The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-01-28
For The National Forest Conservation

monopoly is incompatible with
equality of opportunity" he con-
tinues. The reason for the exer-
else of Government control over
great monopolies is to equalize op-
portunities. We are fighting
against privilege. 1t was made
unlawful for corporation to con-
tribute money for election expenses
in order to abridge the power of
special privilege at the polls.
Railroad rate control is an attempt
to secure an eqality of opportunity
for all men affected by rail trans
portation and that means all of us.
The great anthracite coal strike
was settled and the pressing dan
ger of coal famine averted be-
cause we recognized that the con-
troll of public necessity Involves
a duty to the people, and that
public intervention IN the affairs
of public service corporation is
neither to be resented as usurpa-
ton nor permitted as a privilege
by the corporations, but on the
contrary, to be accepted as a duty
and exercised as a right by the
Government in the interest of all
the people. The efficiency of the
army and the navy has been in
creased so that our people may
follow IN peace the great work of
making this country better place
tor Americans to live il, and our
navy was sent around the world
tor the same ultimate purpose. All
the acts taken by the Government
during the last seven years, and
all the policies now being pursued
by the Government, fit in as parts
of consistent whole.
"Our public land policy has for
its aim the use of the public land
50 that it will promote local de-
velopment by the settlement of
homemakers; the policy we cham
p1on IS to serve all the people legit-
imately and openly, instead of
permitting the lands to be convert
ed, lllegitimately and under cover,
to the private benefit of a few.
Our forest policy was established
so that we might use the public
forests for the permanent public
good, instead of merely for tempo.
rary private gain. The Reclama-
ton act, under which the desert
parts of the public domain are con-
verted to higher uses for the gen
eral benefit, was passed so that
more Americans might have homes
on the land.
These policies were enacted
into law and have justified their
enactment. Others have failed,
SO far, to reach the point of action.
Among such is the attempt to Sc
cure public control of the open
range and thus to convert its bene-
fits to the use of the small man,
who is the home maker, instead
of allowing it to be controlled by a
few great cattle and sheep owners.
The enactment of pure food
law was recognition of the faith
that the public welfare outweighs
the right to private gain and that
no man may poison the people for
his private profit. The Employers
Liability bill recognized the con-
trolling fact that while the en-
ployer usually has at stake no
more than his profit, the stake of
the employee is living for himself
and his family.
1--WE are building the Panama
canal, and this mems that we are
engaged in the giant engineering
feat Of all times. We are striving
to add in all ways to the habita-
bility and beauty of our country.
We are striving to hold in the
public hands the remaining supply
of unappropriated coal, for the pro-