Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-18
To KILL INTEREST
IN CONSERVATION
Coterie of Men from Public Land
States to Make Fight in
Congress ..
TO CHECK PUBLICITY WORK
SeeNAto Exploit Natural Re-
sources Along First Come,
First Served" Plan
70 CHECK PUBLICITY WORK

WASHINGTON, Aug. l(.-DurlnS Ile
coming session of congress the country
is promised a fight on the conserva-
ton movement by a strong coterie of
men from the public land states who
expect to kill the popular interest IN
conservation by putting check on the
publicity work INDUCED in by various
bureaus in several of the departments
which are concerned with the study
of utilization Of natural resources.
A number of senators and members
Of the house have insisted for some
time that they will not stand for this
conservation hysteria," as they call
It, that the natural resources OF the
west must be exploited along the 'first
come, first served plan, the same as
in the past. They claim that there
has not been much land grabbing, and
that the occasional frauds unearthed
and even the startling disclosures con-
corning conditions in Alaska are not
so serious after all. 1t all means de
velopment," they say, even If mon
opoly or two are created in the pro-
cess.
Those who will be behind the COM
ing fight have figured that the prtn-
cipal reason for the country applaud
ing both the progressive Republicans
and the Democrats who are making
the conservation movement an issue
is because the newspapers and mag
azines have had the task of gettins
information from the departments
made too easy.
TAWNEY BEGINS FIGHT
The first skirmish in the fight which
will begin in earnest next winter was
opened by Representative TaWney OF
Minnesota during the last session.
while the agricultural appropriation Dill
was up Tawney is about as warm
toward conservation as Uncle Joe Can
non is and as soon as he got the OPP
portunity he attempted to clap on an
amendment to the bill proviso Whlcn
would have made it impossible for the
forest service of the department Of
agriculture, except ION request 10
give out any information to neWspa-
rers or to magazines.
THE attempt to stifle publicity on
studies to save the timber supply
wood pulp Investigations, timber
frauds and prevention of forest 1lreS
was Immediately discovered. Repre-
sentatives Cooper and Morse of WIS
consin, and Keifer of Ohio offered
strenuous Objections and showed that
the amendment would mean Ghat tile
public would get very little or no IN
formation under its provisions, Tor not
MANY people would be likely TO re-
quest something which they did not
know existed. The amendment was
defeated and an opportunity to pre-
vent conservation publicity before TINS
coming session was lost. So,
Conservation is not popular with
many members of congress whose
friends and constituents are Interested
In water power development and other
resources on the public lands of the
west and Alaska, and it seems thaC
the one best hope of checking the
movement is to put an end to the
"press agent" as the newspaper men
handling publicity in the bureaus nave
been contemporary called. Inc plan
for the attack is unique put slmples
the idea being to remove the cause OF
nuhlic support and close the channels
of publicity through which the ac-
ouirement of information by news
papers and magazines is made possible
EMPLOY NEWSPAPER MEN
Several of the bureaus have had in
their employ for years trained news
paper men whose work has been 10
popularize the results of sclentlnc IN
vestigations carried on by the govern
ment-that is, to condense and throw
into understandable Engllsh sclenIiiIe a
reports which in the old days were losC
to the general public because they were
weighed down with technical express
sions often known only to learned
members of scientific societies.
The congressman who have looked
down upon publicity work IN the past
and who are expected to lead the nght
against it next year are loud in dls-
claiming that they wish to limit the
public's knowledge of the public busl-
ness. They maintain the public can
pet ample knowledge of what the gov
eminent is doing from the oftlclal
printed documents, many of which, as
Lew Fields says, can be obtained "frees
gratis. for nothing" The DIRECTORS add
that when specific information is want
ed a person can write for it and that
it is unnecessary to employ former
neWspaper men or others to condense
and popularize the information col
Iected by Uncle Sam.
In his fight against any publicity
other than that given by the old style
government document or information
furnished when requested" TawneX
will be supported by Representative
Mondell, chairman of the house public
lands committee, and by Senators Hey
burn of Idaho and Clark of Wyoming.
All of these men from the public land
states have been outspoken against
the work of popularizing scientific in
formation and making it available to
the newspapers or press bureau activ-
ity. as they call it, The opposition has
never been organized, but next year it
is hoped to push the fight in both the
house and in the senate, in the COM
mittee and on the floor. And all that
is necessary to insure their success is
TO get into the wording of the appro-
priation bill two little words, ION re-
quest"
A LOWERING AERoPLANE
,O.oob;ro %bo& I,oxvora Il. t1,a