The Washington herald., 1907-06-11

the permanent common advantage OF the
pa1ule as "A whole But there will be no
halt I'm the work Of preserving the waters
which head in the Rocky Mountain region
so as TO make them of most use to the
people as a whole for the policy is es-
sential 10 our national welfare.
would Safeguard Public Domain,
THE public lands of the United States
should b. utilized in similar fashion. Our
present public land laws We're passed
W. there was "a vast surplus OF vacant
public land The chief desire was 70
secure settlers thereon, and comparative
lv slight attention was paid as 10 exactly
how the lands were disposed Of in detail
In consequence. lax execution Of the
laws became the rule both in the Land
Office and in the public mind. and land
frauds were common and little noted.
This was especially true when system
originally designed for the fertile and
well-Watercd regions Of the Middle West
was applied 20 the dryer regions Of the
Great Plains and % the mountains and
the Pacific Coast In these regions the
system lent itself 10 fraud, and much
land passed out Of the hands of the gov
ernment without passing into the hands
Of the home maker. The Department OF
the Interior and the Department Of JUS
tice Joined I'm prosecuting the offenders
against the law, but both the law and
its administration were defective and
needed 10 be changed.
Three years ago a public lands COM
mission was appointed 20 sCrutinize the
law and the facts and 20 recommend
remedy. Their examination specifically
showed the existence of great frauds
upon the public domain. and their rec
concentrations Tor changes IN the law
were made with the design Of conserving
the natural resources Of every part Of
the public land by putting Il 90 It's best
use Attention was especially called TO
the prevention of settlement by the pas
sage Of great areas of public lands into
the hands of q few men. and 90 the enoT-
nous waste caused by unrestricted graz
ing ON the open range. "a system OF using
the natural forage on the public domain
which amounts 10 putting "a premium on
its destruction The recommendations
Of the public lands commission We're
sound for they were especially In the
interest OF the actual home maker. and
where the small home maker could not
utilize the land IL was provided that the
government should keep control of il so
| that it could not De m0nOpOlized by a
| few wealthy men. Congress has not yet
acted upon these recommendations eX-
| Cept for the repeal of the iniquitous lieu-
1 land lad. But the recommendations are
so just and proper. so essential TO our
national welfare that ! believe they Will
surely ultimately be adopted.
In 1891 Congress authorized the Pres
ident to create national forests iu the
public domain. These forest reserves re-
mained for a long time TN charge of the
/ General Land Office. which had no men
properly trained in forestry. But am
other department. that Of Agriculture,
/ possessed the trained men. In other
words. the government forests were with
out fOresters and the government forest
ers without forests. Waste Of effort and
/ waste Of forests inevitably followed.
/ Finally the situation was ended IN 1913
/ by the creation Of the United States For
| est Service which has stopped the waste,
] conserved the resources Of the national
/ forests. and made them useful so that
/ our forests are now being managed on a
/ coherent plan, and in a way that augUrs
| well for the future.
Mineral Fuel Is Needed.
/ The mineral fuels Of the Eastern
/ United States have already passed into
the hands of large. private owners. and
/ those Of the West are rapidly following
/ This should not be for such mineral re-
sources belong in Il peculiar degree "a
. the whole people. Under private con-
trol thefe is much waste from short
sighted methods of working. and the
| complete utilization is often sacrificed for
a greater immediate profit The mineral
fuels under our present conditions are
| as essential 20 our prosperity as the for
ests will always be, The difference is
that the supply is definitely limited. fol
coal does not grow and trees do. II is
obvious that the mineral fuels should De
conserved, not wasted, and that enough
Of them should remain in the hands OF
the government to protect the peopl,
Iagainst unjust or extortionate prices 50
far as that can still be done. What has
been accomplished in the regulation Of
the great oil fields of the Indian Terri
tory offers "A striking example of the good
results Of such "a policy. Last summer
accordingly, | withdrew most of the coal
bearing public lands temporarily from
disposal. and asked for the legislation
necessary to protect the public interest
by the conservation Of the mineral fuels
that is for the power 10 keep the fee
IN the government and to lease the coal
oil. and gas rights under proper regula.
tion. No such legislation was passed
but I still hope that we shall ultimately
get it.
I'm addition to treating Alright for the
benefit Of the whole people the forests
and the mineral beds. We should similarly
try to preserve for the benefit Of all the
people the great stretches Of public do
main, some three hundred million acres
in an, which are unfit for cultivation by
present methods and valuable only for
the forage which they supply. This vas;
area is now open to the free grazing Of
cattle, sheen. horses. and goats. without
/ restriction or regulation. When popula-
/ A Letter Of Credit
Is useful during 4 trip abroad. rot
only as d safe medium for carry
l.