The daily sentinel., 1907-06-05

ne ptbBlt VI AlAN tllAli = Ntol al o
vitally interested in the coming Pub
lie Lands Convention to be held in
Denver, June Is TO 20.
Few towns or cities in the west are
more directly interested than Grand
resented by a number of delegates.
The question is often asked the
Sentinel What is the real purpose
of this convention" To answer this
fully and officially the Sentinel re-
produces below the address of the
program committee. outlining the
purposes and object of the meeting.
which program reached the Sentinel
last night from Senator Henry NJ
Teller. chairman.
1. The Governor of Colorado, by
authority of a resolution adopted by
the Sixteenth General Assembly of
that state, having issued call for a
convention to be held in Denver, June
] 18th, 18th and goth, for the purpose
lof considering the relation of the
1 Western states to the public lands,
| It becomes the duty of the Program
| Committee named in the call by the
| Governor to outline in u general way
the subject-matter to be considered
at the convention.
.. While the public is familiar
with the policy of the United States
Government in relation to the public
lands, as that policy has been in OPP
GRAFTON for so many years, compara-
| lively few have given the land laws
of the country more than super
fiscal attention. Fewer still have not
ted the gradual change in policy in
relation to these public lands, and
tla statement of - Of 10.
mental facts in regard to our public
land policy as 1t has been. and the
changes that have taken place or are
contemplated. will be necessary to al
understanding of the necessity OF
this conference between the states
3. The only reference in the Con
stitution of the United States to thu
public lands is contained in Artlcl.
", Section 3, as follows:
'The Congress shall have
power to dispose of and make
bll needful rules and regula-
tions respecting the territory or
other property belonging to the
United States, and nothing in
this Constitution shall be so con-
strued as to prejudice any
! claims of the United States. or
: of any particular state"
g. 4. Under this authority Congress
, has made the laws providing for tn
- disposition of the public lands, an
- until recently these laws have bee
so liberal that history has no recor
3 of such vast territory so rapidl
developed and settled as this. TIL
g original thirteen states owned all c
Il their own lands and much addition
al territory. All of the addition;
T territory was ceded to the Unite
y States by the legislatures of the ST,
e. tes owning those lands under col
to ditions that they should be dispose
OF in the first place to pay the deb
at incurred by the war of the Revolt
ton and upon condition that Il
territory so ceded shall be laid o,
and formed into states and tn,
the states so formed shall be repu
lican states and admitted membe
of the Federal Union. having Il
same rights of sovereignty. freedo
and Independence as the other st
tes."
5. The first new states form,
were therefore formed under Il
rights acquired by the United Stat
by this cession, and the new stat
We're given these rights when a
mitted. Later, when territory w
acquired from Spain. France M
Mexico, and new states were forme
i having all the rights and priyileg
of the older states" they were plac
in exactly the same position. as 7
CARDS the public lands. as the ne
Us. states upon the lands ceded by 4
se original thirteen states.
6. Under the agreement of I
original states in the voluntary c,
lily sion of their unoccupied and was
or lands, the object of all parties to I
nd contract was to convert the Ian
ie- into money to pay the debts and
erect new states over the terrific
thus ceded Whenever the Unit
States had fully executed this tru
. the power of the United States on
these lands was to cease.
not Z. II will thus be seen. and II h
ss- been so held by the suprel
ce, Court of the United States. that /
United States have held the pnb
lands in the new states by force
the deeds OF cession and under /
,ur statutes connected with them. IT
he holding, therefore, must necessar
be of temporary character as
CARDS the general disposition of