The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-02-12

He N forth In what he calls %,
spirit Of constructive criticism" Of min,
bills relating to the conservation OF
natural There 10 IN orsani
ration independent Of the government
known as the Irrational conservation
association" TO which Mr.. Pinehot ba.
recently been elected president, and
u 10 from this chair that he 10 talking
Mr.. Pinchot calls upon the members
Of the association to put forth strong
efforts to have enacted into law the bill
on the withdrawal Of public lands which
has been reported In amended form from
the committee by Senator Nelson, fol.
lowing conferences between the commit.
Tee and officers Of tho conservation as.
ISOLATION. This bill, Mr.. Pinehot thin ks
should have the unqualified support
Of the members Of the association"
OF the other eight bills, he believes
that some merely require amendment,
while others must be reeas,. The coal
bill and the phosphate, oil, ssphaltum
and natural gas bill, he reports, are
fundamentally sound In principle, but
need some amendment.
They wisely separate, he said, the
surface Of the land from the underly.
ing minerals and provide for the dis.
posal Of the minerals by lease and not
by sale.
"But the coal bill," he asserted,
contains no sueacieIt a~nti.monopoly
clause. The clause that purposes to
regulate rates to be charged the public
Is so framed that IL may be svaded
with sase.'
Another clause Of the bills, he said,
may reduce the standard Of mining
to the wasteful level Of the prevailing
comsreial practice"
In regard to the bill for survey Of
railroad land grants he expresses the
opinion that 1t will enable the railroads
properly TO perfect titles to their lands,
but II overlooks the long pending un.
Outstanding between certain Of the
roads and the forest service for the 70.
turn Of railroad lands within the nation.
al forests TO tho United States In 70.
turn for the rignt 10 cut in one body
In amount Of timber equal TO that on
the lands returned"
This understanding, he says, requires
only legislation to make IL effective.
: Speaking Of the water power bill
Mr.. Piuehot declared that sit repeats
in silence the existing water power Law
and eurtails the already ample power
now exercised, with the approval OF
the former attorney general "'by the
department Of agriculture"
The provision Of the bill for eompen.
sation to the government by the com.
panies he holds is good.
Water power sites should be protect
cd from private appropriation under the
land laws, he says, and II should BE-
made possible to issue the eompanie.
permits gooa for, and definitely termin.
ating at the end Of atty years.
The Iault found by Mr.. Pinchot with
the reclamation bill 10 that IL opens 70
claimed lands to absentee landlords and
speculators.
A bad feature Of the bill, for the sal,
Of timber and timber lands, he declares
Is tina. II replaces the Objectionable fea
lures Of the timber and stone act, which
was the inducement to speculation In
government timber with provisions thai
promote speculation and retard the de
velopment Of agricultural and mineral
lands far more than did the act II 70
peals.
In failing to separate the surface
from tho underlying minerals, the bill
for the classification Of public lands
Is Inconsistent with the coal bill, h,
finds.
THE withdrawal bill, as amended
and reported by Senator Nelson, make,
easy says Mr.. Pinchot, "the protec
tion Of all natural resources on the pub
lie domain until good laws can be pass
cd"
The whole influence Of the conserva
tion association, hs deei.. es, should b,
thrown behind the bill.