The searchlight., 1910-09-02


handicap Or exclude the small man b,
requiring him to spend more moneJ
for fences than he can afford, and q
must leave every acre that can be set
tied by bona-flde homesteaders freel,
open to such settlement
do not believe that q single acre o.
our public lands should hereafter pas.
into private ownership except for tn,
single purpose Of homestead settle.
ment, ard I know that the stockmer
stand with me in their desire to re.
move every obstacle from the path oil
the genuine homesteader. and to pul
every possible obstacle in the pathwa,
OF the man who tries to get public
lands by Misrepresentation or fraud
This Is absolutely necessary on the
agricultural lands. 1t is at least equal.
ly necessary on the mineral lands. II
would be a calamity, whose baleful ef-
feet on the average citizen we car
scarcely exaggerate. IL the great stores
of coal and other mineral fuels still
owned by the people in Alaska and
elsewhere should pass into the unregu-
lated ownership of monopolistic cor
porations.
The Forest Service.
You progressive stockmen have stood
heartily by the conservation move
ment. and with you have stood many
Others throughout the West, to whom
large credit is due such as the lum-
bermen in Washington and Oregon, the
irrigators in California. and the sup
porters OF the country life movement
in and around Spokane. / want to
make my acknowledgements in partic-
uiar to the Colorado Forestry associa-
ton. which has supported the forest
work OF the government with such un-
selfish zeal. The forest service has
t. ..FA
OF its best work has been met by the
bitterest opposition. For example, 1t
has done a real service by blocking
the road against the grabbers of water
power, and again by standing like a
rock against the demands OF bogus
mining concerns to exploit the national
forests. have always done my best
TO help the genuine miner. I believe
that one OF the first duties Of the gov
ernment is to encourage honest mining
on the public lands. But IL is equally
important to enforce the law firmly
against that particularly dangerous
class which makes its living OF the
public through fraudulent mining
schemes.
service, like much of the opposition tc
conservation. takes the form of direct
misrepresentation. For example, the
cry Is often heard that the national
forests inclose great areas of agricul-
turai land which are thus put beyond
the reach of settlement. This state
ment seems plausible only till the facts
are known. In the first place, congress
has specially provided that whatever
agricultural land there may be in any
national forest shall be open. under
proper safeguards. to homestead set
tiement. And in the second place. when
the opponents of conservation are ask
ed to point out the great stretches of
inclosed agricultural land on the
ground and In the presence OF experts,
instead of In speeches in a hall, they
fail.
Reclamation Service.
The National Irrigation Congress is
to hold session in the city of Pueblo
late in September. / am keenly sorry
that / could not nave accepted the
invitation to be present. I must, how
ever. be in the East at that time But
since cannot be present then to ex-
press my keen. long held and deep felt
interest in the reclamation OF arid
lands by the federal government.
desire TO do so now. There is no more
effective instrument for the making of
homes than the United States Recla-
nation Service. and no government bu-
reau while / was President had reach
ed higher standard of efficiency, in
tegrity and devotion to the public well
fare.
Like the Forest Service, the Reclama-
ton Service has clashed with certain pri-
vaie interests. and has had to pay the
penalty OF Its service to the public in the
form OF bitter opposition from those with
whose profit II has interfered. The cry
has been raised against 1t that the gov
ernment must not do for its citizens at a
less cost what private interests are ready
10 AI..t,-
Now. / believe fully In the private de-
Heiopment of irrigation projects which the
government cannot undertake. There Is
q large and legitimate field for such work.
But the essential thing is to make homes
on the lands, not TO enable individuals to
profit from the necessities of the men who
make those homes. There is no more
warrant for objecting to the reclamation
OF arid lands by the government than
there would be to protest against the gov
ernment for patenting agricultural lands
to the actual settler, instead of
through middleman. who could make n
proht from the transaction. The men who
assert themselves at the cost of the COM
munity instead OF by service to the COM
munity We have always had with us, and
doubtless We always shall. But there is
no reason why We should yield to them.
The Reclamation Service has not done So
and that is the chief reason for the at
tacks upon IL.
! don't think that there is one among
You who Is better and more thorough
going westerner than / am. There has
been no support given to the conserva-
ton policies so welcome as that which
came from the west. and none In the
west more welcome than that which came
from Colorado. There are men and or
in Colorado. and mention
Delta In particular. whose support of the
policies has been of the
greatest value to the Nation. 1t has not
always been an easy thing for them to
stand for what was right. to stand for
the real ultimate good as against the
seeming temporary good: but they have
stood for II steadily nevertheless.
From the standpoint of conservation
the east has wasted much of its own
superb endowment: and as an American.
as lover of the west. hope that the
west will profit by the casts bitter les
son. and will not repeat the mistakes of
the east. The east has wasted its re-
IL suffers from the effect of the
waste. which now puts 1t at a disadvan-
tase compared to the west. and II Is
sorry. Most of the capital and very
many of the men now attempting 10
your western resources are
from the east. The west should learn