Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-01-19

ZIG oeSl uASpOsltlOnE OF public
lands to private ownership, under CON
ditions offering on the one hand sum
c1ent inducement to private capital to
take them over for proper develnn-
ment, with restrictive conditions on
the other which shall secure to the
public that character Of control which
Will prevent a monopoly or misuse of
the lands or their products. The power
or the secretary Of the interior to with
draw from the operation Of existing
statutes tracts of land, the disposition
OF which under such statutes would
be detrimental to the public interests
Is not clear or satisfactory This power
has been exercised in the INTEREST," Of
the public. with the hope that congress
might affirm the action Of the execu-
tive by laws adapted to the new cort1i-
tons. Unfortunately, congress has not
thus far fully acted on the recomm2n-
datfOns OF the executive, and the ques-
ton as to what the executive is to
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 secretaryo 81 the interior temporar-
| lily to withdraw lands pending submis-
sion to: congreass0f recomm erdations as
to legislatton.sto. meet conditions or
| emergenctesEas A.: they: arise:@s2t E5@&,
Properly: to Classify Iands.@
One Of tho most pressing needs in
the matter Of pubIc-laRd reform is
that lands should be@cla&sified accord
ing to their principal vklue use. This
! ought to be- done by t.lat or department
whose force is best adapted to that
work. 1t2shou1d b: done by the inter-
Tor observation-disclosures 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 classifi-
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 DISPOSE
ton the treasure Of coal, oil, ashphal-
tum, natural gas and phosphate con-
tanned therein. This may be best ac-
complished 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 agricu1-
tural statutes, while the coal or other
mineral could be disposed of by lease
on 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 monopoly forbidden by
law, the lease should contain suitable
provision subjecting to forfeiture the
interest of persons participating in
such monopoly. Such law should ap-
ply to Alaska as well as to the United
States.
Statute Difficult to Frame.
It is exceedingly difficult to frame
q statute to retain government control
over a property to be developed by
private capital in such manner as
to secure the governmental purpose
and at the same time not brighten
away the investment of the necessary
capital. Hence. it may be necessary
by laws that are really only expert
mental to determine from their prac-
teal 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 1t 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 monopolists.
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, if 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-
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 q
certain inference that in the future the
power of the water falling in the streams
It'll A~1~~
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 a monopoly
IT, however, the water power sites now
owned by the government-and there are
enough of them-shan be disposed of tC
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 prope,
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 unior
with other plants, competition must b<
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. It is incumbent upon the gov.
eminent 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