The Washington herald., 1907-06-11

/ be skinned hy men whose only concern
is to get what they can out of it az the
moment. without any regard 70 whether
or not il is ruined So far as the next
! generation is concerned.
"In other words. the range is not so
much used as wasted hy abuse. and as
an incident conflict and bloodshed fire.
| queutly arise between opposing users
With the rapid settling Of the West the
/ range is more and more oyeTgr8Zed.
! Moreover much of IL cannot Dee used 20
advantage unless IL is fenced for fencing
is the only way hy which 90 keep IN
check the absentee owners of nomad
hoCks which roam hither and thither, ut-
terly destroying the pasturage and leav-
ing a waste behind. so that their presence
is incompatible with the presence Of
/ home-makers. Good judges estimate that
our public range has now lost nearly
half rs value. vet fencing is against the
law. and as the law now stands it Is
we'l-nigh impossible 90 do anything 90
keep the value of the range The only
practical remedy is 20 give control OF
the range 90 the Federal government
/ Such control would not only stoD an
conflict. but would conserve the forage
without stopping its use, as our expert
proved. Il would likewise secure 90 the
West the great benefits of legitimate
fencing without interfering in the slight
est with the settlement of the country
ON the contrary. while promoting the set
tlamout OF the country. Hitherto, how
ever IL has not proved possible ~ get
any legislation 20 secure these ends The
destruction Of the public range VIII con-
tinuc until. as q nation. We insist upon
I the enactment Of some such laws as
those I have advocated.
Frauds Must BE Checked.
For several years we have been doing
everything in our power TO prevent fraud
upon the public land What can Joe done
under the present laws IS now being
done through the joint action Of the In
terror Department and the Department
of Justice But fully 90 accomplish the
prevention Of fraud there is need of
further legislation and especially ~ "a
sufficient appropriation % permit the De-
ra-tmeut Of the Interior g. examine cer-
tain classes Of entries on the ground be-
fore they pass into private ownership
The appropriation asked for last winter
B II granted. would put an end To- the squ1n-
dering OF the public domain. while II
would have prevented any need Of caus-
ing hardship 20 individual settlers hv
holding no their claims. However. the
appropriation was NOT given MS, and in
consequence il is not possible 90 secure.
as 7 would Ike TO secure. the natural re-
sources of the public land from fraud.
waste. and onCroachmenL
80 much for what we are trying 90 do
I'm utilizing our public lands for the pub
P Ilc. In securing tho use OF the water, the
b forage. the coal. and the timber for the
public In all four movements my chief
adviser and the man first tp suggest 20
, me the courses which have actually
proved so beneficial. was Mr.. Clifford
Pfnchot the chief ~ tha national Forest
Service Mr.. Pjnehot also suggested %
: me "a movement supplementary 90 ali of
these movements, one which VIII itself
! lead the way iU the general movement
which ne represents and with which he
/ is actively identified. for the cousarEa-
ton of all our natural resources This
] was the appointment OF the Inland Water
D ways Commission.
"The inability of the railroads Of tho
United States o. meet the demands upon
them has drawn public attention forcibly
20 the use Of our waterways for transpor-
tation. But it is obvious that this Is only
one of their many uses and that q
- manned and orderly development IS
2 impossible except by taking into account
r all the services they are capable Of render
I ing. It was upon this ground that tho
Inland Waterways Commission was
recently appointed. Their duty is 20 pro
pose a comprehensive plan for the inn
S provement and utilization Of those grei'
r Waterways which are the great pOtpDtia
S highways of the country. Their duty is
, also 10 bring together the points of view
/, OF all users of streams. and 10 submit
= general plan for the development aur
: conservation of the vast natural resource
2 Of the waterways of the United States
o Clearly il is impossible for the Water
s ways Commission 20 accomplish its great
{ task without considering the relation o
t. streams to the conservation and use o.
4 all other natural resources, and ! have
asked that il do so.
Here then. for the first time. tht
/, orderly development and planned con
n seTvative use of all oUr natural resources
2 is presented as "a single problem on,
F. by one the individual tasks in this grea
q problem have already been undertaken
One by one in practical fashion the
- methods of dealing with them were
worked out National irrigation ha!
r proved itself a success by its actual work
Ing Again. actual experience has sh0wT
d that the national forests will fulfill tht
! larger purpose for which they were ere
, ated. All who have thoughtfully studieJ
= the subject have come TO see that the
solution Of the public-lands question lie.
. with the home maker. with the settler
+ who lives on his land, and that govern
= meut control Of the mineral fuels. and tn,
, public grazing lands is necessary and IN
: evitable. Each Of these conclusions repre-
, sented a movement Of vast importanc,
which would confer large benefits upor
: the nation, but which stood by itself
. They are connected together into on,
great fundamental problem-that of tn,
! conservation of all our natural resources
| Upon the wise solution Of this, much o
/ our future obviously depends
Even such questions as the regulation
1 of railway rates and the control Of corpo
l rations are in reality subsidiary TO tn,
/ primal problem of the preservation II
4 the interests OF the whole people Of tn,
resources mat nature has given us Il
/ we fail to solve this problem, no skill il
solving the others viii in the end avai
us very greatly.
/ Fnvors Income Tax.
"Now as 10 the matter Of taxation Most
great civilized countries have an incom,
tax and an inheritance tax. In my judg-
ment both should be part Of our system
Of Federal taxation. I speak difdently
about the income tax, because one scheme
for an income tax was declared uncon-
! stitutional by the Supreme Courg by q