The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-07-07
CONSERVATION WITHDRAWALS.

". Il. w LILA MSON.
CONSERVATION WITHDRAWALS.
President Taft, acting under the new
conservation law giving the chief eX-
ecutive legal warrant for withdrawing
public lands, has taken out from loca-
ton nearly s, 500 acres embracing power
sites, phosphate soils and petroleum
lands. The Importance Of these with
draWals does not rest in the fact that
they have been made, but in the tact
that they are the first to be legally au-
thorized. President Roosevelt, in the
absence Of specific laws, acted upon the
broad warranty of the executive Office,
with the wide sanction that this gives
in view Of many constitutionahsts. He
acted upon the question of the alb
sorptlon Of public lands by private in
terests in a manner that he conceived
to be thoroughly justifable, He acted
upon the belief that there should be in
herent authority in the office itself for
the executive to do any executive act,
even though there was no law to point
to as the particular warranty for the
action. The order of withdrawal made
by President Roosevelt on November
Y, 1906. has also found full ratification
by the action of the President in con-
firming and continuing in force these
important Alaskan coal and mineral
land Withdrawals.
When it is considered that the water
power sites withdrawn by the act Of
the President embrace thousands of
acres important in relation to the de-
velopment Of hydro-electrlcal power,
and that the phosphate and petroleum
lands are Of value difficult TO computate,
but that will be greatly productive of
wealth for the nation, the act amounts
to an era in the ADMINISTRATION Of the
public domain by law. Behind such
measures it will be impossible to estab-
fish the cavil that they We're not spe-
officially guaranteed by statutes as was
done in the case Of the Roosevelt with
drawals. Nh, Taft, armed by author
itv, has reraced some Of the important
steps Of his predecessor and has placed
upon them the seal Of Congress. He
has also gone out in new directions with
that authority Of the peoples repre-
sentatives.
Hardly less important in relation to
the public domain is the order designat-
ing engineering officers to carry out the
reclamation projects provided for by
Congress, which entails the eXpendi-
ture Of $50, 600, 600. There is no jobbery
here and every acre will be carefully
inspected, surveyed, the business cost
Of reclamation gagged and the work
entered upon with the fidelity and econ
only Of private enterprise. Maryland
will share in the reclamation work and
much of its marsh lands, reclaimable
through drainage, will be brought into
the market 1t is impossible to esti-
mate the value Of the project to the
country and to the states of the work
of reclamation that has been well in
augurated by the act Of the President.
Mr.. Taft is the final arbiter in all that
relates to the expenditure of the sum
provided by the lawmakers. No project
shall secure the sanction of the board
that has not been approved by the
President as feasible and in every way
worthy. Thus the extension of the
legal warrant for federal control of
public lands and appropriations for the
reclamation Of Improbable soils will
result in the broadening of the powers
Of the executive, yet in a way to make
the central government coordinate
more closely than ever with particular
states.
Money spent in such matters of do
nestle economy are worthiest forms Of
investment and will tend to perpetuate
to the people the wealth of soil and
m inerals, as well as Of oil and electrical
p over that inhere in their vast legacy
of public lands. Mr. Taft has demon
strated the fact that he has the capa-
bility to appreciate the legal necessities
of the conservation question.