New-York tribune., 1907-12-04

me- lne sIereesi oeeie asrpciaI attention From the
Great Lakes to the mouth OF the M!ssissipP ~
there should be a deep waterway. WIN -,
W ter1-avs leading from il the East and the
west Such waterway would practlcaliy meel. @
the extension of our coast llne INTO 'e 80
heart of country III Woulu pe va IH :.
liable benefit 10 our people II begun at once -
can he carried through in time appreclapi! -
relieve the congestion of our great lTeisn1
o,-r,,iny lines Of railroads The work should
he Systematically and continuously carried , Ioi
- i, accordsnce with some well conceived
nIan The main streams should be lnprOEeu
Ia the highest point of efficiency before tne nm
nrovement of the branches Is attempted anu
the work should be kept free from every tliiL1 @
of reckessness or jobbery Ihe lnlinu .,, 49,
yvays which lie Just back of the Whole easter
and southern coast should likewise pe - -
oped. Moreover the deVelephleHt vi out 49,
wavs involves many other important water
T,robIenS all OF which should be consldefeu d.
mart of the same general scheme The govern
ment dams should be used to produce hundreds
of thousands of horsepower as an iIicldehl -
irr,,r,1,iry navipat ton for the annual value or
tba unused water power of the United states
rerhaps exceeds the annual value or the pTou-
nets Of all our mines. As an incident 10 credt.
ing the deep waterway down the MlsslsstPpl ip
~ eroyernment should build along its whole
lower length leYees, which. taken tosether VIZ VI
the control Of the headwateTs, VIII al 9nce al1 s
forever put a complete stop 70 an 'IleSa
floods in the immensely fertile delta region:
The territory lying adjacent to the MlsslsSlpPA
along its lower course win thereby become one
of tbe most prosperous and populOus, as II al
ready is one of the most fertile, farming r.
erio1y IN ali the world I have appointed an
Inland Waterways Commission 10 STUDY anu anu
outline a comprehensive scheme Of deveIopIAeht
along all the lines indicated Later shah lay
its report before the Congress.
Irrigation should be far more extensively ue-
veloDed than at present, not only in the states
Of the great plains and the ROCKY Aoune'ifl1. I e.
but in many others as, @ IoL
paoy.,,e4;on Work instance. in large portions
of the South Atlantic and
Gulf states where il should go hand In mana
with the reclamation of swamp land The req
eraI government should seriously devote ltSeIL
10 this task realizing that utilization OF water
yyavs and water power, forestry, lfrlsatiol d'A
the reclamation of lands threatened with over
fio,v are all interdependent parts or the sdiLe I
problem. The work OF the reclalla.Ion recli., -. +ha
in developing the larger opportuiItleS 1L -
western half of country for irrigation 10
more important than almost any olheT iioNc
ruent The constant purpose OF the Cover
j., connection with the reclamation service mas
been To use the water resources OF tne pupHC
Ids for the ultimate greatest good of the
Greatest number: in other words. 10 put upon
the land Dermanent home makers. to use anu
doyeIoD il for themselves and for their chiiuieii
and children's children. There mas oeeh %
course. opposition to this w0rk-opposItioh -. ~
some interested men who desire TO exhaust lle
land for their own immediate pront wlthoul @ r.
e,4rd 10 the welfare of the next generation ana
oppositfon from honest and well meaning men
who did not fully understand the subject OF VINO
aid not look far enough ahead This opposition
is | think. dying away, and our people dle u,'
Outstanding that it would be utterly Wrohs =
allow a few individuals to exhaust for tnelr own own
ought TO be developed through use so as 70 oe
conserved for the permanent common auNah-
tage of the people as a whole -, ,.t +ba
The effort Of the government 10 deal Win cII0
nublic land has been based upon the same pIliI-
ciple as that of the reclamation service; Inc
land law system whlch wa a;
puhIic [ ands designed meet the needs ot
the fertile and well watered
regions of the Middle West has largely DEohen Ken
down when applied 10 the dryer regions OF tii,
Great Plains the mountains. and much OF tLle
Pacific slope, where a farm OF 100 acres Il N
ADEQUATE for seIf-support. In these regions 'ils
system lent itself TO fraud, and much Lalla
passed out of the hands OF the SoEeII.l@Ie @
without passing into the hands OF the noIiIo
maker The Department of the Interior anu i ttIo
Departuent of Justice Joined in prosecuting the
offenders against the law: and they nave ac
ca,7, ,Iiebed T,1,ch while where the administra-
tior of the law has been defective II has oeeh
changed But the laws themselves are defeclFe-
Three years ago public LANDS commission wa
appointed to scrutinize the law, ana uelecIs, uele
and recommend a remedy lhelr eadiil ~,
specifically showed the existence OF great iTauu
upon the public domain. and their recoInLnendd-
tions for changes in the laws were mace "itl
the design of conserving the natural resources
OF every part of the public lands by putting
il TO its best use. Especial attention was calieU
to the prevention of settlement by the passage
of great areas of public land into the hands %
a few men and 10 the enormous waste caused
by unrestricted grazing upon the open rals'- ,,n,
The recommendations OF the Pubic l-ands Com
mission are sound. for they are especially N
the interest OF the actual home maker: ana
where the small home maker cannot at pres
ent utilize the land they provide that the gov
ernment shall keep control OF II so that IL may
not be monopolzed by a few men The Con
tons; but they are so just and proper. so eS-
sential 10 our national welfare, that l feel con-
fdent, II the Congress Will take time 10 con
slider them that they viii ultimately be adopted.
Some such legislation that proposed Is es-
sential in order To preserve the great stretches
of pubIic grazing land which unfit for cult
walton under present methods and valuable
only for the forage which they supply. These
stretches amount in all to some 5iphFiVtp
acres and are open TO the free grazing OF cattle,
sheep, horses and goats without restrlctioh-
Such a system. rather such lack OF system
means that the range is not so lnuch used as
wasted by abuse. As the West settles the range
becomes more and more oVergraZed- Much OF
IL cannot be used to advantage unless u -
fenced for fencing is the only way by which
to Leep in check the owners of 'nomad hocks
which roam hither and thither, utterly destroy
ing the pastures and leaving a waste behind
so that their presence is Incompatible with the
presence Of home makers. The existing FENCES
are all illegal Some of them represent the I'M
proper exclusion of actual settlers actuai ho'I'e
makers, from territory when Is uSufpeu oE
great cattle companies. Some or them represent
what is in itself q proper effort TO use the
range for those upon the land. and 10 prevent
its use by nomadic outsiders All these FENCES,
those that are hurtful and those that are bene-
fetal are alike illegal and must come down
But il is an outrage that the law should necessi-
tate such action the part of the adfninlstra-
ton. The unlawful fencing OF public lands Tor
private grazing must be stopped. but the neces-
sitv which occasioned ii must be provided Tor
The federal government should have control or
the range whether by permit or lease. as local
necessities may determine. SUCH Control could
eacure the great benefit of legitimate fencing,
while ut the same time securing ana promoting
the settlement of the country In some places
II may he that the tracts of range adjacent 10
the hornesteads of actual settlers should be
allotted to them severally or in common Tor the
suroner grazing of their stock Elsewhere
it may he that n lease system would serve the
purpose: the leases to be temporary and sub
iect TO the rights OF settlement and the amount
charged being large enough merely TO permit or
tho efficient and beneficial control of the range
by the government. and of the payment TO the
county of the equivalent OF what II would osher
lncfrf rfferfn n n N a