, 1907-10-14
MADE OF WHOLE CLOTH.

In this age of yellow journalism II
is very hard for the general public q
distinguish between the truth and
f%alsehood. The ''yellows" do not care
for anything but a sensational article
Or a undertaking story. They make
some false charge against a public
official and then say, Amt that a hor'
rible state of affairs in this land of
the free? We had better be under the
domain of the car of Russia"
Just at the present time it Is fash.
ionable for the democratic papers of
the Rocky mountain region to allege
that numerous coal mines would be
opened by citizens were 1t not for the
fact that all the coa land had been
withdrawn from entry by the auto,
cratic power that is now mismanag-
ing the affairs of our government.
Having alleged this false statement,
they proceed to lambaste the president
with all their weak, pusillanimous in.
efficiency. This is just at present "a
favorite pastime with the Cheyenne
Leader. In the course of a recent
bundle of misstatements 1t said:
while the big corporations like the
Union Pacific Coal company, are obfs
ed to so out of business, the small, in
dependent operators are not allowed
to take up coal lands at all, as accord
ing to the imperial ukase of the auto
crat of the White house, these lands
are reserved from entry. The United
States land offices are instructed not
To nnonpt a~,, C,nh fhA,u,
you are
The fact that Roosevelt violates
the laws that he swore to uphold. is
bad enough, but when he denies the
right of a poor man to prospect, file
upon and work a coal claim, he stops
tine development not only of Rock
Springs coal deposits, but OF all the i'm
mense areas of coal lands in Wyo,
ming"
The foregoing reads well. The ordi.
nary reader would assume that no repu.
table paper would publish statements
of this nature without knowing thu.
they were true. In fact, any person
having intelligence would naturally
assume that the editor had made in
vestigation and knew just what he was
talking about. He knew what he was
talking about, in all probability and
also knew that there vas not a sem
blance of truth In what he was saying.
He does not cite a single instance
wherein a citizen has made an attempt
to open a coal mine nj has been
prevented from doing so because OF
the fact that the lands desired wero
NIT h III yn wy YpNp, Artru tp,,1 tNnla.
the ~barefaced statement without proof.
If the editor Of the Leader had de,
sired the truth ne could have obtained
1t by ~telephonmg in n minute, II he
would have found that almost all the
coal lands withdrawn from entry by
executive order had been restored to
entry months ago. He would also have
found that much land has beer sold
to men who are expecting to engage in
coal operations. No less than forty
thousand dollars worth of coal lana
has been purchased in the Cheyenne
district during the past year.
1t is the presidents desire that ev
cry facility be given individuals and
corporations to honestly acquire II
operate coal mines, but it is not his
desire that monopolies shall De Great
ed whereby all the small operators
shall be crowded out of business. The
purpose of the withdrawal was simply
to permit congress to take some imme'
date acton looking to the betterment
Of the situation. The president de-
sired that the statutes relating to the
disposition of coal lands should be
b%roadened so that companies could hoa,
estly secure title to areas of sufficient
size to warrant the Investment of cap,
ital in amounts large enough to maxi
development and operation profitable,
When it was found that congress did
not desire to make the changes, then
the department set about restoring the
lands to entry.
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