Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-01-20
PUBLIC LANDS
THEME FOR TAFT
President Sends Important Mes.
sage TO Congress.
TRAFFIC ON INLAND WATERS.
POINTS Out That a Heap Of Talking
Has Been Going on Over Certain
Questions" but He Has Failed to
Get Any Practical Suggestions Up to
Date.

~uest'ons,' but He Has Failed to
Get Any Practical Suggestions Up TO
Date.
washington. Jan. 14.-Prcsident Taft
Gent the following message to CON
gress:
10 the Senate and House of Repre-
scntatives:
In my annual message reserved
Inc subject of the conservation of orr
national resources for discussion in a
special message, as follows:
I'm several departments there is
presented the necessity for LEGISLATION
looking to the further conservation of
our national resources, and the sub.
1ect is one of such importance as to
require a more detailed and extended
discussion than can be entered upon
in this communication. For that rea-
fon h take IN early opportunity
TO send a special message to congress
On the subject of the Improvement OF
pnr Waterways; upon the reclamation
and irrigation of arid. semiarid and
swamp lands; upon the preservation
Of II forests and the reforestjng of
suitable areas; upon the reclassiica-
ton Of the public domain with a view
of separating from agricultural set
tlement mineral. coal and phosphate
lands and sites belonging to the gov
eminent bordering on streams suitable
for the utilization of water power"
In 1860 we had a public demain of
1.O55,911.2 SS acres. We have now
3 1.354,0S1 acres confined largely to
the mountain ranges and the arid and
semiarld plains. We have in addition
B~6S,O35,975 acres of land i'll Alaska.
The public lands We're during the
earliest administrations treated rs "A
national asset for the liquidation of
the public debt and as a source of re-
ward for our soldiers and sailors.
Later on they were donated in large
amounts in aid of the construction of
wagon roads and railways in order to
open up regions in the west then al
most inaccessible. All the principal
land statutes were enacted more than
a quarter of Il century ago. The home
stead act, the prescription and timber
culture act. the coal land and the min
Ing acts We're among these. The rapid
disposition of liz public lands under
the early statutes and the lax meth
DDS of distribution prevailing. due. |
think. to the belief that these lands
should rapidly pass into private own
erShip. a rise to the impression
that the public domain was Legitimate
prey for the INSCRIPTIONS and that it
was not contrary to good morals to
circumvent The land la VS.. This prod
1gal manner Of disposition resulted in
the passing of large areas Of valuable
land and many of Il national re-
sources into the hands OF persons who
felt little or no responsibility for pro
noting the national welfare through
their development. The truth is that
titles to millions of acres of public
lands We're fraudulently obtained and
that the right to recover a large part
of such lands for the government long
since ceased by reason of statutes of
limitation.
Great Public Concern.
There has developed in recent years
Z deep concern in the public mind re-
speeding the preservation and proper
use of u natural resources. This has
been particularly directed toward the
conservation of the resources of the
public domain. The problem is how
to save and how to utilize. how to
conserve and still develop, for no
zane person can contend that it is for
the common good that natures bless
ings are only for unborn generations.
Among the most noteworthy reforms
Initiated by my distinguished prede-
cessor were the vigorous prosecution of
land frauds and the bringing to public
attention Of the necessity for preserv-
ing the remaining public domain from
further spOliation, for the maintenance
II extension of our forest resources
and for the enactment Of laws amend.
Ing the obsolete statutes so as to retain
governmental control over that part of
the public domain in which there are
valuable deposits of coal, OF oil and of
phosphate and, in addition thereto. TO
preserve control under conditions In.
vorable to the public of the lands along
the streams in which the fall of wafer
can be made to generate power 10 be
transmitted in the form of electricity
many miles to the point of its use.
known as "water power sites.
The Investigators into violations of
the public land laws and the pr0secu.
ton Of land frauds have been vlgor-
Ously continued under my administra-
ton. as has been the Il wal of
Goa. lands for classification and yolua-
ton and the temporary Withholding Of
power sites.
fince March 4. 1909, Temporary
withdrawals Of power sites have been
made on 102 streams, and these with
Grawals therefore cover o29 per cent
more streams than were covered nv
the withdrawals made prior to that
date.
The present statutes. except so far
as they dispose of the precious metals
md the purely agricultural lands. are
not adapted to carry out the modern
view of the best disposition of public
lands to private ownership under on
ditiOns Offering IN the one hand suff-
Client inducement to private capital to
take them owe for proper develop
ment. with restrictive conditions on
the other which shall secure to the
public that character of control which
will prevent a monopoly or misuse of