The San Francisco call., 1907-06-11
CONSERVING PUBLIC DOMAIN

get it.
CONSERVING PUBLIC DOMAIN
In addition to treating Alright for the benefit
of the whole people the forests and the mineral
beds we should similarly try to preserve for
the benefit Of all the people the great stretches
of public domain. some 300. 600 600 acres in all.
which are unit for cultivation by present
methods and valuable only for the forage which
they supply This vast area is now open to
the free grazing of cattle, sheep. horses and
goats without restriction regulation. When
population has increased, is 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 re-
gard to whether or not it is ruined so far as
the next generation is concerned. In other
words. the range is not much used wasted
by abuse; and incident conflict and
bIoodshed frequently arise between opposing
users. With the rapid settling of the west the
range Is more and more overgrazed. Moreover.
much Of 1t cannot 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 hocks which roam hither and thither,
utterly destroying the pasturage and leaving a
waste behind SO that their presence is incom-
patfbie with the presence Of home makers.
Good judges estimate that public range has
now lost nearly half Its value. yet fencing IS
against the law and the law stands it
is well nigh impossible to do anything to keep
the value Of the range. The only practical
remedy is to- give control of the range TO the
only stop all conflict but would conserve the
forage without stopping its use, our ex-
perience with the national forests has fully
proved. 1t would likewise secure to the west
the great benefits of legitimate fencing without
interfering in the slightest with the settlement
Of the country--on the contrary, while promoting
the settlement of the country. Hitherto. how
ever. 1t has not proved possible TO get any
legislation to secure these ends. The destruc-
tion of the public range will continue until. as
nation, we insist upon the enactment Of some
such laws as those l have advocated.
PREVENTING LAND. FRAUDS
For several years we have been doing every
thing in onr power to prevent fraud upon the
public land What can be done under the
present laws is being done through the
joint action of the interior department and the
department Of justice. But fully to accomplish
the prevention Of fraud there is need of further
legislation and especially of sufficient appro-
priation to permit the department Of the interior
to examine certain classes Of entries the
ground before they pass into private ownership.
The appropriation asked for last winter IL
granted, would have put an end TO the squan-
derng OF the public domain, while it would
have prevented any need of causing hardship
to individual settlers by holding up their claims.
However. the appropriation was not given us
and in consequence it Is not possible to secure,
az would like to secure, the natural resources
Of the public land from fraud. waste and en-
croacifment.
So much FOR what we are trying to do in
utilizing our public lands for the public; in
securing the use of the water, the forage, the
coal and the timber for the public. In all four
movements my chief adviser and the man first
to suggest to me the courses which have actually
proved so beneficial. Mr.. Clifford Pinchot
the chief of the national forest service. Mr..
Pinchot also suggested to me movement sup
Elementary TO all OF these movements; one
which will itself lead the way In the general
movement which he represents and with which
he is actively identified for the conservation of
all our natural resources. This the appoint
ment OF the inland waterways commission.
WATERWAY TRANSPORTATION
The inability of the railroads of the United
States to meet the demands upon them has
drawn public attention forcibly to the use of
our waterways for transportation But it Is
obvious that this Is only one of their many uses
and that a planned and orderly development is
impossible except by taking into account all
the services they are capable OF rendering. 1t
was upon this ground that the inland waterways
commission was recently appointed. Their duty
Is to propose a comprehensive plan for the I'm
provement and utilization Of those great water
ways which are the great potential highways
OF the country. Their duty Is also to bring
together the points Of view Of all users OF
streams and to submit general plan for the
development and conservation of the vast ma
tural resources Of the waterways of the United
States. Clearly it Is impossible for the water
ways commission to accomplish its great task
without considering the relation of streams to
resources, and have asked that 1t do so. Here
then, for the first time the orderly development
and planned conservative use Of all our natural
resources is presented as a single problem. One
by one the individual tasks in this great prob-
lem have already been undertaken One by
one in practical fashion the methods of dealing
with them were worked out National Irrigation
has proved itself success by its actual work
ing. Again, actual experience has shown that
the national forests will fulfill the larger pur.
pose for which they were created.
SOLUTION WITH SETTLER
All who have thonghtfully studied the subject
nave Come to see that the solution of the pub
lie lands question lies with the home maker,
with the settled who lives on his land and that
government control Of the mineral fuels and
the public grazing lands is necessary and in
evitabe. Each of these conclusions represented
movement Of vast importance which would
confer large benefits upon the nation but which
stood By itself. They are connected together
into one great fundamental probIem-that OF
the conservation of all our natural resources
Upon the wise solution Of this much Of orr
future obviously depends. Even such Questions
As the regulation Of railway rates ana the CON
troll Of corporations are In reality subsidiary
to the primal problem Of the preservation II,
the interests of the whole people Of the re-
sources that nature has given US. II We fail to
solve this problem no skill in solving the others
will In the end avail us very greatly
Now a. to the matter Of taxations Most great
civilized countries have an income tax and an
inheritance tar. In my Judgment both should
be part Of our system of federal taxation II
speak difhdently about the income tax because
one scheme for an income tag was declared
unconstitutional By the supreme court BY 1--WE
to four vOkes and in addition II n = dff0ru1t