Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-03-15
coNoREss GIVES BUT SLIGHT
ENCOURAGEMENT TO ADMIN
IsTRATloN MEASURES.
PROPOSED LEGISLATION BEING
HELD UP IN COMMITTEES
Opposition Develops to Plan Of Fed
eraI Royalties on Mineral Leases -
Little Headway Being Made With
Taft Observation-Disclosures Row to
Be Expensive to Republican Party

I
Taft has thus far made little headway
with his conservation legislative pro-
| gram, and it looks doubtful if he can
secure anything Of great moment a,
this session. Several members Of con-
gress who have always regarded them
selves as good conservationists are al
ready in the deepest perp1exity over
/ the administration measures. They face
! the fact that conservation in theory is
quite another thing from conservation
| IN practice. If men who assert they
are conservationists can not reduce the
| theory to practice. what will happen to
any conservation legislation when Hep
burn. of Idaho, and other ants get a
crack at it?
A western senator has made the esti-
mate that the Ballinger-Pinchoti nyes-
tisation may cost the republican party
100000 votes next November. The rea-
son Tor this, he says, is that the people
| themselves are deciding the case, and
Will not pay attention to anything the
committee of investigation will say
AS to conservation legislation, the
burden falls doubly hard on the presi-
dent. Mr.. Roosevelt has been freely
quoted as saying that this was the
most important of my policies And
yet the Roosevelt administration did
not see the development of the details
Of conservation as it is now being pre-
sented to congress. The last year or
two OF the Roosevelt administration
was spent in arousing sentiment for
the general principle of conservation.
The details were held in allegiance until
hearty public sentiment had been
aroused. And so 1t has been left for
the Taft administration to try to re-
duce to legislation the general senti-
ment which had previously been
aroused. Only in the past few months
have the conservation organizations
themselves begun to devote their at
tention to details.
Bills Approved by Taft.
The administration entered upon its
task by sending definite bills to con-
gress, and by asking for their passage.
These bills were drawn by Secretary
Baliinger and approved by the presi-
dent. Unquestionably. the administra-
ton supposed that these bills repre-
scented the views of the Pinchot con-
serva tionists.
In congress the field had been badly
prepared for conservation legislation.
Eastern members had had no interest
in that question. BY them no glory
could be gained by membership on
the public lands committees OF the two
houses. But those same committee
places were prizes among western mem-
bers. who gained power thru aiding
their own constituents. 1t thus hap
pens that the conservation measures
rest in committees controlled by wes-
terners. Some of these western gentle
men regard themselves as real con-
That is particularly the
case Of Senators Smoot of Utah. Dixon
of Montana and Cham beriain of Ore
gon. members of senate subcommittee
which now has charge of conservation
But when it comes to the
application of this doctrine to their
own states, they get into trouble.
Against Mineral Land Leases.
The one sure thing is that the senate
will not report favorably
upon the plan of having the govern
ment lease its mineral lands and col
lect royalties on the minerals removed.
Probably no such proposition as this
can get anywhere near a majority OF
votes in congress. The westerners,
even those commonly known as con-
say that whatever was
paid to the federal government in the
form of royalties would certainly be
a dded to the price charged the con-
sumner. They are opposed to that. and
they do not want federal inspectors |
overseeing all the mining operations in |
their states.
With waterpower the situation is |