The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-06-26
'LAFOLLETTE TRIES
TO SAVE COAL LANDS
Resolution will Prevent Grab offs
45,00O,O00 Acres.
PRESIDENT IN FULL ACCORD

PURPOSE Is TO AAScp " AAAl - LcAb VI
Nations Fuel Beds Out Of the
Control OF Monopolies and
Trusts.
Washington, D. C-Standard Oil
ana railroad senators sat. up and
took notice when Senator La Toilette
introduced concurrent resolutions
which, if adopted, viii prevent the
Federal Government from selling
any more public lands underlaid
with coal, ignite OF oil, the purpose
being to keep what is left of the
lands out of the grasp Of the copora-
ations which have been grabbing all
they could get as rapidly as possible.
It is Senator La Follette's idea
that there are left $4,000, 900 acres
of public lands known to be under
laid with rich supplies Of fuel. He
| thinks they will become factor in
| the future Industrial development of
the country and should be retained
by the Government He has no radi-
cal notions about the Government
operation OF these fuel beds, but he
is Arm in the conviction that these
necessities sheald be kept out of the
greedy NAV of the monopolies and
trusts which are grabbing for them
wherever they can be obtained by
purchase or theft.
La Follette's belief is that with
the Government in perpetual control
of these fuel deposits it could pre-
vent any threatened tieup of fuel
such has been imminent in the past
from coal strikes. President Roose-
welt is in thorough accord with Sem
ator La Toilette on this subject.
Soon after Senator La Toilette had
| spoken in the Senate on the fragrant
wrongs being perpetrated against the
five civilized Indian tribes by the
seizure of their valuable coal and
mining lands by the railroads, the
| President sent for the Senator from
Wisconsin and talked over the en-
| tire question with him. The Presi-
| dent then wrote in his message ac-
companying the Garfield report on
| Standard Oil:
The time has come when no oil
| or coal lands held by the Govern
ment either within the public domain
proper or in territory owned by the
/
| The fee to such lands should be kept
In the United States Government
/ whether or not the profits arising
from it are to be given to any Indian
! tribe, and the lands should be leased
only on such terms and for such per-
iods as will enable the Government
4 to keep entire control thereof"
The central point of the resolu-
fes foS IN,
That the President be authorized
to withdraw from entry and sale all
public lands known to be underlaid
with coal, Ignite or oil and all such
| lands as, in the judgment of the di-
rector of the geological survey, con-
tain deposits of coal, Ignite and oil,
and that all such lands be withheld
from entry and sale until such time
as Congress shall determine other
4 wise
Senator La Toilette in presenting
4 his resolutions spoke briefly, saying;
Il believe that there should be no
doubt In regard to the Presidents
! power to withdraw these lands from
entry and sale There is little more
to say in regard to the resolutions
| other than / believe every man in
this country has direct interest in
knowing the character and extent OF
the coal deposits.
There is not a pound OF coal
which should be wasted. The Gov
| eminent has about 45,000,O0O acres
OF coal and Ignite deposits. 1t
should retain control of them. do
not contend that it should operate
them 1t might lease these lands to
private companies upon its own
terms to prevent the monopolization
OF the fuel supply, the manipulation
of prices or the occurrence OF such
DISASTROUS strikes as the great strike
in the anthracite coal fields. The
fact that the Government would own
the coal supply and could dispose of
! it upon such terms as it would be
pleased to impose, would enable the
Government to enforce arbitration at
least in ali disputes between labor
and the operators. ! know that the
President is anxious to conserve the
fuel supply of the country, and the
purpose of my resolution is to clear
up all doubt as to his authority to
withdraw these public lands for
sale. 2
Another feature of the La Toilette
resolutions indicating the possible
Government development of the fuel
lands ready for operation, was this:
That the Secretary of the Interior
cause to be made a thorough inyesti-
cation Of the fuel, Ignite and oil de-
posts of the United States and report
to Congress the nature, extent and
best methods of mining the same, so
as to operate them with the least
amount of waste.
Standard Oil might find COM
petitor in the oil field which it could
not crush in the United States Gov
ernment