The pril
-
ciple embodied in the decision is applies
BILE to any attempt of a land owner
lock up natural wealth from the public.
Such custom does not obtain in TIL
country, but 1t is sound principle set for
by the English court, that the owner
} mineral land who, declines to develop
and bring forth the product to the mark
is censurable as locking the wealth fro
:. the public who may be in distress throu(
lack Of it, as In the case OF the coal shor
! Eage in this country. It would seem to e.
! tail greater culpability upon the owners
5 mineral lands, say coal lands, II they 8
out the buried wealth which the publ
I sorely needs, and dole it out in drible
in order to keep up the price to the inju
r of the public. Who is profiting by I
8 scant coal supply but the operators vi
9 are bulling the market by the dole sy
. tenn, the heartless device OF the monop
: Hstic group? I,, zss.
/ Minnesota has enjoyed a heavy imn
o grafton, great growth In, population al
Q general development during recent year
4 but it undoubtedly might have enjoy