Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-02-02
Senator Borah Explains
The Western Conception.
Term Means Use and Develop
ment Of Natural Resources.
Emigration of American Farmers
To Canadian Northwest Explained.

New York. Feb. Limited States
senator William F. Borah OF Idaho,
| who has a bill in Congress authorizing
| the issue CT 5000, 900 in COVE rnment
| bond;, to raise money for the r,.clama-
ton of arid l:lnds Of the West, left
| the Hotel Wolcptt yesterday Tor wash
| ington after short sJay here.
Western people are just as thor
oughly devoted 10 the principle Of con-
servation as are people in the East.
| said Senator Borah. But as. we I'M
derstand it, conservation means the
use and development Of our natural re
| sources. Conservation that has for its
| basis the tying up Of these resources
for an indefinite time is; waste.
"Whv. one third of our state is IN
| the forest reserve. WI en- Coy. EiuShes
went West last SUNNI er he sad IN
| speech you'd be surprised 10 know
| that we have in New York forest
reserve of 100000 aces. some en-
| thusiast spoke up and said. You'd be
| surprised governor. but we've got IN
| Idaho a forest reserve into Whlch we
| could put the whole of New York state
| and lose it There al" 20o0o.0o0 acres
| of such land in Idaho
ION that land there are thousands OF
! dollars worth of timber that must he
used every year or else. 90 t" waste, but
YOU can't get dollor's worth ~ lumber
from a forest reservation for less than
YOU can buy it from the lumber trust.
out there we say. Tie UP the forests
50 a 5 to prevent Wasteful extravaganza,
destruction by fires and the monopoi-
cation of timber That is all right.
But we want these reservations put
under such regulation and control as
will make them serve the needs of the
living generation of men.
With regard to the water power
sites we feel practically the same way.
Il has been demonstrated that There is
enough available water i'll the Snake
river in Idaho to furnish power for all
the industries west OF the Mississippi,
and water power is as Gne,,hausted
after YOU have been using it 1000 years
as when IL is Just larneSsed Every
conceivable view from q comm on sense
standpoint suggests Immediate de-
VelOpment and utilization OF power
! sites. When you do this you have done
more toward preserving our coal and
timber for future generations than you
could by any other plan.
Again, We would subscribe to any
| law, however drastic. which would
i keep the power sites out of the hands
I of monopoHes. hut the plan which
| merely ties Np resources on the ground
| of some absolute nonsense about fu-
| ture generations doesn't appeal to us.
Another phase of the situation is
| that We nave in the West $4,000, 900
tracts of this have been Withdrawn
| from entry. waiting for the govern
ment to put water on it. The most eff
fective results of conservation policies
would be attained by the government
| putting water on this without delay.
But the fact is that while distinguish
! ed leaders of conservation are discuss
| ing before the public who is the best
friend of the Roosevelt policies the
| poor settlers are being driven into
bankruptcy by the governments de-
lay.
why, in the lands withdrawn by
| the government are 1900, 900 acres of
our school land. and it is a question
| whether the state will not lose that
| entirely.
| Then look how happily we are los
! ing possible settlers. 1t is estimated
that 10000 Americans will cross the
| border into Canada this year looking
| for homes. They will take with them
an average of $1,000 apiece. Besides the
loss of such good, thrifty farmers, that
means that $4,000, 900 of good American
| money goes out of the country this
| year and all because the Canadians
have framed their land laws on a lib
eral plan"