The Springfield herald., 1907-02-22
new LAND LAWS.
PRESIDENT URGES RADICAL LEG
lSLATiON.
NATION TO RETAIN THE TITLE
Special Message Advocates Leasing
System Both for Coal Lands and
Grazing Lands-Wants Appropria
tion to Detect and Prevent Frauds.

StOn.--PrcSluent Roosevelt
Wednesday sent to Congress a long
message calling attention to what lie
terms the urgent need of legislation
Affecting the different phases OF the
public land situation in tho United
States'
He advocates tine conservatism OF
coal and other fuel RESOURCES en- lands
still belonging to thc government,
saying that hencef'rth ;hs nation
should retain is title to it3 fuel To-
sources: urges sovc,E:rcn! control O.
the western public. Eaa;ures. with Il
system of small grazing fees. ETC., and
asks for an appropriation of half mil.
non dollars, Immediately available, in
addition to present estimates, to aid
in detecting and preventing land
frauds.
He contends for system of govern
ment leasing of its mineral lands and
for treating these fue. lands cs public
utilities.
The President points out that Z
would have been better !: SOME ca.tern
coal lands had been left Under govern
ment control and suggests provialon
In the West against recurrence Of the
conditions we deplore in the East"
Citing 2.300 cases of public land en-
.ries in four districts mentioned. the
President says no compliance with the
law was found in over half OF them and
deliberate fraud in many cases.
The President first refers to his pre-
Vious message to Congress on the sub
1cct and again calls attention 20 the
Importance of such legislation as
would provide for title to and Develop
ment of the surface land as separate
ana distinct from tho right to the ua.
DERIVING mineral fuels IN regiona
where these may occur and the dis.
posal of those mineral fuels u.der u
leasing system on conditions which
would inure to the benefit of the public
as whole. He says he cares little
ior the details and that the prime need
is that the system should be estab.
llshed. The message in part gays:
Such a leasing system as tl.at pro
posed represents by no means an I'M
tried policy. In the Australian Goun-
tries during the last fifteen years Goa:
has been mined under a system OF gov
crIment leases and Oh conditions so
favorable TO- development that their
coal and coke are to-day being sold or
the Pacific coast of botli thc American
continents. In all the great coal-pro-
ducing European countries except
Great Britain coal is being mined un-
der government leases.
ri ai lon.
almost entirely by the private land
owners. but there. as in other coun-
tries. the surface culture and the min
ing operations are conducted inde-
pendently of each other. In Nova SEQ
tia. British Columbia. India and other
British colonies Z government leasing
system has been adopted and Is work.
ing satisfactorily.
Mineral fuels. like the forests and
navigable streams. should be treated
as public utilities. This is generally
recognized abroad. In some foreign
countries practical control of large
PORTION of the fuel resources was al
lowed years ago to pass into private
hands, but the existing governments
are endeavoring to regain this control
In order that diminishing fuel supply
NAV be safeguarded for the common
good. instead of being disposed of for
the benefit of the few-though the mis-
take of the preceding generation in
d,sposing of these fuels for nominal
return cannot always be corrected by
the present generation, as the cost
may be so enormous as to be prohib-
itcry.
"In our own western states and ter
ritories the scarcity of both water and
forests has rendered necessary their
preservation as public utilities and the
preservation of the forests for the pur-
pose of conserving both the waters
and the timber supply has come to be
recognized as the wise and proper
policy of the federal government
THE quantity of high grade mineral
fuels IN the West is relatively much
smaller than that of the forests and
the proper conservation of these fuels
Is matter of far-reaching importance.
This government should not now
repeat the mistakes of the past. Let
us not do what the next generation
cannot undo.
I'VE have a right to the proper use
of both the forest and the fuel during
our lifetime. but we should not dispose
of the birthright of our children. II
this government sells its remaining
fuel lands. they pass out of its future
control, and a future congress will be
at lib erty to decide whether it will con-
tinue CT change this policy.
Let me also again urge that legisla-
tion be passed to provide for govern.
mcnt control of the public pasture
lands of the West on the same general
principles which now apply in the gov
ernment control of the forest reserves.
The local control of the range should
be in the hands of Western men IA
miliar with stock raising. and there
should be full local participation in the
management of the range. There is
no need that the government should
get a revenue from grazing on the pub
lie range. but only enough to pay for
admin istration and improvement and
ii may be wise to provide that any
surplus shall go to the states and ter
ritories in which the fees are collected.
Il am exceedingly anxious to protect
the interests of bona tlde settlers and
10 prevent hardships being inflicted
upon them. But surely we are work
ing in their interests when we try to
prevent the land which should be re-
served for them and those like them
from being taken possession of for
speculative purposes or obtained in
any fraudulent fashion"