The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-21

the American Mining congress and the
! Trans Mississippi congress After some
discussion, a motion by Delegate Ross OF
/ Washington, that the report of the COM
mittee on credentials be adopted and the
delegates seated, with the exception Of
those from the national organizations
some dispute, was adopted.
Then motion was made that the organ
izatiOns in dispute be admitted without
further discussion. This was defeated
! 34S to 221. This was the first test of the
strength of the two sides. the result being
that the government forces were defeated
tons was then referred back to the ere
dentials committee.
Committees Report Adopted.
The report of the committee on perma-
nent organization and order of business
made the following appointments:
Each state and territory having one or
more delegates shall be entitled to ten
votes. Each chamber of commerce, board
of trade real estate exchange or CONNER
cial body, as well as each association of
stock growers or lumber men, and forest
~, irrigation, horticultural or agricultu-
raj organization, represented on the floor
of the convention by one or more dele
gates, shall have five votes. No proxies
shall be allowed. Each United States SEN
ator, congressman and governor or terri
toriaI delegate shall be given a seat in
the convention. The report of the COM
mittee was adopted.
Chief Forester Pinchot was invited to
address the convention.
At the afternoon session the committee
on credentials recommended that the dele
gates from national associations be seated
because they lived west of the Mississippi
river. The report was adopted.
Letter From Roosevelt.
Secretary Garfield made a lengthy argu-
ment in support of the position assumed
by his department. He read a letter from
President Roosevelt which was addressed
to Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, when
it was expected he would be present at
the convention. The letter in part fol-
lows:
There has been placed in my hands a
paper purporting to be issued by the pro-
gram committee of the public lands con-
ventiOn, to be held at Denver. The pre-
llmlnary discussion of the general sub
Ject In this paper contains several state
mentS to which l desire to call your espe-
cial attention, as they not merely misrep
resent the attitude of the administration,
but portray that attitude as the direct re
verse of what it really is.
The first and most important of these
mlSStatements is to the effect that there
has been a change in the public land pol
icy of the government, which change will
result in depriYing the western states of
the right to settle the public lands with
American citizens This allegation direct
the government is now pursuing is 70
carry out the traditional home-makiuS
policy of the United States as to its public
lands The men most interested in Op-
posing the action of the administration
are themselves endeavoring to upset the
traditional course of the government and
are doing all in their power to turn the
public lands over to be exploited by rich
men and powerful corporations, whose in
terests are hostile to those of the home
makers.
Presidents Policy.
The policy of the present administra-
ton he's steadily been, is now and will be
To promote and foster actual settling ac-
tual hOme-making on the public lands in
every possible way,
We have incurred the violent hostility
OF the individuals and corporations seek
ing. by fraud and sometimes by violence
to acquire and monOpOliZe great tracts of
the public domain to the exclusion of set
tiers. The benefiCiaTies and instigatOrs of
or parucipdtors in, the frauds, of course,
dlsapprOve the acts of the administra-
uon. But If the administration policy
IS upset the one man who would be ire
parably injured would be the settler, the
home maker. the man of small means
who has taken up a farm which he in,
tends himself to work and on the proceeds
of which he intends to support and bring
up his family.
Last year the coal lands were with
drawn from settlement TO enable congress
to consider a law TO protect the public in
tereStS aga INST the great coal mOnopOlieS
by leasing the right to mine the public
coal. Unfortunately congress failed to
act in the matter. and most of the coal
lands have been already restored to entry
while the remainder are being restored as
rapidly as the necessary examinations in
the field can be made.
As a matter of actual fact most of the
coal lands have hitherto been taken under
some forms of entry other than those of
the coal entry laws, and in many cases by
actual fraud. The administration will
certainly reenw its efforts to get congress
TO pass law which will do away with the
fraud
Allegations Denied.
THE writers of this program state that
the plan Tor government control of the
range submitted to congress last winter
involved the perpetual ownership of the
lands by the government. This statement
Is not in accord with the facts This pro-
posed law specifically provided that the
range land under government control
should be open TO entry or location under
all of the public land laws and provided
in every way for the protection of the
rights of the setter. As matter of fact
one of the prime reasons for advocating
its passage is because if enacted it would
safeguard the rights Of the home-makcr
on the public range far more effectively
than they are now Safeguarded. and would
make settlement easier and safer than il
can possibly be under present conditions
As to the forest reserves their creation
has damaged just one class; the managers
and owners of great lumber companies
which by Illegal fraudulent or unfair
methods, have desired to get possession
of the valuable timber of the public do
main, to skin the land and to abandon il
when impoverished well nigh to the point
Of worthlessness.
"ShouId Pay Something"
Tt has been alleged that the govern
ment intends to make the users of water
for irrigation pay for their water. There
has never been any such intention and
no such course Will ever be followed while !
the present administration is in existence |
But owners of water power within nation
al forests should certainly pay something
for the valuable services rendered to them
by the government. They are not being
charged and cannot be charged for the
water. so far as\the national government |
is concerned, but for the protection to
their watersheds which they themselves !
would have to bear the cost of supplying
if the government did not supply it for |
them"
Mr.. Garfield said it was the policy of |
the interior le )artment TO put an actual |
settler on every acre of agricultural land |
in the forest reserves. The secretary de- /
MED the intention to do anything uncon- |
in regard to the DubIic lands