The Elbert County tribune., 1910-09-02

handicap or exclude the small man by
requiring him to spend more money
for fences than he can AFFORD. and It
must leave every acre that can be set
tied by bona-fide homesteaders freely
open to such settlement
do not believe that a single acre Of
our public lands should hereafter pass
into private ownership except for the
single purpose of homestead settle
ment, and I know that the stockmen
stand with me in their desire to re-
move every obstacle from the path of
the genuine homesteader. and 10 put
every possible obstacle in the pathway
of the man who tries to get public
lands by Misrepresentation or fraud
This is absolutely necessary on the
agricultural lands. 1t is at least equal
ly necessary on the mineral lands 1t
would be calamity. whose baleful ef-
feet on the average citizen we can
scarcely exaggerate, IL the great stores
of coal and other mineral fuels still
owned by the people In Alaska and
elsewhere should pass into the unregu-
lated ownership OF monopolistic cor
porations.
The Forest Service.
You progressive stockmen have stood
heartily by the conservation move
ment. and with you have stood many
others throughout the West, to whom
large credit is due, such as the lum-
bermen in Washington and Oregon, the
irrigators in California. and the sup
porters of the country life movement
In and around Spokane. want to
make my Acknowledgements in partlc-
ular to the Colorado Forestry associa-
ton, which has supported the forest
work of the government with such un-
selfish zeal. The forest service has
enemies because 1t is effective. Some
of its best work has been met by the
bitterest opposition. For example. II
has done a real service by blocking
the road against the grab0ers of water
power. and again by standing like
rock against the demands OF bogus
mining concerns to exploit the national
forests. have always done my best
to help the genuine miner. / believe
that one of the first duties of the gov
ernment Is to encourage honest mining
on the public lands. But 1T is equally
important to enforce the law firmly
against that particularly dangerous
class which makes its living off the
public through fraudulent mining
schemes.
Much of the opposition to the forest
service, like much of the opposition to
conservation. takes the form of direct
Misrepresentation. For example the
cry is often heard that the national
forests inclose great areas of agricul-
tural land which are thus put beyond
the reach of settlement. This state
ment seems plausible only till the facts
are known. In the first place. congress-
has specially provided that whatever
agricultural land there may be In any
national forest shall be open, under
proper safeguards. to homestead set
tlement. And in the second place. when
the opponents of conservation are ask
ed to point out the great stretches of
inclosed agricultural land on the
ground and In the presence of experts,
instead of in speeches In a hall, they
fail.
Reclamation Service.
The National Irrigation Congress is
late in September. 1 am keenly sorry
that could not nave accepted the
invitation to be present. I must how
ever. be in the East at that time. But
since I cannot be present then to ex-
press my Keen long held, and deep-f felt
interest In the reclamation of arid
lands by the federal government.
desire to do now. There is no more
effective instrument for the making of
homes than the United States Recla-
nation Service. and no government bu
reau while was President had reach
ed higher standard of efficiency, in
tegrity and devotion to the public well
fare. -, E
Like the Forest Service, the Reclama-
ton Service has clashed with certain pri-
vate interests, and has had to pay the
penalty Of Its service to the public in the
form of bitter opposition from those with
whose profit 1t has interfered. The cry
has been raised against 1t that the gov
ernment must not do for its citizens at a
less cost what private interests are ready
to make them pay for at higher prices
Now, I believe fully in the private de-
velopment Of irrigation projects which the
government cannot undertake. There is
a large and legitimate field for such work.
But the essential thing is to make homes
on the lands. not to enable individuals to
nV1 oGtf 49, l,N
make those homes. There is no more
warrant for objecting to the reclamation
of arid lands by the government than
there would be to protest against the gov
ernment for patenting agricultural lands
directly to the actual settler, instead of
through a middleman. who could make q
profit from the transaction. The men who
assert themselves at the cost of the COM
munity instead of by service to the COM
munity we have always had with u.s. and
doubtless we always shall. But there is
no reason why we should yield to them.
The Reclamation Service has not done so,
and that is the chief reason for the at
tacks upon 1t.
l don't think that there is one among
you who Is a better and more thorough
going westerner than I am. There has
been no support given to the conserva-
tion policies SO welcome as that which
came from the west, and none in the
west more welcome than that which came
from Colorado. There are men and or
ganizations in Colorado. and I mention
Delta in particular, whose support OF the
conservation policies has been of the
greatest value to the Nation. II has not
always been an easy thing for them to
stand for what was right. to stand for
the real ultimate good as against the
seeming temporary good; but they have
stood for 1t steadily nevertheless
From the standpoint of conservation
the east has wasted much of its own
superb endowment: and as an American.
MS n lover of the west I hope that the
west will profit by the casts bitter les
son. and will not repeat the mistakes of
the east The east has wasted its re-
sources. 1t suffers from the effect of the
waste. which now puts 1t at disadvan-
tage compared to the west, and Il is
sorrv Most oF tha ,anita, -