Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-07

which they cause, the material loss
each wear has been calculated at
nearly twice what it costs to run the
federal government. In addition to
the state and city health officers and
organizations there is urgently needed
a federal bureau of health, to act so
far as the national government prop
erly may, to relieve our people from
this dreadful burden
"One of the most important conser-
walton questions of the moment relates
to the control of water power monop-
oily in the public interest. There Is
apparent to the judicious observer a
distinct tendency on the part of our
opponents to cloud the issue by rails
ing the question of state as against
federal jurisdiction We are ready TO
meet that issue If it is forced upon
us But there is no hope for the plain
people in such conflicts of jurisdiction:
The essential question is not one OF
hair-splitting legal technicalities. 1t
is simply this: Who cas- best regu-
late the special interests for the pub
lie good? Most of the predatory cor
porations are interstate or have inter-
state affiliations. Therefore they are
largely out of reach of effective state
control. and fall of necessity within
the federal jurisdiction. One OF the
nrime objects of those among them
lldI are BIdSDillb anu - NNN5 -
avoid any effective control either by
state or nation; and they advocate at
this time state control simply because
they believe it to be the least eftec-
tive. In the great fight of the peo-
ple to drive the special interests from
the dominion of our government the
nation Is stronger and its jurisdiction
is more effective than that of any
state. The most effective weapon
against these great corporations, most
of which are financed and owned on
the Atlantic coast, will be federal law
and the federal executive. That IS
why | so strongly oppose the demand
to turn these matters over TO the
states. 1t is fundamentally demand
against the interest of the PLAIN people,
of the people of small means, against
the interest of our children and our
children's children; and it is primarily
in the interest of the great corpora
tions which desire to escape all gov
ernment control
CONSERVATION FIGHT
'One of the difficulties in putting
into practice the conservation idea is
that the field to which it applies is
constantly growing in the public MIND
It has been no slight task to bring be-
fore 1OO,O0OOOO people a great concep-
tion like that of conservation and con-
vince them that it is right. This much
we have accomplished. But there re-
mains much to be cleared up and many
misunderstanding to be removed
These Misunderstanding are due Ill
Dart at least to direct mlsrepresenla-
lion nv the men to whose interest 1t IS
that conservation should not prosper;
For example, we find 1t constantly sdlu
by men who should know better that
tamporary Withdrawals, such as the
withdrawals of coal lands, will per-
manently check development. Yet the
fact is that these Withdrawals nave no
purpose except to prevent the coal
lands from passing into private owner
ship until congress can pass laws TO
open them TO development under con-
dItions lust alike to the public and TO
the men who will do the developing.
If there is delay the responsibility Tor
it rests, not on the men who made the
Withdrawals to protect the pubic IN
terest, but on those who prevent con-
gress from passing wise legislation,
| and so putting an end to the need Ior
Withdrawals.
abuses committed in the name of
lust cause are familiar to all of us.
| Many unWise things are done and many
| unWise measures are advocated in the
name of conservation, either through
ignorance or by Those whose interest
lies, not in promoting the movement,
but in retarding 1t. For example, to
stop water power development by need
less refusal to issue permits for water
power or private irrigation works on
the public lands inevitably leads many
men, friendly TO conservation and be
levers in its general principles, to as
sumo that it's practical application is
necessarily a check upon progress.
Nothing could be more mistaken. The
idea. widely circulated Of late, that
conservation means locking up the
natural resources for the exclusive use
Of later generations is wholly mis-
taken. our purpose is to make fun
use of these resources, but to consider