The Green Forest tribune., 1910-04-22
TAFT INSISTS ON
 WITHDRAWAL BILL
Land Conservation Measure Is Considered Important by
 President.
IS OPPOSED BY WESTERNERS
Democrats Hope to Elect Successor to James Breck Perkins in New York-Senators Are Against Proposed Treaty with
 Liberia.

Liberia.
 Washington.-It is becoming sharp ly evident that the presidents conser- vation measures will be beset by many difficulties, but finally they may see the light of passage. One of the bills as prepared authorizes the presi- dent to withdraw from the public do- main any lands which he may deem advisable in order to protect the peoples interest. Many of the west ern senators and representatives and goodly number of those from the east oppose this measure as putting, as they think, too much power into the hands of the chief executive.
 It will be recognized at once that the reasons back of the desire to pass this legislation have for their basis the wish to find way to prevent val uable water sites and mining lands from passing into the hands of per sons who intend eventually to turn them over to the uses of corporations. which on once securing control might
 
 has cost them comparatively little, and would then be in a legal position which would bulwark them against any attempt to force them to pay the original owners, the people, any lease money.
 Only Two Bills Have Chance.
 It was supposed when congress first o9 fbof tion bills of different kinds would be introduced and that the president would insist that all of them be passed. The length of the presidents program and the lackadaisicaI way in which congress has gone at the work of the session make it seem cer- tain now that only two conservation | measures have any real chance of pas sage this year. One of them is the | withdrawal biR of which mention has | just been made, and the other is the measure which looks to the separation of the surface lands from the mineral | lands which may lie underneath in or | Ter that different methods of dispo- ing of each may be found. In the
 
 Is to secure means by which the gov ernment can lease the right to de- velop mines while disposng of the | surface lands for agricultural pur- poses in any way that may seem best. While tbe extreme west and north west have been markedly progressive along the lines of the Roosevelt en- deavor," it is nevertheless true that in conservation matters the former president did not have the entire sym pathy and support of men who stood by him upon all other matters of pub lie policy to which he gave his adher- ence. President Taft is most insist ent that law which will give him and succeeding presidents the power to withdraw public lands when it seems necessary shall be passed at this session. He is constantly refer ring to the subject when the senate and house leaders visit him in the White House and he is telling them that this bill must go through in vir- tually the form in which 1t was drawn He is trying hard to win the north west to his views.
 Involves Balinger Trouble.
 It is perfectly easy to understand why MT. Taft is so anxious that this particular piece of legislation shall go on the statute books in the form in which 1t has been sanctioned by him and by the attorney general and the secretary of the interior. One of the first acts of Secretary Ballinger was to restore some of the lands which had been withdrawn by his predeces- sor, Secretary Garfield MT. Ballinger did not believe and does not believe today that MT. Garfield had the legal authority to withdraw the lands.
 As soon as the new secretary of the interior had restored a part of the public domain which Mr. Gorfield had withdrawn, harsh criticism of the act was made by the principal advocates of the Roosevelt policies of conserva- tion. Clifford Pinchot and others made representations to President Taft, and as result MT. Ballinger was con- pelled to withdraw some of the lands which he had restored to their former status. It is needless to say that the secretary of the interior did this with no very good grace, for by the act he was compelled to go in the face of his own belief of the rights in the matter. This difficulty over withdrawals and restorations of the public domain add ed coals to the already hot fire of controversy between MT. Ballinger, MT. Pinchot of the forestry service and some of the officials of the land office and reclamation service.
 Hope to Gain Another Seat.
 There has been great activity in the Democratic congressional committee for the last few days. The members are taking particularly sharp interest in the outcome of the special election in the Thirty-second congressional dis trict in New York state, where a rep resentative in congress is to be elect ed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Republican member, James Breck Perkins.
 The Democrats hope to carry this western New York district, which in the past ordinarily has been Repub-