The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-08-18

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that. Every one understands the
status of petroleum and it need not
be dwelt upon. But not the least
| Of our natural resources are our
great waterways. The acquisition
by great corporations of Riparian
rights has resulted in SO tying up
these waterways as to render them
unnavigable, thus making them use
less as common carriers. These
rights have been granted to all con-
cerned without any compensation to
the people. All this is without ref
erence to the immense natural re-
| sources of Alaska, the value of
which staggers the imagination
| running into trillions and which the
standpatters, aided by Mr.. Browne,
desire to dispose of in the old hap
hazard way. Now the demand that
| the control of these resources be
transferred from federal control to
| the control of the states is a mere
subterfuge. 1t Is a scheme to weak
en- the hold of the people upon them
so that they may be more easily COB
bled up by the privileged interests.
Governor Hay asks if the people of
the states are not to be trusted to
safeguard these resources them
selves. The answer is no. They are
| not to be so trusted. The state of
| Washington has proven that 1t is not
| to be trusted in matters of this kind.
The revelations with reference to
the wholesale plundering of the nat
ural resources of this state by priv
| LEGGED interests, revelations that
have come to light within the past
year, abundantly prove this. The
advocates of state conservation are
not frank. Secretary Ballinger in a
recent address at Portland said:
ANY scheme of conservation of nat
ural resources which omits the ele-
ment of use can never carry the
weight of reason" We assent to
this proposition just as We assent to
similar suggestion of President
Browne. But in the PinchOt policy
of conservation, the element of use
is not omitted. Senator Beverage
has drafted and presented bill
covering this. Roughly stated, this
bill provides that title to the coal
lands of Alaska shall remain for all
time vested in the United States,
and that they shall be leased on a
royalty basis for periods not exceed
ing thirty years to those who wish
to operate them. In principle the
bill is unassailable, but it does not
go far enough in the interest of the
people, Notwithstanding President
Brownies opinion to the contrary.
1t should contain some provision that
will render impossible the monopo-
lization of coal lands under these
leases. The backbone of coal mon
opoly in this country is our system
of permitting private individuals and
corporations to acquire the owner
ship of vast bodies of coal lands,
and to hold them out of use. All
the great corporations hold out OF
use much more land than they work,
thus enabling them to limit the sup
ply of their products and levy an ar
bitrary price upon the consumer. 1t
is this, together with monopoly OF
other natural resources, that pre-
vents the growth of such cities as
Mr.. Browne has in mind. And a
slightly wider knowledge of politi-
cal economy would make this clear
to him. 1t does not strengthen Pres
ident Brownies case any to remind
us that our natural resources in the
East are in private hands and have
been from the beginning. We are
beginning to realize that fact only
too well. 1t is because of this that
PENNSYLVANIA has been transformed
into a graft-ridden slave pen, and
that Andrew Carnegie has private
income of $2S minute. The main
point to be kept steadily in mind in
this controversy is that natural re-
sources belong to all of the people
and that any policy which permits
their monopolization by few of the
people is a crime against the people.
This question has been elevated to
the realm of ethics and it will new
er be settled until it is settler right.
| PETER MGILL.
Wenatchee, Aug. IS, 1910.
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