The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-06-20
WASHINGTON
From our Regular Core ,poudent.
Washington, d. c. June II,

washington, ~. L. June II, 1907.
Oldest member of the Senate in
point of service and oldest but one
in years, Senator John 7. Morgan
died at his home in this city last
week. Senator Morgan was eighty
three years old, and was one of the
most remarkable features in the
Senate OH either side. His record
i'll public life was a remarkable one.
He was born in 1924 on June 2Sth
and was admitted to the bar III IS45.
He was an ardent southerner and
was delegate to the secession Con-
gress in 1861. At the outbreak of
the war he entered the Confederate
service as a colonel and in 1868
was made brigadier general. He
was chosen a presidential elector in
1876 and entered the Senate the
next year. He occupied COM
manding position i'll that body al
most from his first entrance and
was regarded as one of the best
lawyers and most thoroughly in
formed men on national and inter
national topics during his whole
term ofservice. He made a special
study of the Isthmian canal pro,
blem and was early an ardent advo-
cate of the Nicaraguan route. If
it had rested with him the canal
would have been commenced by
the Nicaragua route years ago and
probably would be finished by this
time. Up to the close of the last
congress, he was a tireless worker
and a fearless debater, and one of
the features of his last session was
his relentless pursuit of William,
Nelson Cromwell as witness be-
fore the Canal Committee.
Senator Morgan will in all pro-
liability be succeeded in the Senate
by eX-Representative Bankhead
who was beaten after hard fight
i'll the last election for the House
by young Richmond Pearson Hob
son, now the junior member of the
Alabama delegation.
a*%
There is every prospect of live
ly time this week before the public
Lands Convention in Denver. This
convention was originally engineer
ed by some of the big interests that
wanted to fight the Presidents
public land policy in the west be-
cause it seriously interferes with
their favorite pastime Of stealing
timber and mineral lands, princi-
pally coal lands, in the interests of
the big trans-continental railroads.
1t was the original program to have
all tue states owning public land re-
presented, and the delegates were
to be chosen with view to passing
resolutions condemning the admin
istration's public land policy. But
the convention rather got away
from its originators and to the great
disgust of some of the moving
spirits, the Governor Of Colorado
invited the government to send a
number of representatives who were
officially connected with the land
problem. They included the Sec
retary of the Interior, F. H. Ne
well, the director of the Reclama-
tion Service, Commissioner Balling-
er of the Land Office and Clifford
Pinchot, the Chief Forester. Hav-
ing tip from the administration,
these gentlemen all accepted and
as they have been invited to address
the convention, they will each of
them go primed with at least one
speech on the land policy and the
question of forest reserves. They
will be in position to do a great
deal of missionary work and show
The delegates to the convention that
&c real object of the administra-
tion is not to take the public land
away from the people and lock it
up in forest reserves but to create
forest reserves that can be used by
the settlers for legitimate timber
cutting, to reforest denuded areas
and foster irrigation and all other
legitimate means for developing
the arid west. OF course the Presi-
dent is accused of trying to control
the convention from Washington,
but it is probable he will make it
much more useful body in educa-
ting the public on land problems
than its originators ever Intended
it should be.
TX
A report of immense interest to
all iron producing communities has