El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-29
ROOSEVELT DEFINES CONSERVATION
ANDGOOD CITIZENS; GUEST Of DENVER

domain as he himself can cultivate, and
there makes a permanent home for his
children who come after him; but we
are against the man, no matter what
his ability, who tries TO monopollze
large masses of public land.
State and Federal Control
Now, TO preserve the general well
fare, TO see 10 1t that the rights of the
public are protected, and the liberty of
the individual secured and encouraged
as long as consistent with his welfare,
and curbed when it becomes inconsist-
ent Herewith, it is necessary TO invoke
the aid of the government There are
points in which this governmental aid
can best be rendered by the states. that
is, where the exercise of states rights
helps TO secure popular rights; and as
TO these, 1 believe in states rights But
there are large classes Of cases where
only the authority of the national gov
eminent will secure the rights of the
people; and where this is the case 1 am
a convinced and a thorough-going be-
lever in the rights of the national
government
National Police Power.
Big business, for instance, is no
longer an affair of any one state; big
business has nationalized. and the only
effective way OF controlling and direct
nection with it. is by having the people
nationalize this control in order to pre-
vent their being exploited by the indi-
viduls who have nationalized the bust
ness All commerce on a scale suffi-
ciently large to warrant any control
over it by the government is nowadays
Interstate or foreign commence; and un-
til this fact is heartily acknowledged
and acted upon by both courts and leg
islative bodies, national and state alike,
the interest of the people will suffer.
State and National Power.
I'm the matter of conservation I
heartily approve of state action where
under our form of government the state
only, has the power TO act. I cordially
join with those who desire to see the
state, within its own sphere, take the
most advanced position in regard to the
whole matter of conservation. L have
taken exactly this attitude in my own
state of New York. Where the state
alone had power to act, I have done all
I could to get it to act in the most ad-
vanced manner; and where the nation
could act, 1 have done all I could to
get national action in the same direc-
ton. Unfortunately, in the east we
have in this matter paid the penalty of
not having our forest land under ma
tionaI control; and the penalty has been
they are old states-have not protected
itself, because the action was really the
common concern of all; and where ac-
ton is the common concern OF all, expe-
rience has shown that It can only be
profitably undertaken by the national
government
I "As a result Of the impossibility of
getting such wise action by the several
state governments in the east, we are
doing our best to get national legisla
ton under which the national govern
ment, at the expense Of millions Of dol
lars, shall undertake to do as regards
the Appalachians and White mountains
Of the east what II is now doing in the
Rocky mountains here out west.
Water Power.
Take the question Of the control of
the water power sites. The enormous
Importance of water power sites to the
future Industrial development of this
has only been realized within
a very few years. Unfortunately, the
realization has come too late as regards
many of the power sites; but many yet
remain with which our hands are free
to deal. We should make it our duty to
see that hereafter the power sites are
kept under the control of the general
government, for the use of the people
as a whole. The fee should remain with
The people as q whole, while the use is
eased on terms which shall secure an
ample reward to the lessees.
A Comic Situation.
There is something fairly comic in
he appeal made by many of these men
n favor Of state control when you re-
llize that the great corporations seek
ng the privileges Of developing the
water power in any given state are at
east as apt to be owned outside the
state as within it In this country,
capital has "a national and
lot state use. The great corpora
ions which ale managed and largely
owned in the older states are those |
which are most in evidence in develop |
ng and using the mines and water /
powers and forests of the new terrific J
les and the new states, from Alaska to !
arizona I have been genuinely amused !
Turing the past two months at having |
arguments presented TO me on behalf !
f certain rich men from New York and |
ohio, for instance, as to why Colorado |
nd other Rocky Mountain states should |
manage their own water power sites. 1
Sow these men may be good citizens, /
.ccording to their lights, but naturally |
nough their special interests obscure |
heir sense of public need; and as their |
,bject is to escape an efficient control, /
exercised in the interest of all the pep |
lie of the country, they clamor to be |
ut under the state instead Of under |
he nation
Land Legislation.
Our people have for many years pro- !
eeded upon the assumption that the |
alton should control the public land. |
t is to this assumption Of national out
ook that We owe our wisest land legis- /
alton from the homestead law to the |
-rigation law. The wise use of our /
ublic domain has always been condi~
Toned upon national action. The states
an greatly help, but the nation must |
AXE the lead as regards the land, as re-
ards the forests and waters; and per-
APPS, peculiarly in the case or the wa