The Mena weekly star., 1909-12-02
BALL|NGER'SR REPORT
SECRETARY OF INTERIOR TELLS OF WORK OF DEPARTMENT
 FOR LAST YEAR.
THE PUBLIC LAND PROBLEM
The Secretary Expresses the BeIlei That Development Should be by PrL vate EnterprIse-WiII Continue the Fraud Prosecutions.

Washington, Nov. 3O.-The annual
 report to the president of Richard A.
 Ballinger, secretary of the interior.
 was made public today, and makes
 interesting reading. The report coy.
 CTS portion of the time under the ad-
 ministration of James R. Garfield, and
 MT. Ballinger gives him credit for his
 earnest and efficient services. Secretary Ballinger comments on
 the old public land statutes, and con. 1 tinues:
 The liberal and rapid disposition of
 the public lands under these statutes and the lax methods of administration
 which for long time prevailed nat
 urally provoked the feeling that the public domain was legitimate prey for the interruptions and that 1t was no crime to violate or clrcumvent the land laws. It Is to be regretted that
 we, as nation, were so tardy to real ize the importance of preventing so large measure of our natural re- sources passing into the hands of land pirates and spectators, with no view to development looking to the nation al welfare
 Must Continue Prosecutions.
 Tt may be safely said that millions of acres of timber and other lands have been unlawfully obtained. and 1t is also true that actions to recover such lands have in most instances long since been barred by the statute of limitations. The principal awaken ing to our wasteful course came under your predecessors administration. The bold and vigorous prosecutions of land frauds, through Secretaries Hitchcock and Garfield, have restored salutary respect for the law, and the public mind has rapidly grasped the importance of safeguarding the furth- CT disposition of our natural resources in the public lands in the interest of the public good as against private greed. Notwithstanding this, 1t Is necessary to continue with utmost vigor, through all available sources. the securing of information of viola tions of the public land laws and to follow such violations with rigid prosecutions.
 Use Private Enterprise.
 "On this present policy of conserv- ing the natural resources of the pub lie domain, while development is the keynote, the best thought of the day is not that development shall be by national agncies, but that wise utiliza- ton shall be secured through private enterprise under national supervision and control; therefore. if material Is to be made in securing the best use of our remaining public lands. congress must be called upon to enact remedial legislation"
 Mir Ballinger then gives in detail his recommendations for the classifi- cation of public lands, and the fea- lures of a measure which he advises for the direction of the disposal of wa ter-power sites.
 The Reclamation Service.
 Tn view of the importance of speedy completion of existing projects and their proper extension, and of the necessity in 1912 of an adjustment be- tween the states by which the major portion of the funds arising from the sale of public lands within each state and territory shall have been ex- pended so far as practicable within such state or territory, and in view of the importance of making bene- ficial use of waters already ap- propriated or capable of appropria- ton to which rights may be lost for nonuse, believe an urgent ap- peal should be made to congress to authorize the issuance of certificates of indebtedness, or of bonds against the reclamation fund. to an aggregate of not exceeding $3O,000,000, or SO much thereof as may be needed's
 Energetic reorganization of the In- dian bureau Is in progress. says MT. Ballinger. and he recommends that the Indian warehouses at New York, Omaha, St. Louis and San Francisco be closed as soon as pos sible A more advanced policy re- specting the maintenance, improve ment and operation of the Yellow stone and Yosemite national parks is urged on the government.