Mexico Missouri message., 1910-01-20

do Is under the circumstances, full of
difficulty. It seems to me that it is
the duty of congress now, by statute
to validate the Withdrawals which
have been made by the secretary of the
interior and the president and to use
the secretary OF the interior temporar-
lily to withdraw lands pending submis-
sion to congress of recommendations as
to legislation to meet conditions or
emergencies as they arise.
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
rable 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 1t necessary to go into discussion
of this somewhat mooted question of
law. It 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. l 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 Un-
der these condition, II 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 appl-
ances 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 it is
certain inference that in the future the
power of the water falling in the streams
to large extent will take the place 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.
IT, however, 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 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 a reasonable grad
uated rental, II 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-
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 SOllSs leeu BIulIlS anu Illll IetuS OH
| 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 1t
| ought not to escape public attention that
| state action in addition to that of the de-
partment of agriculture las 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
| the public domain, the area Of the home
| stead has been enlarged from 100 to 320
| acres has resulted most beneficlally in
| the extension OF dry farming and In
| the demonstration which has been made
| of the possibility, through a variation in
| the character and mode of culture, of
| raising substantial crops without the
| presence of such a supply of water as
| has been heretofore thought to be neces-
| sary for agriculture.
No one can visit the far west and the
| country of arid and semi-arid lands with
| out being convinced that this is one of
the most important methods of the con-
servation of our natural resources that
| the government has entered upon. 1t
| would appear that over 80 projects have
| been undertaken, and that a few of
| IneSe are nkely TO De unsuccessful De-
| cause of lack of water or for other rea-
( sons. but generally the work which has
been done has been well DONE and many
| important engineering problems have
been met and solved
Funds Inadequate for Service.
One of the difficulties which has
arisen is that too many projects in
view of the available funds have been
set on foot The funds available under
the reclamation statRte are inadequate
| to complete these projects within a
reasonable time. And vet the projects
have been begun; settlers have been
invited to take up and. in many in
| stances, have taken up the public land
within the projects, relying upon their
prompt completion. The failure to
complete the projects for their benefit
| is, in effect, a breach OF faith and
leaves them in most distressed con
dition. I urge that the nation ought
to afford the means to lift them out OF
4he very desperate condition in which
they now are
This condition does not indicate any