Norwich bulletin., 1910-01-15

secretary of the interior temporarily
 to withdraw lands pending submission
 to congress of recommendations as to
 legislation to meet conditions or emer-
 gencies as they arise
 Should Classify Lands.
 One of the most pressing needs in
 the matter of public land reform is that lards should be classified accord
 ing to their principal value or use
 This ought to be done by that depart
 ment whose force is best adapted to
 that work It should be done by the interior department through the geo logical survey. Much of the confu- sion fraud and contention which has existed in the past has arisen from the lack of an official and determinative classification of the public lands and their contents.
 It is now proposed to dispose of az ricultural lands as such and at the same time to reserve for other dis position the treasure of coal oil, as- phaltum, natural gas and phosphate contained therein. This may be best accomplished 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 surface might be disposed of as agri- cultural land under the general agri- cultural statutes, while the coal or other mineral could be disposed of by lease on royalty basis, with provi- sions requiring a certain amount of development each year, and in order q ,n of lands with others of similar charac- ter so as to constitute a monopoly for bidden by law the lease should con tain suitable provision subjecting to forfeiture the interest of persons par ticipating in such monopoly. Such law should apply to Alaska as well as to the United States.
 It is exceedingly difficult to frame a 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 frighten away the investment of the necessary capi- tai Hence 1t may be necessary by laws that are really only experimental to determine from their practical oper- ation what is the best method of se- curing the result aimed at
 The extent of the value of phos- phate is hardly realized, and with the need that there will be for it as the years roll on and the necessity for fer tilizing the land shall become more acute this will be product which will probably attract the greed of monopo- lists
 With respect to the public land which lies along the streams offering oppor- tunity to convert water power into electricity. another im- portant phase of the public land ques- lion is presented There are valuable water power sites through all the pub lie land states The opinion is held that the transfer of sovereignty from the federal government to the territo- -ial governments as they become states included the water power in the rivers except so far as that owned by ripari- m proprietors- 1 do not think it nec- essary to go into a discussion of this somewhat mooted question of law.
 It seems to me sufficient to say that l he man who owns and controls the and along the stream from which the | power is to be converted and trans nitted owns land which is indispen- sable to the conversion and use of ! hat power. l cannot conceive how the i power in streams flowing through pub ! ic lands can be made available at all | except by using the land itself as the | iite for the construction of the plant | 1y which the power is generated and ! and securing a right of way for +ra I, Epac I'm Ter these conditions. if the government | owns the adjacient land. indeed if i he government is the riparian owner, | t may control the use of the water | power by imposing proper conditions | 'n the disposition of the land neces- ! 'ary in the creation and utilization of [ he water power.
 Water Power important.
 The development in electrical appli- ances for the conversion of the water power into electricity to be transmit ] ed long distances has progressed so lar that it is no longer problematical. put it is certain inference that in the future the power of the water falling n the streams to a large extent will ake the place of natural fuels.
 In the disposition of the domain al-
 
 'eady granted many water power sites nave come under absolute ownership md may drift into one ownership, so hat all the water power under private ownership shall be a monopoly. If, however. the water power sites now owned by the government-and there Ire enough of them-shall be disposed 1f to private persons for the invest rent of their capital in such a way as 0 prevent their union for purposes of with other water power sites and under conditions that shall init the right of use to not exceeding fifty years with proper means for de ermining a reasonable graduated rent Il and with some equitable provision for fixing terms of renewal, it would seem entirely possible to prevent the absorption of these most useful lands y power monopoly. As long as the government retains control and can prevent their improper union with 'ther plants competition must be main- aimed and prices kept reasonable.
 In considering the conservation of he natural resources of the country he feature that transcends all others,
 -H.-