The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-06-21
ReIona Cd the West


right in theory but that in practice
1t was utterly untrue.
Belong to the West
"Our power sites do not in any
sense of the term belong to the peo-
pie Of New England or New York
continued the senator, "They are TO
be utilized by those who make them
selves citizens of the state and join
with others in trying to build up a
commonwealth" He argued that it
never had been the theory of the gov
eminent that these resources should
be utilized as revenue producing
proposition but that they were for the
benefit of all the people. But" he
said, "the people must come within
the state in order to avail themselves
of the use and BENEFITS
Mr.. Borah said congress could not
promote conservation by treating pow
er sites, which to utilize was to con-
serve, as it did coal beds, which to
utilize was to consume. AS to unde-
veloped natural resources he said that
after congress had adopted laws to
prevent waste, extravaganza and mon
opoly so as to insure their economic
and bona ,fide use by the people, it
was about as far as the United States
government could go. He added that
as to timber there always, should be
the encouraging and aid of refores-
tration as that was something that
could be produced.
Every water power site unused,
locked UP in idleness and inactivity
when there are communities to serve,
is a subtraction from the sum of hui
man happiness and prosperity" he
continued. Every piece of land
which will produce the necessities of
life dedicated by law to nonuse, in
corporated in a reserve and denied to
settlement, is an extra burden. upon
every man who buys the necessities
of life. Every year in which thou
sands of feet of rfpened lumber are
permitted to rot and fall in reserves
you are stealing something from
the human race that belongs to it, and
every year the great coal beds of the
Pacific slope go undeveloped 1t costs
this government it's extra millions to
send coal around to the Pacific, bur-
dcns every citizen in that part of the
country with exhorbitant freight charg-
es, and puts extra millions into the
hands of the eastern coal companies
who are delighted to see this go on"
Economic Use.
Economic use and development
should be the basic and fundamental
principle Of any conservation policy
agreed upon or Incorporated into law,
said Senator Rorah.
These resources are not to lie idle,
imprisoned and unuseable." he argued.
IF you join with us in that PROPOSE
ton, we will gladly join you in for
mulating a policy of regulation and
control which will avoid waste, ex-
travagance and monopoly as far as
possible. But upon a policy of non
use, of strangulation of the great west,
we stop at first call for legislation. If
strangulationis to be had, 1t will first
be tried upon some OF the measure
in this body.
I'VE have reached, 1t seems, that
pitiable indefensible position, accord
ing to those who would tie up our
resources, where we are willing to
confess before the world that we are
inefficient, as administrators worth
less, and that our citizenship is so
corrupt that we can no longer do
business, but out of sheer impotency.
must shut up shop. I denounce such
q theory as a libel upon our citizen
ship, manufactured and weH-dis-
tributed libel upon the west. and for
Interior and selfish motives
Western People Capable.
Senator Borah declared that any leg
islation upon the subject of conserva-
ton must be upon the basis that west
ern citizenship was honest, law-abiding
and intelligent; that western people
appreciated by the value of their re-
sources and proposed to protect them;
and that they were loyal to their states
and to the nation as g. whole.
THAT conservation policy which
teaches the farmer the science of farm
ing, how to vary his crops, protect
them from insects and his stock from
disease, how to make 35 bushels of
wheat grow where only 90 grew before,
which reforests those timber lands
which will produce nothing but tim
Der. which. will adopt policy of regu-
1ation and control admitting of use
and development everywhere, is a true
conservation policy" he asserted. "But
the policy which withholds the agri-
cultural land from production and him
ders Industrial life, which forces the
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