The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-11
PRESIDENT SPEAKS TWICE ON GEORGIA DAY, REAL OPENING
 OF JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7.)


 CTS and the government foresters without forests. Waste of effort and waste of forests inevitably followed, Finally the situation was ended in 1905 by the crea- tion of the United States forest 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 coherent plain, and in a way that augurs well for the future.
 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 resources belong in a peculiar degree to the whole people. Under private control there is much waste from shortsighted methods of working, and the complete utilization is often sacrificed for a greater immediate profit. The mineral fuels under our pres ent conditions are as essential to our prosperity as the forests will always be. The difference is that the supply is defi- nitely limited, for coal does not grow and trees do. It is obvious that the mineral fuels should be conserved, not wasted, and that enough of them should remain in the hands of the government to pro- tect the people against unjust extor- tionate prices so far as that can still be done. What has been accomplished in the regulation of the great oil fields of the Indian Territory offers striking example of the good results of such policy. Last summer, accordingly, I withdrew most of the coal-bearing public lands temporarily from disposal, and asked for the legisla- ton necessary to protect the public in- terest by the conservation of the mineral fuels; that Is, for the power to keep the fee in the government and to lease the coal, oil, and gas rights under proper regulation. No such legislation was passed but I still hope that we shall ultimately get it.
 Public Domain.
 In addition to treating alright for the benefit of the whole people the forests and the mineral beds, we should similar ly try to preserve for the benefit of all the people the great stretches of pub lie domain, some three hundred million acres in all, which are unfit for cultiva- ton by present methods and valuable only for the forage which they supply. This vast area Is now open to the free graz ing cattle, sheep, horses, and goats, with out restriction or regulation. When popu- lation has increased. as is now the case, such utter lack of management means that the public domain is turned over to be skinned by men whose only concern is to get what they can out of 1t at the moment, without any regard to whether or not it Is ruined so far as the next generation is concerned. In other words. the range Is not so much used as wasted by abuse; and as an incident conflict and bloodshed frequently arise between op- posing users. With the rapid settling of the west the range is more and more overgrazed. Moreover, much of 1t can not be used to advantage unless it is fenced for fencing is the only way by which to keep in check the absentee owners of nomad flocks which roam hither and thither, utterly destroying the pasturage and leaving a waste behind, so that their presence is incompatible with the pres enee of home-makers. Good judges esti- mate that our public range has now lost nearly half its value, yet fencing is against the law. and as the law now stands it is well-nigh impossible to do anything to keep the value of the range. The only practical remedy is to give con- tIol of the range to the federal govern ment. Such control would not only stop all conflict but would conserve the forage without stopping it's use, as our experi- enee with the national forests has fully proved. It would likewise secure to the west the great benefits of legitimate fenc- ing without interfering in the slightest with the settlement of the country-on the contrary, while promoting the settle ment of the country. Hitherto, however, it has not proved possible to get any leg islation to secure these ends. The destruc- ton of the public range will continue until. as nation, we insist upon the enactment of some such laws as those l have advocated
 To Prevent Fraud,
 For several years we have been do- ing everything in our power to prevent fraud upon the public land. What can be