The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-01-20
URGES CONSERVATION OF
THE NATIONS RESOURCES
President Taft Sends Special Message to Con-
gress Recommending Prevention Of Land
Frauds, Control Of Water Power, FOs-
tering Of Soils and Kindred Subjects
I to legislation to meet conditions or
emergencies as they arise.


emergencies as they arise.
Properly to Classify Lands.
One of the most pressing needs in
the matter OF public-land reform is
that lands should be classified accord
ing to their principal value use This
ought to be done by that or department
whose force is best adapted to that
work. 1t should be done by the inter
Tor department through the geological
survey. Much of confusion, fraud. and
contention which has existed in the
present has arisen from the lack of
an official and determinative classifl-
cation of the public lands and their
contents.
1t is now proposed to dispose OF ag-
ricultural lands as such. and at the
same time to reserve for other disposi-
tion the treasure of coal. oil. ashphal-
tum. natural gas and phosphate con-
tanned therein. This may be best ac-
compIished by separating the right
to mine from the title to the surface.
giving the necessary use of so much OF
the latter as may be required for the
extraction OF the deposits. The sur
face might be disposed of as agricul-
tural land under the general agricul-
turaI statutes. while the coal or other
mineral could be disposed OF by lease
on a royalty basis. with the provisions
requiring a certain amount OF develop
ment each year; and in order to pre-
vent the use and cession of said lands
with others OF similar character SO as
to constitute a monopoly forbidden by
law. the lease should contain suitable
provision subjectinE to forfeiture the
interest of persons participating In
such monopoly. Such law should ap-
ply to Alaska as we'll as to the United
States.
Statute Difficult to Frame.
It is exceedingly difficult to frame
a statute to retain government control
over property to be developed by
private capital in such a manner as
to secure the governmental purpose
and at the same time not frighten
away the investment OF the necessary
capital Hence. 1t may be necessary
by laws that are really only expert
mental to determine from their prac-
tical operation what Is the best
method of securing the result aimed at.
The extent of the value of phosphate
Is hardly realized, and with the need
that there will be for it as the years
roll on and the necessity for fertiliz-
ing the land shall become more acute,
this will be product which will prob
ably attract the greed of monopollsts.
Public Land Along Streams.
with respect to the public land
which lies along the streams Offering
opportunity to convert water power
into transmissible electricity, another
important phase of the public land
question is presented. There are val
liable water power sites through all
the public land states. The opinion
is held that the transfer of sovereignty
from the federal government to the
territorial governments as they become
states, included the water power in
the rivers except so far as that owned
by riparian proprietors. do not
think it necessary to go into discussion
of this somewhat mooted question of
law. 1t seems to me sufficient to say
that the man who owns and controls
the land along the stream from which
the power is to be converted and trans
mitted, owns land which is indispens-
able to the conversion and use of that
power. cannot conceive how the
power in streams flowing through pub
lie lands can be made available at all
except by using the land itself as the
site for the construction of the plant
by which the power is generated and
converted and securing right of way
thereover for transmission lines. I'm
der these condition, If the government
owns the adjacent land-indeed, IL the
government is the riparian owner-it
may control the use of the water power
by imposing proper conditions on the
disposition of the land necessary in the
creation and utilization of the water
power.
Value of Water Power.
The development in electrical appli-
auces for the conversion of the water
power into electricity to be transmitted
long distances has progressed so far that
it is no longer problematical, but 1t Is
certain inference that in the future the
power of the water falling in the streams
will IA ka q of
natural fuels. In the disposition of the
domain already granted. many water
power sites have come under absolute
ownership, and may drift into one own
ership so that all the water power under
private ownership shall be monopoly.
If how ver the water power sites now
owned by the government-and there are
enough Of them-shall be disposed OF to
private persons for the investment of
their capital in such a way as to prevent
their union for purposes of monopoly
with other water power sites, and under
conditions that shall limit the right of use
to not exceeding thirty years with renewal
privileges and some equitable means Of
fixing terms of rental and with proper
means for determining reasonable grad
uated rental it would seem entirely pos
sible to prevent the absorption of these
most useful lands by a power monopoly.
AS long as the government retains con-
troll and can prevent their improper union
with other plants. competition must be
maintained and prices kept reasonable.
Soils Must Be Conserved.
In considering the conservation of the
natural resources of the country, the fea-
ture that transcends all others, including
woods, waters, minerals. is the soil of the
country 1t is incumbent upon the gov
ernment to foster by all available means
the resources of the country that produce
the food of the people. To this end the
conservation of the soils of the country
should be cared for with all means at the
governments disposal. Their productive
powers should have the attention of our
scientists that we may conserve the new
soils, improve the old soils, drain wet
soils, ditch swamp soils. levee river over
flow soils, grow trees on thin soils. pas
ture hillside soils, rotate crops on all
soils. discover methods for cropping dry
land soils, find grasses and legumes for
all soils, feed grains and mill feeds on
the farms where they originate. that the
soils from which they come may be en-
riched. "
A work of the utmost Importance to in
form and instruct the public on this chief
branch of the conservation of our re-
sources is being carried on successfully
in the department of agriculture; but it
ought not to escape public attention that
state action in addition to that of the de-
partment of agriculture (as for instance
in the drainage of swamp lands) Is es-
sential to the best treatment of the soils
in the manner above indicated.
The act by which, in semi-arid parts of