The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-11

not usually Characteristic Of a young and
vigorous people. and II is obviously not a
marked characteristic Of us I'm the United
States. Yet assurcdlv IL should he the
growing nation with n future which takes
the long look ahead: and no other nation
Is growing SO rapidly as ours or has n
future so full Of promise. No other. ma :
tion enjovs so wonderful n measure OF
present prosperity which can of right be
treated as an earnest of future success,
and for no other are the rewards of fore
sight so great. so certain and so easily
ioretold, Yet hitherto as a nation We
have tended 10 live with an eye single 10
tho present. and have permitted tho
! reckless waste and destruction of much
Of our natural wealth.
| The conservation OF our natural re-
! sources and their proper use constitute
| The fundamental problem which undcrlies
, almost every other problem of our ma
! tional life. Unless we maintain an 'adc-
| quatc material basis for our civilization.
! we cannot maintain tho institutions in
! which We take SO great and SO Just a
! pride, and to waste and destroy our nat
| ur2l resources means To undermine this
material basis. During tho last five years
| efforts have been made I'M several new
! directions I'm the Government service TO
get our people To look ahead TO exercise
| foresight and 20 substitute n planned and
| orderly development Of our resources IN
/ the place OF haphaZard striving for
{ immediate profit. The effort has been
| made through several agencies
I In 1909 the reclamation service began
| 10 develop the larger opportunities or the
western half Of our country for irrlga-
ton The work includes all the States
/ from the great plains through the Rocky
mOuntcins 10 the Pacific slope. II has
/ been conducted with the clear and deg-
mite purpose OF using tho valuable water
resources Of the public land for the great
est good for the Crcal test number In the
I long run, in other words. for the pur-
pose OF putting upon the land permanent
homcmakers. who viii use and develop
II for themselves and FOR their children
and 2hildrcns children. There has been
opposition. OF course. 10 this work OF the
reclamation service: foV We have been
obliged To antagOniZc certain men whose
interest II was TO exhaust for their own
temporary personal profit natural re-
sources which ough, lo he dcNclopcd
through use. so as To- be conserved for
the permanent common advantage of the
people rs whole But there will he no
halt in the work OF preserving the waters
which head in the Rocky mountain region
people as a whole; for the policy is cs-
scntial 10 our national welfare.
Need Of Land Law Reform.
The public lands OF the United States
should pe utilized in similar fashion. Our
present public land laws were passed
when there was a vast surplus of vacant
public land. The chief desire was TO
cure settlers thereon, aud compare lively
slight attention was paid as 10 exactly
how the lands were disposed of in detail
In consequence. lax execution of the laws
became the rule both in the land office
and in the public mind and land frauds
especially true when a system originally
designed for the fertile and we'll wa-cred
regions of the Middle West was applied
to The dryer regions of the Great Plains
and TO the mountains and the Pacific
coast Ia these regions the system lent
itself 10 fraud, and much land passed
out of the hands OF the Government with
out passing into the hands of the home
maker. The Department OF the Interior
and the Department OF Justice joined in
prosecuting the offenders against the law;
* "a
were defective and needed 10 be changed.
Three years ago a Public Lands Com
law and The facts and 10 recommend a
remedy. Their examination specifically
showed the existence of great frauds
upon the public domain. and their recon-
mendailons for changes In the law were
made with the design Of conserving the
natural resources OF every part OF the
public land by putting 1t 10 It's best use.
Attention was especially called TO the
prevention OF settlement 10y the passage
of great areas OF public lands into the
hands OF rev men, and 70 the enormous
waste caused by unrestricted grazing on
the open range. q system OF using the
natural forage on the public domain
which amounts 10 putting q premium on
its destruction. The recommendations of
the Public Lands Commission were sound
for they were especially in the interest OF
the actual home maker; and where the
small home maker could not utilize the
land. ii was provided that the Govern
mcut should keep control OF IL so that IL
could not he monopolIzed by a few
wealthy men. Congress has not yet acted
upon these recommendations. except up
on the repeal OF the iniqultous lleu-land
law. But the recommendation arc so
Just and proper, so essential TO our ma
tional welfare that | believe they will
surely ultimately be adopted
In 1891 Congress authorized the Presl-
dent to create national forests in the pub
lie domain. These forest reserves re-
manned for a long time i'm charge OF the
General Land OffCc. which had no men
properly trained i'm forestry. But another
department. that OF agriculture possessed
the trained men. In other words, the
Government forests were without forest
erS and the Government foresters with
out forests. Waste OF effort and waste
OF forests inevitably followed. Finally
the situation was ended IN 1905 by the
creation Of the United States Forest
Service. which has stopped the waste
forests and made them useful: so that
our forests are now being managed on
a coherent plan, and in a way that au-
gurs 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 be-
long In peculiar degree 10 the whole
people. Under private control there is
much waste from short-slShted methods
OF. working. and the complete utilization
is often sacrificed for greater imme-
diate profit. The mineral fuels under our
present conditions are as essential TO our
as the forests VIII always be.
The difference Is that the supply Is dch-
nitcly limited. for coal does not grow and
trees do. It Is obvious ,hat the mineral
fuels should be conserved not wasted.
ana that enough Of them should remain. in
the hands OF the Government TO protect
the people against unjust or eNtortionate |
prices far rs that can still he done. |
What has been accomplished in the rcGu- |
Iaton of fhe great oil fields OF the In !
dian 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 ieGisia- |
ton necessary 10 protect the public in |
terest by the conservation OF the min
eral fuels: that IS for the power 10 keep |
the fec in the Government and 10 lease |
tho coal. oil and gas rights under proper |
No such legislation was |
passed but J stIll hope that we shall /
got II.
Preserve Public Domain.
In addition 10 treating Alright for the |
benefit Of tho whole people The forests /
rh1 81