The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-17
NoRR1s AND CONSERVATION.

a Pinchot affair, more political than
economic and more actuated by per.
sonal bias than aimed at public utility
or advantage, 1t will be Pinchot
blow. out, and the same old crowd of
personally conducted conscrvationists
will be there in force, and will run the
affair. This has been fairly probable
from the first, and now Governor Nor
ris. having made direct Investigation in
to the matter, finds it to be the fact.
In no case. therefore. will he attend
that convention. Bnt he would have
been glad to attend the convention Of
Governors in Salt Lake only for the
fact that the inspection by army engi-
neers and reclamation officials Of the
reclamation projects in Montana will
require his attention at the time when
this Salt Lake convention of Governors
is being held.
In one respect. however. we think
that Governor Morris makes n mistake.
We do not believe that the National
Government will ever give over the con-
troll of the public domain IN these West
ern States to the States. It is quite
true that under the unvarying practice
Of the National Government from the
first the States have controlled all the
water within their boundaries, save
only navigable waters. The National
Government retains control OF all the
navigable streams, but non-navigable
streams have always been controlled
by the States. In Utah we have our
own water system handled under State
law by the State Engineer There are
no navigable waters, properly so speak
ing, within the State, although of
course there have been attempts at.
tended with little success and with
practically no commercial results, to
can hardly be called navigable stream
and has never been so declared The
withdrawal by the President of lands
for water power sites obtained their
force simply from the fact that nobody
is able to utilize, even under State aur
thority. a water power site without get
ting title from the Government to some
land on which to build his mill race
and his mill. The Government has
never undertaken to interfere in any
way with the waters of Utah or in gen
eral of any of the States, save only
as to navigabc waters and later i'll
projects; and is not likely
to do so. And one exaspcrating point
in the whole conservation proposition,
so far as this is concerned, is that the
water power reservations are pro
claimed through this sort of subter
fugc.
We believe that it would be disas
irons to the public interests for the |
Government to transfer the public do
main to the States. Even so far as this
has been done in the control of Carey |
and projects and Of private reclamation |
projects, the work of the State rcpresen-
tatives has been too often honeycombed |
with fraud. We need not go any fur
,her than the exposures that have been
made from Idaho in The Tribune of
The corrupt work of the State Land |
Board Of that State. The Utah work IN
his line has been scandalous from the
irst. We have pointed out repeatedly |
the bad, treacherous work of the State
here in handling work
IF this character; and that more scan"
lals are sure to como from the same
direction is inevitable,
What is needed in all this Western
country is not much change from the
avs as they are, nor from the practices
hat have been established, but the
free working of those laws undisturbed
oy meddlesome ofiicialdom, Congress ap'
plying proper restrictions to prevent
The holdup of the laws
hat has been in progress for the past
few years is an obstructive policy, ham
oering progress all through this west
,rn region, and is especially deadening
10 the progress of Alaska. The United
States might vitlate any title that 1t
chooses when any person, firm or cor
poration or combination in any form is
found to have more than certain area
of agricultural, coal, or mineral land,
That of course would be a drastic
change from anything that has here
-ofore been known in this country; but
evidently something ought to be done
10 allow of progress, so that the peo'
pie of the United States can obtain tho
use OF the natural wealth that abounds
in the region where they propose to set
lie and do their work. AS it is now,
settlement is retarded The opening of
mines is stopped. Coal monopolies al
ready established are confirmed in their
nonopolistic hold upon the different |
and no matter how much |
,oal may be available, no one can get |
il SO as to enter into competition with
these monopolies. The steamers cannot |
get coal in Alaska. but have to buy |
It in British Columbia, although there
is perabundanee of coal in Alaska |
that ought TO be open for the taking un-
der the law, coupled with such restric
tiOuS AZ CONGRESS NAV see fit 10 en- |