The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-02
Conservation Bill Is Present.
 ed In the House
FEATURES OF THE BILL
President Will Be Given Full Power to Withdraw Public Lands From Settlement and Report Them
 Interior Department
Fly wArrERsoN sTEALEy


 Washington, April 1-(Special. 1.-The democrats today gave the President a chance to show just what kind of con servatonist he is. The opportunity was presented in a bill offered by Represen tatives Robinson of Arkansas Craig of l Alabama and Ferris of Oklahoma, pur | posed to give the President full power to withdraw any of the public lands from l settlement, with provision that all with drawals so made, and for whatever pur- | pose, would have to be reported imme- l diately to the department of the interior, | which would then classify the lands &C., cording to their characteristics, as min l eral, timber or farming lands.
 | The classification feature was strong one It was founded on a classification bill recently introduced by MT. Craig,
 whose measure is incorporated in the mi nority measure presented today.
 | notable feature of the bill Is the fact that it will prevent the validation of withdrawals already made. According to statements made by the members of the minority in the committee today the I validation of these withdrawals had l seemed to be the chief purpose of the bills which the President had favored. 1 As it was Representative Mondell of l Wyoming. chairman of the committee on 1 the public lands, had declined to intro l duce the Presidents conservation bills and it was left to the insurgents to per form that service
 1 Purpose of the Bill
 | Whatever may be the fate of the minor 1 ty bill of today it will serve the purpose of making the republicans declare them selves plainly in reference to conserva- 1 ton. They will have to be on record as l favoring an intelligent and actual con servation or of giving to the President ad bn q af-fyn of 10 int n n bill of health in spite of the prerogative | that the department has abrogated to it. | self with the friendly connivance of the l President, to whom the democratic mem bers of the committee claim the ad- ministration measure would merely trans | fer the prerogatives 4- | II was stated that the object of re- 1 quiring reports to be made in Congress l is to make all information concerning l withdrawals available so that Congress may speedily make a disposition of the 1 withdrawal and restore the lands to pub l lie entry in the event it regards the | withdrawals unnecessary or improperly made. It will enable Congress to legis- l late intelligently on the subject and will 1 tend to abolish the practice that has l grown up of extending departmental ac- | ton beyond the proper sphere. The bill | does not validate entries heretofore made and now existing, but requires reports U such action as that body may hereafter l desire to take Explaining the classi- | fication feature. lands found to be agri- | cultural lands are to be divided into ir- rigable and non-irrigable dry farming. l farming, timber and grazing lands The 1 bill applies to lands containing coal, oil, phosphate. gas and asphalt.
 Classification of Lands
 After these surveys and investigations have been made the bill requires that the lands be speedily classified accord ing to the kind, quality and workabiity of the minerals contained, and according 10 the agricultural character, and re- quires that a complete report be made at the beginning of each session of congress showing the grading of said lands, the approximate character. quantity and workability of the mineral as to all lands examined and graded up to that time 1 Classiflcations heretofore made of lands withdrawn from entry are about to be reported to congress and so far as prac- ticable to be adopted so as to save ex- pense and reclassification of such areas as have already been classified.
 The authors of the bill stated that, in their opinion the administration is strad- ding on the conservation question:; that it's policy Is to pretend to support con servaton, but not to enact any leglsla- tion seriously calculated to accomplish that end. They state that in the opinion of some of them the primary purpose Of
 he administration bill relating to with drawal of public lands seems to be to validate existing withdrawals. and thus give the interior department and the ad- ministration a clean bill of health.
 Withdrawal Hill
 That while the withdrawal bill is to be l labeled conservation" 1t In fact ac- lcomplishes nothing toward that end, and
 merely gives the President an express power which the interior department has | been exercising for many years, and that while the President, in order to preserve the public domain and to prevent frauds, should have the power to make with drawals the most important matter is l that the law should require lands with drawn to be classified and reported to congress so that such disposition as con gress may desire to make of the lands may be easily facilitated, and that the disposition may be made by congress with full information. under well con s;dered laws. and not by the interior de- pertinent.
 1 They also stated that in their judgment no judgment merely legalizing withdraw als Is true conservation measure. That classification is primary and very inn portant step toward intelligent handling lof the public domain. and without class lihcation, congress will be forced to pro- ed as in the past, that is. by permitting 1apa patt,v mt fo fp