The Prescott daily news., 1910-09-06


 can re~..Nl'cs that this development shor'd he visoiv dons Our manufactur- ing industries ofror market for more and rrore of the'r ~Htural wealth and raw material while 'Nev will increasingly desire to meet that ferland In commer- cial exchange. The wore we buy from them. the more we shah sell to them. Their prosperity is 'nscparably involved with eur own Than, heaven. we of this continent are now beginning to realize. what in the end the whole world will realize that normally 1t is a good thing for a nation to have It's neighbor nations prosper. We of the United States are genuinely and heartily pleased to see growth and prosperity fin Canada. in Mexico, in South America,
 It is clear that unless the governments of our southern neghbors take steps in the near future by wise legislation to con trol the development and use of their natural resources. they will probably Snll into the hands of concessions ries and pro- motors, with single purpose without re- gard to the permanent welfare of the land in which they work will be to make the most possible money In the shortest possible time There will be shameful waste, destructive loss. and short ighted disregard of the future. as we have learned by bitter experience here at home.
 Unless the governments of all the
 
 enact in time such laws as will both pro- tect their natural wealth and promote their legitimate and reasonable develop ment, future generations will owe their misfortunes to us of today. A great pa triotic duty calls upon us. We owe 1t to ourselves and to them to give the Ameri- can republics all the help we can. The cases in which we have failed should be no less instructive than the cases in which we have succeeded. With prompt action and good viii the task of saving the resources for the people is full of hope for us all
 State and Federal Control.
 But while we of the United States are anxious as l believe we are able, to be of assistance to others. there are prob- lens of our own which we must not over- look. One of the most important con- servation questions of the moment relates to the control of water power monopoly In the public interest There is apparent to the iudicious observer a distinct ten dency on the part of our opponents to cloud the issue by raising the question of state as against federal Jurisdiction. We are ready to meet that issue if it Is forced upon us. But there Is no hope for the plain people in such conflicts of jurisdic- ton. The essential question is not one of hairsplitting legal technical!ties. It is simply this: Who can best regulate the special interests for the public good? Most of the predatory corporations are interstate or have interstate affiliations. Therefore they are largely out of reach of effective state control. and fall of neces- sity within the federal jurisdiction. Sne of the prime objects of those among them that are erasping and greedy Is to avoid any effective control either by state or nation: and they advocate at this time state control simply because they believe 1t to he the least. effective In the great fight of the people to drive the special interests from the dom'1atlon of our gov ernment the nation is stronger and its jurisdiction Is more effective than that of any state Tbe most effective weapon against these great corporations. most of which are financed and owned on the At lantic coast. will be federal laws and the federal executive. That Is why I so strongly oppore the demand to turn these matters over to the states. It Is funda- mentally a demand against the interest of the plain people. of the people of small means. against the interest of our chil- crcn and our childrens children; and it Is primarily In the interest of the great corporations which desire to escape all government control
 The Conservation Fight.
 On of the difficulties In putting Into practise the conservation Idea is that the field to which 1t applies Is constantly growing In the public mind IL has been no slight task to bring before 100000 peo- pie great conception like that of con- servation. and convince them that 1t is right. This much we have accom- plished But there remains much to be cleared up. and many misunderstanding to be removed. These misunderstanding A,,. tv. ok .to- representation by the men to whose interes t 1t is that conservation should not prosper. For example, we find 1t con- stantly said by men who should know better that temporary withdrawals. such as the withdrawals of coal lands. will permanently check development. Yet the fact Is that these withdrawals have no purpose except to prevent the coal lands from passing into private owner ship until congress can pass laws t0 open them to development under conditions just alike to the nublic and to the men who will do the developing. If there Is delay, the responsibility for 1t rests, not on the mon who made the withdrawals to protect the public interest. but on those who prevent congress from passing wise leSislation. and putting an end to the need for withdrawals.
 Abuses committed in the name of lust cause are familiar to all of us Many unwse things are done and many unwise measures are advocated Tn the name of conservation. either through ignorance. or bv those whose interest lies not in pro- noting the movement. but in retarding It. For example. to stop water power devel- opment by needless refusal to issue per mits for water power or private irrigation works on the public lands inevitably leads many men, friendly to conservation and believers in its general principles, to as- sume that its practical application is nec- essarily a check upon progress. Nothing could be more mistaken. The idea, widely circulated of late. that conservation means locking up of the natural resources for the