The Detroit times., 1910-09-05

~ M Plan
nosa frsa P.ss o.e.)
@1n1 ua1e cosslons 10 the Unite'
". IA incIuding A dsns amounte
there u left a. purely governmen
~ 900. 600 OF acres. OF this tn
r6 6Sss's m 5sssrse; Il sh GOO uniss
rest y largely mountain or ari'
trX onering some opportunity 10
)eolture by dry farming and b.
4matton. and containing metals a
- coal phosphates. oils. an
o<urai gas. Then the government own
eny. tracts OF land lying along tn
pwer. the use OF which IL necessary II
~ conversion OF the power into cleo
<z!etty and its trensmfssion.
The present congress passed oil
. ~ great Importance. severing the own
&Fohip OF coal by the government IN
enc ground from the surface and per
<ace OF the land. which. when perfected
& tive the settler the right to farm the
surface. while the coal beneath thu
x surface IL retained In ownership by the
/. Government and may be disposed OF By
(. It under other laws.
There Is no crying need for radical
< reform In the methods OF disposing OF
!. What arc really agricultural lands. The
oreeent laws have worked well. The
enlarged homestead law has snseouss.
\ n the semiarid regions. or course the
; {eachings of the agricultural depart
n ment an to how these subarid lands may
& ee treated and the SOL preserved se ssasn ,cs
Of conservation. Then conservation or
agricultural lands Is shown In the
reclamation OF arid lands by irrigatio,n n
what the government has done and Is
doing In this regard.
Reclamation.
BY the reclamation act a fund mas
been created OF the proceeds or the
which to construct works for storing
great bodies of water 1T proper att
fudss from which. by. suitable sys-
10 be distributed over the arid and
subarfd lands OF the government to be
sold to settlers at price SUFFICIENT TO
Suggestions have been made that the
United States ought TO aid In the drain
age ofage Of swamp lands belonging 10
Il 1s dr.insd. ii they y''v would be exceedinEIy
valuable for agriculture and contribute
10 the general welfare by extending
the agitation in favor OF such fegisla-
msnt into contribution Prom its treas
sowsrd e.t sas s saosd S os
a the instance OF the state In these
days there Is a disposition to look too
much TO- the federal ,b. roye n fSn ea aor
struction Of the constitution with ref
erencs to federal power; but / am
6rmly convinced that the only safe
10 the limitations OF the constitution
and TO regard an sacred the powers OF
the states. We have made wonderful
preserved with judicial exactness the
restrictions OF the constitution. There
- an easy way In which the constitu-
out judicial Inhibition. to Wit. by APP
propriations from the national treas
dry for unconstitutional purposes. ~
ths an s sorry comes oay When our fanda
mental compact shall be habitually dis
regarded in this manner.
Mineral Lands.
BY mineral lands I mean those lands
mstaiifferous minerals. The rules OF
lands were nrst nxed by custom in the
isw ana nnr thew thew have WORKED. on the
whole. so fairly and well that I do not
think It Is wise now 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. II was
probably the ruthless destruction OF
called attention to halt In the waste
OF our resources. This was recognized
81 congress by an act authorizing the
sst aside public timber lands as ma
tional forests Speaking generally.
there has been reserved of the existing
forests about 20 per cent Of all With, the
acres in two, forests in Xiaska) arc
lss.ooo.ooo Of acres. Of which ,,I les.;
stetss proper e, aoa and include Within their
Boundaries something like 22.ooo.ooo OF
acres that belong to the state tate or ,s. to
about IA. 100000 acres OF forests be-
longing to the government which IL
cipIcs OF scientific forestry. The law
now prohibits the reservation Of any
more forest lands In Oregon. WASH
wyoming. except by act Of congress.
aericuiturs that the government owns
a. Ms ss should e %s 5. snS n e:
forest reserves. expect to recon-
mend to congress that the limitation
herein imposed snaii De rspe .as Il. In
lands which are not properly forest
land and which ought to be subject
g , entry Th ". has
fully eliminating such lands from
forest reserves or where their elm
nation IL not practicable, listing them
for entry under the forest homestead
act. Congress ought TO trust the ex-
ecutfve to use the power OF reserva-
BY timber or which will be useful In
< the plan OF reforestation. During the
present administration s.25o.o00 acres
OF land largely non-timbered. have
been excluded from forest reserves. and
S.soo.oco acres Of land principally val
included In forest reserves. making a
reduction In forest reserves of nom
Numbered land amounting to 2.750,0
acres. The bureau of forestry since
its creation has initiated rsforestaticn
forest land IN available for grazing.
During the past year the grazing les
sees numbered 35,40o. and they pas
tured upon the forest reserves 1.40o. 900
cattle, $3.50 horses. and 7,5so.<oo
ceived ssss,iiS@a decrease from the
preceding year OF s45.47o. due to the
Fact that no money was collected or
received for grazing on the on-tim-
bered lands eliminated from the forest
reserve. Another source OF profit In
sold. This year they amounted to
~. 043,ooo, an increase of 100000 over
the receipts OF last year. This increase
II due to the Improvement In Transport
tation TO market and TO the greaer
facility with which the timber can be
The government timber in this coun-
try amounts to only one-fourth OF all
the timber, the rest being In private
ownership. Only per cent of that
which IL In private ownership II
< sr~s-.Stsu~ e. v.ppdarv y.,,1n. 20 eara.trv