The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-08-27
ST. PAUL CONSERVATION CONGRESS PROMISES TO BE
MOST IMPORTANT GATHERING OF REGENT YEAR;
Continued from Page One.

Continued from Page One.
should be given an hour to place
Washington's position before the con-
gress. He was told that President
Taft and Colonel Roosevelt We're the
only speakers who would have that
much time and that Washington
would have to be content with the
same time allotted to other states.
Then Governor Hay called meeting
of western governors to be held in
Salt Lake City. A delegation con-
sisting of Frank B. Kellogg, trust
buster" for Roosevelt, Ralph Wheelock,
private secretary to Gov, Eberhart
of Minnesota, and ]. H. Beck, repre-
senting the local board of managers
for the congress and Reuben Warner,
representing st. Paul and Minneapolis
business interests, was sent to the Salt
Lake City meeting They gave the
western governors assurance that they
would be properly treated and the re-
suit was that all of the western states
will have delegations in the congress
though some of the governors will not
be present because of other engage
ments.
states Rights QUESTION
1t is the Cd question of states rights
that is likely to make the greatest
trouble. The Washington delegation is
coming to st. Paul divided against it,
self. One of the delegates appointed
by the mayor of Spokane declares he
and others favor conservation of re-
H.
gate says he wants the resources con-
served by the government, so it may
readily be seen what the chances are
for fight on this question.
. Reed Smoot, senator from Utah, is
author of senate bill No 1892, authoriz-
ing ''the president to withdraw from
all forms of settlement, entry or dis
position, any lands which are or may
become chiefly valuable for the devel-
opment of water power, and providing
for the acquisition by any state or
territory, under certain conditions, Of
any lands so Withdrawn and for other
purposes"
This bill is regarded as containing
the cream Of the state rights PROPOSE
4tion so far as the relation of federal
and state governments to the control
of water power and power sites is con-
cerned. The resolutions adopted bysehe
northwestern governors declare openly
for such measures
That President Taft will support this
proposition is regarded as probable in
the light of a previous utterance cred
tied to him. At ST. Louis, in his speech
May 4, the present defended the Smoot
bill before a meeting of the Farmers
union, He then said:
las concerns congress at this time
conservation resolves itself at once into
the necessity of passing the bill, which
will give to the executive unquestioned
authority to withdraw land for power
sites and other purposes With this
power in the hands OF the president of
the United States we can sit comfort
ably by and discuss and devise the best
means Of disposing of the great public
domain to the benefit of present and
future generations"
1t is pointed out that Roosevelt has
at all times maintained a position di-
rectly antagonistic to the provisions of
the Smoot measure. AS opposed to the
states rights" theory the Roosevelt
idea is generally known to be the ma.
AA0hdA NgliSCINdtlOAt pEOpOSlllOny III
which the federal government shall i'm
dertake the work of conservation when
the projects considered are of national
scope. The states may act in matters
pertaining only to their interests.
During the progress of the first
White House conference OF governors,
Colonel Roosevelt. then president, in
reply to the speech of William Jen-
nings Bryan, arose and said:
In matters that relate only to the
people within a state Of course the
state is to be sovereign and should
have the power to act If the matter
is such that the state itself cannot act
then wish on behalf of the state that
the national government should act"
There is no indication that Roosevelt
has changed his mind since that time
and there is no assurance that Presi-
dent Taft believes differently from the
opinion he expressed In his ST. Louis
address. Consequently the states"
rights question is very. likely to be the