The Forrest City times., 1910-12-09

were "ilHuTdWn lTOm entry TOT pur poses of classification 17,S67 ,000 acres Since that time there have been with. drawn by my order from entry for classification 7S,977,745 acres, making a total withdrawal of 96,S44,745 acres Meantime of the acres thus with drawn 1,061.S have been classified and found not to contain coal and have been restored to agricultural en- try. and 4,726091 acres have been classified as coal lands; while 7,993, ,23e acres remain withdrawn from entry and await classification. in addition 337,000 acres have been classified as coal lands without prior withdrawal, thus increasing the classified coal lands to 10,429,372 acres.
 Under the laws providing for the disposal of coal lands in the United States, the minimum price at which lands are permitted to be sold is $10 an acre; but the secretary of the in terior has the power to fix a maximum price and to sell at that price
 As one-third of all the coal supply Is held by the government, 1t seems wise that 1t should retain such con- trol over the mining and the sale as the relation of lessor to lessee fur nishes.
 The secretary of the interior thinks there are difficulties in the way of leasing public coal lands. which ob- lections he has set forth in his re- port, the force of which 1 freely con- cede. l entirely approve his stating at length in his report of the objec. tons in order that the whole subject may be presented to congress, but after full consideration. for the req. sons l have given above, I favor a leasing system and recommend it"
 Water Power Sites.
 Prior to March 1, 1909, there had been, on the recommendation of the reclamation service withdrawn from agricultural entry, because they were regarded as useful for power sites which ought not to be disposed of as i agricultural lands, tracts amounting to about 100000 acres The with drawals were. hastily made and in eluded a great deal of land that was not useful for power sites. They were intended to include the power sites on % rivers in states. Since that time 3,475, ,442 acres have been re- stored for settlement of the original 1000 900 because they do not con tain power sites; and meantime, new withdrawals have been made which, with other restorations based upon field examination, result in withdraw als at present effective of 1,218. 356 acres on vacant public land and 202,- 197 acres on entered public land, or total of 1,420,553 acres. These with drawals made from time to time cover all the power sites included in the first withdrawals and many more. on 151 rivers and in 12 states The dis position of these power sites involves one of the most difficult questions pre- sented in carrying out practical con seryation.
 The subject is one that calls for new legislation. It has been thought that there was danger of combination to obtain possession of all the power sites and to unite them under one control. Whatever the evidence of this, or lack of it, at present we have had enough experience to know that combination would be profitable, and the control of great number of pow CT at will within certain sections
 However this may be, it is the plain duty of the government to see to it that in the utilization and deyel- opment of all this immense amount of water power, conditions shall be imposed that will prevent extortion- ate charges, which are the usual ac- compartment of monopoly.
 The question of conservation Is not partisan one, and 1 sincerely hope that even in the short time of the present session consideration may be given to those questions which have now been much discussed, and that action may be taken upon them"
 Alaska
 With reference to the government of Alaska, 1 have nothing to add to the recommendations l made in my last message on the subject. am convinced that the migratory charac- ter of the population, it's unequal dis tribution. and it's smallness of num- Der, which the new census shows to be about 50,000, in relation to the enormous expanse of the territory, make 1t altogether impracticable to give to those people who are in Alaska today and may not be there a year hence, the power to elect leg islature to govern an immense ter ritory to which they have relation so 1 little permanent"
 Bureau of Corporations.
 Referring to the report of the com missioner of corporations, the presi- dent says:
 The commissioner finds a condi- ton in the ownership of the standing timber of the United States other than the government timber that calls ] for serious attention. The direct in- vestigation made by the commissioner