Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-09-09

! conV enience and hardship. In authorizing
| the issue of these projects, congress linn
| tied the application of their proceeds to
| those projects which a board of army en-
! gineers, to be appointed by the president
| should examine and determine to be
| feasible and worthy of completion. The
| board has been appointed and soon will
| make it's report.
| Suggestions have been made that the
| United States ought to aid in the drain
| age of swamp lands belonging to the
| states or private owners, because, if
| drained they would be exceedingly val
| liable for agriculture and contribute to
| the general welfare by extending the
| area of cultivation. I deprecate the agi-
! tatiOn in favor of such legislation. 1t is
! inviting the general government into
| contribution from it's treasury toward en-
| terprises that should be conducted either
| by private capital or at the instance of
! the state. In these days there is a dispo-
| sition to look too much to the federal
| government for everything l am liberal
| in the construction of the Constitution
| with reference to federal power; but
| am firmly convinced that the only safe
| course for us to pursue is to hold fast
| to the limitations of the Constitution and
| to regard as sacred the powers OF the
| states We have made wonderful prog
| ress and at the same time have pre-
served with judicial exactness the re-
| strictiOns of the Constitution. There is
| an easy way in which the Constitution
can be violated by congress without
| judicial inhibition, to-wit, by appropria-
tons from the national treasury for I'M
! constitutional purposes. 1t will be a sorry
day for this country if the time ever
comes when our fundamental compact
shall be habitually disregarded in this
manner
Mineral Lands
BY mineral lands I mean those lands
bearing metals or what are called metal
| liferous minerals. The rules of owner
ship and disposition of these lands were
first fixed by custom in the west. and
then were embodied in the law, and they
have worked, on the whole SO fairly and
we'll that I do not think it is wise to
attempt to change or better them.
Forest Lands.
Nothing can be more important in the
matter of conservation than the treatment
of our forest lands. 1t was probably the
ruthless destruction of forests in the
older states that first called attention to
a halt in the waste of our resources. This
was recognized by congress by an act
authorizing the executive to reserve from
entry and set aside public timber lands
as national forests Speaking generally.
there has been reserved OF the existing
the timber lands of the government.
Within these forests Gncluding 26,000000
acres in two forests in Alaska) are 1872
900 of acres. of which 166 100000 of
acres are in the United States proper and
include within their boundaries some
thing like 22,O00,000 Of acres that belong
to the state or to private individuals. We
have then, excluding Alaska forests,
total of about 100000 acres of forests
ha1O 70 10
being treated in accord with the prlncl-
pies of scientific forestry.
The government timber in this coun-
try amounts to only one-fOurth of all the
timber, the rest being in private own
ership. Only three per cent. OF that which
is in private ownership is looked after
properly and treated according to mod
ern rules of forestry. The usual de-
structive waste and neglect continues in
the remainder of the forests owned by
private persons and corporations. 1t is
es 4r,1ated that fire alone destroys $5O,OOO,-
900 worth of timber year. The
management of forests not on public
land is beyond the jurisdiction of the fed
eraI government. If anything can be done
nv law it must be done by the state leg
| ;sIatl1res I believe that it is within their
constitutional power to require the en-
/ forcement of regulations in the general
| public interest, to fire and other
causes Of waste in the management Of
| forests owned by private individuals and
| corporations.
| I have shown sufficiently the conditions
| as to federal forestry to indicate that no
| further legislation is needed at the mo-
ment except an increase in the fire pro-
| lection to national forests and an act
vesting the executive with full power to
| make forest reservations in every state
| where government land is timber-covered,
+I,o nd 1c r
! purposes
Coal Lands.
The next subject, and one most impor
| tant for our consideration, is the DISPOSE
! ton of the coal lands in the United
! States and in Alaska. First, as to those
! in the United States. At the beginning
| of this administration they were classi-
| fed coal lands amounting to 5,476,0OO
| acres, and there were withdrawn from
| entry for purposes Of classification IT,
| S67 900 acres. Since that time there have
| been withdrawn by my order from entry
! for classification 77,64S,000 acres, making
| a total withdrawal of 95,515,0 900 acres.
| Meantime of the acres thus withdrawn,
| IL 81 600 have been classified and found
! not to contain coal, and have been re-
| stored to agricultural entry, and 1855, 0O0
! acres have been classified as coal lands;
| while 49, 7S8, 900 acres remain withdrawn
! (1c1SolAACS1NAOAA"
| addition 336, COO acres have been CLASH
! fed as coal lands without prior withdraw
| al thus increasing the classified coal
| lands to 10. 16S000 acres
| Under the laws providing for the dispo-
| sition of coal lands, the minimum price
at which lands are permitted to be sold
| is $40 an acre; but the secretary of the
| interior has the power to fix maximum
| price and sell at that price. BY the first
| regulations governing appraisal, ap-
| proved April s, 1907, the minimum was $40.
| as provided by law, and the maximum
was $780, and the highest price actually
| placed upon any land sold was SIS. I'm
der the new regulations, adopted April 10,
! 1909, the maximum price was increased to
| $780, except in regions where there are
! large mines, where no maximum limit is
| fixed and the price is determined by the
| estimated tons of coal to the acre. The
| highest price fixed for any land under
this regulation has been S6OS. The ap-
| praisal value of the lands classified as
! coal lands and valued under the new and
! old regulations is shown to be as follows:
4S03 92l acres. valued under the old regu-
lations at 81, 500, an average of SIS an
acre; and 1854 02 acress classified and
valued under the new regulation at 1894
| 203, 242, or a total OF 01GS,623 acres, val
ued at S471 S475T