The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-09-06
THE CONSERVATION CONGRESS.


and from all accounts, he was i'll Il close
place and was hard put to it not to give
offense to "'the gang Ex-Presi
dent Roosevelt will deliver the
chief speech today. These speeches
will not "consist' - A very wide and
deep interest has been aroused in this
congress, and unquestionably very !m
portant results will follow from its
session.
1t has been supposed that this con
gress would be a Pinchot congress, I'm
doubtedly ii was arranged to be such
But wider discussion of the PROPOSE
tions involved and of the popular III
terests which the Pinchot policies ut
tack, have caused revision of the esti
mates of the influences that are likely
to prcdominate.
a number of the Governors of the
Western States hesitated about appoint,
ing delegates to this congress, this be
cause of the common understanding
that the Pinchot people would be in
control, would occupy the time and
would dictate the expression to be
voiced The Governors and representa-
tives of the Governors of nine of these
Western States met in Salt Lake City
last month, and delegation from the
managers of the conservation congress
at st. Paul came here 10 meet with
those Governors. AS result, ample as.
surances were given that the Cover
nors would have every opportunity they
desired 10 present their views on con
servation. They were assured that there
was no put. job, that the convention
was a free, open affair, and that all OF
the interests represented would receive
fair treatment. Thercupon the Gov
ernors all agreed to appoint delegates.
The prevailing sentiment at this Gov
policies were obstructive to the prog
ress of all this Western region. That
undue and unlawful hardshlps were i'm
posed upon settlers IN the so-called
forest reservations and unlawful OBJ
staclcs were placed by the forestry
service in the way Of prospectors and
miners on those reserves. 1t was point
ed out also that the Plnchot policies
were not forestry policies at all, but for
the most part are grazing policies,
which is directly the reverse of foresta.
ton. On the most OF the areas included
in the so-caled forest reserves. graz
q lot
ting of grazing privileges the main
business of the forestry department.
So far from a forestry policy being put
to the front in all this matter, the
chief aim is to keep down foresta-
tion and extend the grazing limits as
much as possible so as to get as much
money as can be had in the letting of
grazing privileges.
The inevitable reply to the Pinchot
policy, restrictive and exacting, was a
demand that the Government should
lift its hand off altogether and let
the States manage the areas of the pub
tic domain according to their ideas of
and this is what the Gov
ernors in their meeting in Salt Lake
City resolved to do.
If there had been no Pinchotism
there would have been no such de-
mand. Ii the traditional policy of the
Government inaugurated in the early
days of the Republic and strictly ad
hered TO until within few years past
had been continued, there would have
been no demand for the dangerous
policy that is urged, of the transfer of
the control of the public domain from
the Federal Government to the States.
But when the official administration
became oppressive, restrictive, and
cxacting, the natural reply was a de-
mand to have it removed
We are satisfied, however, that re,
turn TO the time honored and un-
broken policy of the Government in
all the pioneering days of the Repub-
lie would be accepted by the people of
all this Western region as satisfac-
tory solution of the whole matter. The
people are entitled to go on the pub
and other settlements, and develop the
as has been done heretofore.
They are entitled to the use of such
timber, stone, and natural resources
as are at hand to build their houses,
their fences, and to make improvements
generally. They are entitled to dig
coal If they need it. They are entitled
TO build mills, and run them by water
power, They are entitled, in short, to
do now precisely what pioneers and set
tiers have done at all times in the his
tory of the Republic, IL this is grant
ed the odious restrictions and obnox-
ious practices of the Pinchot regime
would be removed, and with that every
body would be content