The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1910-01-21

Washington.-The president trans
mitted to congress a special message
on the subject of the conservation Of
the nations natural In
substance it was as follows:
To the Senate and House of Representa-
tives:
In my annual message I reserved the
subject of the conservation of our ma
tional resources for disposition in a spe-
cial message, as follows:
In several departments there is pre-
sented the necessity for legislation look
Ing to the further conservation of our
national resoui ces, and the subject is one
of such Importance as to require a more
detailed and extended discussion than
can be entered upon in this c~ommunlca-
ton. For that reason l shall take an
early opportunity to send a special mes
sage to congress on the subject of the
Improvement of our waterways; upon the
and irrigation of arid, semi
arid and swamp lands; upon the preser-
walton of our forests and the re-foresting
of suitable areas; upon the re-classifica-
ton of the public domain with a view of
separating from agricultural settlement
mineral. coal and phosphate lands and
sites belonging to the government bor-
dering on streams suitable for the utili-
cation of water power.
IN lcoO we ndQ Il puDllC DOMAIN OF l,uoo,-
s11, 2S acres. We have now 731 ,354, 0S1
acres, confined largely to the mountain
ranges and the arid and semi-arid plains.
We have. in addition. 36S, OBS, 975 acres of
land in Alaska.
Disbursement of Public Lands.
The public lands were, during the earli-
est administrations. treated as a national
asset for the liquidation of the public
debt and as a source of reward for our
| qO1dierC and sailors Toter on fbau tt-aro
donated in large amounts in aid of the
construction of WACO roads and rail-
ways, in order to open up regions in the
west then almost inaccessible. All the
principal land statutes were enacted more
h a quarter of a century ago. The
b~er-culture act. the coal and and the
mining acts were among these.
Fraudulent Titles.
The truth is that title to millions of
acres of public lands was f~raudulently
obtained and that the right to recover a
large part of such lands for the govern
ment long since ceased by reason of stat
utes of limitations. There has developed
in recent years a deep concern in the
public mind respecting the preservation
and proper use of our natural resources
This has been particularly directed
toward the conservation of the resources
of the public domain. A vast amount OF
discussion has appeared in the public
prints in generalized form on this sub.
ject, but there has been little practical
suggestion. It has been easy to say thai
the natural resources in fuel supply, ir
forests, In water power, and in other
public utilities, must be saved from
waste, monopoly, and other abuses, an
the general public is in accord with this
proposition, as they are with mos
truisms. The problem, however, is how
to save and how to utilize, how to con
- -AtyI
son can contend that 1t is for the com
mon good that natures blessings ar,
only for unborn generations.
Noteworthy Reforms.
Among the most noteworthy reforml
Initiated by my distinguished predecessor
were the vigorous prosecution of lant
fraud n the bringing to public atten
ton of the necessity for preserving tn,
remaining public domain from furthe
spoliation, for the maintenance and ex
| tension of our forest resources, and 70
the enactment of laws amending the OBJ
so,ete statutes SO as to retain govern
! mental control over that part of the pub
, Nc domain in which there are valuabl
deposits of coal, of oil, and of phosphate
-, and. in addition thereto, to preserve con
troll. under conditions favorable to tn
public, Of the lands along the streams 4
which the fall of water can be made I
generate power to be transmitted in tn
form OF electrlclty many miles 10 Tn
point Of its use, known as water power
;. sites.
= The present statutes. except SO ia
as they dispose of the precious metal
! and the purely agricultural lands, ar
not adapted to carry out the moder
view of the best disposition of publ
: lands to private ownership, under cor
s ditions Offering on the one hand sun
cient inducement to private capital I
> take them over for proper develop
ment, with restrictive conditions o
3 the other which shall secure to tn
public that character of control whic
will prevent a monopoly or misuse {
Il the lands or their products. The pow
q of the secretary of the interior to will
. draw from the operation of existin
o statutes tracts of land, the dispositio
of which under such statutes woul
q be detrimental to the public interest
= Is not clear or satisfactory. This pow,
has been exercised in the interest
!, the public, with the hope that congre.
> might affirm the action of the exec;
$ tive by laws adapted to the new cond
lions. Unfortunately, has NJ