The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-18
On PUBLIC LAND LAWS.

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An executive message on the status
Of the public lands reached congress
yesterday. containing comment on the
need OF change in laws for the public
domain, the forest reserves, grazing
and coordinate subjects. While sew
eral radical changes in existing laws
are recommended, there is an unusual
and notable lack of startling sugges-
Tions.
OF most interest to Utah is the sec
ton Of the message devoted to the coal
lands. After commenting on the need
of revision, the president urges the re-
peal Of the timber and stone act be-
cause, he says, at has done enormous
harm" and ''its effect has been to turn
over the public timber lands to great
corporations" He also urges the repeal
of the provision of the desert land act
which permits assignment before pat
ent. and advises a provision that the
entryman should be required to live
not less than two years at home on
the land before patent issues. Revision
of the Communication clause is also adj
vised. and actual residence on the land
for three years is proposed before COM
mutation can be permitted.
Expressing his concern at the frauds
which have taken place under existing
land laws. he says there is only one
way to prevent fraud and he has,
therefore, directed the secretary of the
interior to allow no patent to be issued
under any law until an examination on
the ground shows actual compliance
with the law. For this purpose an al
lowance Of additional special agents is
requested for the department, both to
prevent fraud and to expedite the issu-
Further, he recommends the employ
ment OF mining experts to examine
mineral lands and to undertake the su-
pervision and control of the use of min
eral lands.
Discussing the coal lands. the presi-
dent says the present law limiting en-
try TO $50 acres puts a premium on
fraud by making it impossible to de-
velop certain coal fields and yet comply
with the law. That fact has been I'M
derstood and commented on in Utah
and the west for years. No field in the
west could be developed proftably on
r. limit of $50 acres for one entry, and
the law should be amended to permit
the legal acquisition of bodies of coal
land large enough to invite investment
.r,d al
mendation Of the president that pro-
vision should be made for leases of
coal. oil and gas rights under certain
restrictions is a knotty problem, in
Volving as 1t does state lands and local
conditions that would complicate the
question. There can be no doubt, how
ever, as to the necessity for some ar
rangemenI that will permit the success
full exploitation of the coal lands of
Utah and Wyoming. The present work
ings hardly suffice to give the railroads
their own fuel and the withdrawal of
ali coal lands from entry has made it
impossible for individuals or companies
other than the railroads to undertake
development
Forestry reserves, which are treated
separately, have become an asset in
stead of an expense; and the president
recommends the loan of 1000, 600 TO the
forestry department. the sum to be re-
paid in annual instruments from the
forestry revenues. and the whole ap
piled to permanent improvements such
as roads, telephone lines. quarters for
rangers and other necessary equip
ment
After setting forth the workings of
the forestry grazing regulations, the
message recommends that the same
system be applied to the open range.
In this connection. the president says:
Reasonable fencing which promotes
the use of the range and yet interferes
neither with settlement nor with other
range rights. would be thoroughly de-
sirable if it were legal. yet the law for
bids. and this law will and must be en-
forced will see to 1t that the illegal
fences are removed unless congress at
rea present session takes steps to leg