The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-03-14
Senators up
Against Task

tors from public land states, who
were appointed special committee
to prepare conservation bills that
would harmonic the laws, are find
ing their task far from easy.
A number of bills are before the
committee, but it is giving it's at
tention principally to the measure
known as the classification bill. The
committee is composed of Senator'S
Smoot of Utah, Clark of Wyoming
and Dixon of Montana, republicans.
and Hughes of Colorado and Chamber
lain of Oregon, democrats.
A majority of them are favorable
to the general theory of conservation.
Senators Clark and Hughes, however,
are antagonistic to the proposed
change of the public land policy.
Work of Committee Difficult
The testimony before the Ballinger-
Pinchot committee has disclosed that
the general land office, the forest SER
vice, the reclamation service, and the
geological survey are not operating
in sympathy, and this makes work
of the committee more difficult. 1t
is their opinion that if the classii-
be passed, the way will be easy for
other measures, which look to the dis
posal of the lands under the classified.
ton bill
The principal obstacles in the way to
an agreement on the classification bill
are found in the provisions relating
to oil lands and water power sites.
This bill authorizes the secretary of
the interior to classify all public lands
Many senators contend it would be
impossible to classify oil lands in
advance and senators who hold this
view are making trouble for the COM
mittee. The committee itself appre-
ciates this difficulty and there is a
tendency towards a provision for the
leasing rather than the sale of lands
supposed to cover oil deposits. If the
bill should be framed with this idea,
any person could lease a tract of land
and put down his well, and if success.
full in finding oil, could then acquire
the land under the mining laws.
Water Power Sites
The subject of water power sites
has been the basis of many confer
ences, with the executive branch OF
the government as well. AS the states
control the streams, it is recognized
as difficult for the government to con-
tinue it's supervision of the lands i'm
mediately bordering the streams, as
power sites necessarily must. On this
account, the senate seems favorably
disposed toward the grant of the pow
err sites to the several states, and 1t
is believed that the administration may
be induced to consent to this disp) 81
ton of them if sufficient restrictions
are provided.
The withdrawal bill is giving the
committee almost as much concern
as the classification bill, nOtWithStand-
ing it is now on the senate calendar
favorable action on that measure is
really necessary before the classical
ton law could be carried into effect.
It's language is so broad that it au-
thorizes the president to withdraw
practically all the public land at his
discretion. The measure specifies the
purposes for which the lands may be
reserved as forestry, water power
sites, irrigation, classification of lands,
or other public purposes"
There will be no effort to pass this
bill until the terms of the classifi-
cation bill are agreed to and the two
bills proba bly, will be considered con-
secutively.