New-York tribune., 1908-02-03
RICHES IN SWAMP LAND
Secretary Garfield in Annual Report
Urges Reclamation.

washington Feb 2-James r. Garfield. Secretary
of the Interior in his annual report, made puohc
to-day urgently recommends the reciamauod Va
the countless of swamp lands in the ce"'Iai
and eastern sections of the country. lie hoios tns
to be fully important the matter OF lrrleaton
Of the arid lands of the West. In discussing this
subject he says:
The questions of the drainage Of swamp lanas amos
and the pase are aboa a afa Of
lands in the central and southeastern states IL IS
bomes for 70 thousands Of families it
sble to adopt plan wei wtnh fd1 .ne pwsrnnoent
to Undertake this work. and most earnestly urge
the early consideration of all phases OF the prooe
Considerable space is devoted by Secretary Gar
field to the subject of oil leases In what Formerly
was Indian Territory. He says in part;
The conditions in the field being carefully s ,l
watched by the agents of the department for the
pnd the G1 imposed upon both the
ducers and the pipe line companies; menus the m
regulations reg M viii be modified One Of the large oil
producers has e and trust
that by conference with the producers ano VII, VIII
Of e the deuty and friction that have existed
The pipe line companies are. by law made com, com,
mon carriers but so far there has not been devised
practical method for the producer to use the INES les
pipe is far different from m the ih nro o
ducer has tanks at both of the lines it be-
comes difficult if not impossible, for his oil to be
peced to provide tankage sufficient to store all the
oil carried. These questions all being consid-
rangement may be reached than at present exists
with the oil question viii be in great measure al
fected by the character of legislation removing
regulations has resulted benedcaliy to both the
bdL indian r. owner and the oil producer Had it not
ership the lessee of 4soO acres. this great field
VIII Mhile the price of oil is not great either the
land owner or the producer desires yet it has
the other fields where there were not such restric
Ions 1t 1t is clear that the action of the govern
iheht mas mad a most healthful and steadying ten
oehcy on both the production of oil and the price
Mr.. Garfield lays emphasis on the benefits of the
strict enforcement of the Civil Service law In these
words:
tt tnent are receiving most careful attention. The
tolSi number of persons employed is 1856
these employees are unfaithfui. incompetent or in
ehae ehtlcient; only one who is unfamiliar with the
employed in the public service could compare them
u IN M T eTd en0yeS Ss In s3 s%s pT
prop PTroperly enforced, as it is now being under the
is Of trae fha a so lars age
there are many cases of individual hardship and,
received proper recosnttion. but such conditions
are not found only in the public service There is
getting rid of unfaithful, incompetent in
efficient employe, and as long the appointing
officer does not have the opportunity of filing the
vacancy by personal choice the danger of removing
a
minimum. If incompetent and inefficient employees
are retained. the head of the department and the
head Of the office where such person is employed
alone responsible.
ployment depends upon efficiency, and that 1t is
as easy to go down and out as to go in and up.
power of reduction or dismissal, and yet he Injuries
both the service and the efficient employees If he
fails TO exercise that power when occasion requires.
The years record Of the pension bureau is sum-
married. with these figures:
During the entire year ended June so, 1901 the
total number of pensioners the roll was l,ol!-
yo pl ss 81 I 9s m So soldiers and sailors
2ss Ss2 widows and DEPENDENTS and s42 - army nn
soners since 1853 The high water mark in the
1905, at which date 1,o041a6 pensioners were en-
rolled. The gains to the roll during g.. the year ,es
and renewals, total of o34; of this number ISL
losses to the roll during the same time 45 es
by death and 1856 from other causes, a total or
greatest loss for any year in the tn history 81
the 9e of the Civil II war for the year was
sii'ar siaSls pensioners u Tic S'''' ''-
In regard to the departments efforts to protect
public lands from encroachment or fraudulent en-
try Secretary Garfield says:
department TO prevent the illegal entry or misuse
OF public lands. There has been collected for TIM I'm
been recovered through suits against trespasserss
Ha%fn Iss3 incosure. @ D involving S52o acres
been reported In nnety-fogr OF these cases, @ IN IN
moved. In the other cases the fences are being
removed or action is pending the courts to COM
pei removal. Whenever the facts warrant, l confer
with persons whc are accused OF using or holding
land Illegally, and if possible and proper effect
settlement obtain return of the lands to the
government without litigation.
II is gratifying to notice that there is growing
sentiment in favor of the enforcement of the land
laws. Until quite recently. evasion of the public
land laws was not uncommon. and in many locali
ties, due both to public sentiment and to the in
difference the part of the federal officers many
thousands Of were acquired contrary to law.
AS long there an overabundance OF public
land
fuel. few, if any, complaints were made regarding
either the nliSapprcpriation misuse OF the pub
lie domain, but the rapidly increasing population
in the public land states has changed this condi-
ton
The great majority Of the citizens of the West
now recognize that the resources of land. timber,
water. fuel and forage not nexhaustibe, and
that the waste misuse of those resources must
be stopped. The growth of this belief has created
the public opinion which demands the
forcement Of the land laws. the prevention Of
sc and he lanAS Which