Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1907-10-04
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Congressman French Speaks on
Two Of Interest to ldahoans.
IMMIGRATION AND FORESTS
He Thinks immigration Of japanese
and Chinese Deeply Affects the
Entire West.

Congressman French delivered an
address at the Twin Falls fair last
week in which he touched upon
questions that are of interest to the
people of the entire state. The por-
tions of his address, however, that
elected the most enthusiasm were
his references to the relation be-
tween the forest reserves of Idaho
and the public schools, and the
question of Chinese and Japanese
immigration into the United States.
After assuring his audience that
he intended to continue the fight to
have all agricultural lands within
the forest reserves excluded from
the reserves, he advanced the propo-
sition that the United States should
pay to the state of Idaho $40 per
acre for the lands embraced within
the reserves belonging to the public
school system of the state. On this
point he spoke as follows:
"Again, within the forest reserves
In Idaho are about one million acres
of land belonging TO the public
school system of Idaho. The en-
abling act under which Idaho be-
came a state gave this land to the
public school system OF our state.
The same thing was done in other
states of the great west. A limit
was placed upon the price of this
land of ten dollars an acre below
which it cannot be sold. Similar
lands outside of the reserves have
been sold by the state at seyera
times ten dollars per acre. Th'
average sale Of lands last year By
your state land board netted th'
state nearly twice this price pc
acre. This vast tract belonging Il
the state and now held within fores
reserves has distinct value. Il j
worth millions of dollars, and mex
winter / am going to bring befor
congress a measure asking the gov
ernment to pay the state ten dollar
per acre for this land, or to arrang
some plan by which ten dollars pc
acre may be realized. This land
your land. 1t does not belong I
the United States, nor to the peopl
of other states. 1t belongs to yo
for the benefit of our public school
Think what an endowment that w
be tor the maintenance of our con
mon schools. The interest on ii
principal alone will every year equ
sum as large as that required
maintain our state government fl
the same period at the present tim
We owe it TO ourselves and to o.
state, we owe it to the children
the state to see to it that this va
heritage Is maintained for the pt
pose of our public schools thlout
future years"
Upon the subject of Chinese a
Jrpanese immigration Mr.. Fren
spoke very forclbly and as he Is
member of the Committee on ImI
grafton and Naturalization, bei'
which this question must come,
remarks are of especial intere
He said:
"As deeply as feel upon
question of japanese and Chin
immigration would be recreant
nv duty If failed at this time
refer thereto. Il Is the duty of
nation to have guard for, not o
our commercial and industrial '
beng, bnt for our people as "
The west is going through a g
formative period and more mp
ant than the construction of !
ways, the building Of cities, or
reclamation Of land is the safegu
ing of our population. To the '
of Us tvo mighty peoples are br
ing the bonds of lethargy that |
held them down throughout
centuries gone by. Rich in Ia