The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1907-12-03

should be kept free from every faint d
recklessness or jobbery. The inlant
waterways which lie just back Of the
whole eastern and southern coasts
should likewise be developed More
over, the development Of our water
ways involves many other important
water problems, all of which should be
considered as part Of the same genera
scheme The government dams should
be used to produce hundreds Of thou
sands of horsepower as an incident tC
improving navigation, for the annual
value Of the unused water power OF
the United States perhaps exceeds the
annual value of the products Of all oul
mines. AS an incident to creating the
deep waterway down the Mississippi
the government should build along it's
whole lower length levees which, TAX
Ell together with the control Of the
headwaters, will at once and forever
put complete stop to all threat OF
floods in the immensely fertile delta
region. The territory lying adjacent
to the Mississippi along it's lower
course will thereby become one Of the
most prosperous and populous as it al
ready is one Of the most fertile farm
ing regions in all the world. l have
appointed an inland waterways COM
mission to study and outline a compre-
hensive scheme of development along
all the lines. indicated. Later I shall
lay it's report before the congress.
Reclamation Work.
Irrigation should be far more exten.
sively developed than at present, not
only in the states of the great plains
and the Rocky mountains, but in many
OtherS-aS. for instance, in large pOr.
tons of the south. Atlantic and gulf
states, where it should go hand in
hand with the reclamation of swamp
land. The federal government should
seriously devote itself to this task.
realizing that utilization of waterways
and water power, forestry, irrigation
and the reclamation Of lands threat.
ened with overflow are all interde-
pendent parts Of the same problem.
The work Of the reclamation service il
developing the larger opportunities of
the western half of our country for
irrigation Is more important than al
most any other movement The con.
slant purpose Of the government in
connection with the reclamation serv.
Ice has been to use the water resources
Of the public lands for the ultimate
greatest good of the greatest number
In other words, to put upon the land
permanent homemakers, to use and
develop it for themselves and for their
children and children's children. There
has been, of course, opposition to this
ork-opposition from some interested
men who desire to exhaust the land
for their own Immediate profit without
regard to the welfare Of the next gen
GRAFTON and opposition from honest and
we'll meaning men who did not fully
understand the subject or who did not
look far enough ahead. This opposi.
ton is, l think, dying away, and our
people are understanding that it would
be utterly wrong to allow a few in
dividuals to exhaust for their own
temporary personal profit the resources
which ought to be developed through
use so as to be conserved for the per-
manent common advantage of the peo-
pie as whole.
Public Lands.
The effort of the government to deal
with the public land has been based
upon the same principle as that of the
reclamation service. The land law sys-
tenn which was designed to meet the
needs Of the fertile and we'll watered
regions of the middle west has largely
broken down when applied to the drier
regions Of the great plains, the noun
tains and much of the Pacific slope,
where a farm of 100 acres is made
quate for self support. In these re-
gions, the system lent itself to fraud,
and much land passed out Of the hands
of the government without passing into
the hands Of the homemaker. The de-
partment of the interior and the de-
partment Of justice joined In prosecut-
Ing the offenders against the law, and
they have accomplished much; while
where the administration of the law
has been defective it has been changed.
But the laws themselves are defective.
Three years ago a public lands COM
mission was appointed to scrutinize the
law and defects and recommend Il
remedy. Their examination specific
ally showed the existence of great
fraud upon the public domain. and
their recommendations for changes in
the law were made with the design Of
conserving the natural resources of
every part of the public lands by put
ting it to it's best use. Especial atten-
ton was called to the prevention of
settlement by the passage of great
areas Of public land into the hands Of a
few men and to the enormous waste
caused by unrestricted grazing upon
the open range. The recommendations
Of the public lands commission are
sound. for they are especially in the in
terest of the actual homemaker. and
where the small homemaker cannot at
present utilize the land they provide