Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1910-01-20
ON CONSERVATION
Message Transmitted to Con-
grasS by President Taft
PLEA FOR SCIENTIFIC FARMING
Urges Better Treatment Of Soil
to Assure Larger Crops.

Washington, Jan. 15.-Complication
brought about by the Pinchot. Ballinger
affair are ignored by President Taft
In the special conservation message
which he submitted to congress.
The president urges that congress
proceed Immediately to dispose of the
Taft-Bailinger conservation programme
without awaiting the outcome of the
congressional investigation OF the Bal
hnger-Pinchot dispute.
In plea for better treatment Of the
SOIL so as to assure larger crops and
lasting productivity, the president
places scientific farming at the head Of
the list OF conservation aids.
The president recommends legisla-
ton providing for the conservation OF
the public lands; the safeguarding OF
power sites along rivers In the public
domain; the validating of the with
drawals from entry made by the sec
rotary of the interior or under the dis
puted supervisory power" detailed
ing to their use; the disposition of the
agricultural and mineral resources of
the same portions of the public lands
separately. the rapid completion OF
| the reclamation projects now under
| way and a S30,000.000 bond issue to
! finish and extend these projects; the
extension of the activities of the for
/ ri he stav ...,f ~
an extensive programme OF inland wa
terway improvement.
All of these matters, with the ex
| ception OF the forest and inland water
ways recommendations the president
says, have been embodied in a series
of bills prepared by Secretary of the
| Interior Ballinger. The bills are now
awaiting Introduction in congress.
In considering the general question
Of public land, the president says:
Public Domain Depleted.
"In 1860 we had public domain OF
LOSS, 911,2SS acres We now have 49,
354,OS1 acres, confined largely to the
mountain ranges and the arid and
semi-arid plains. We have, in addL
ton, 36s,035,475 acres OF land in
Alaska.
1.-The principal land statutes were
enacted more than quarter of cen
fury ago. The homestead act, the pre-
emption and timber culture act, the
coal land and the mining acts were
among these. The rapid disposition
of the public lands under the early
statutes, and the lax methods of dis
tribution prevailing, due, ! think, to
the belief that these lands should
rapidly pass into private ownership,
gave rise to the impression that the
public domain was legitimate property
for the INSCRIPTIONS and that 1t was
not contrary to good morals to cir
cumvent the land laws. This prodigaI
manner OF disposition resulted in the
passage of large areas of VARIABLE land
and many Of our national resources in
to the hands OF persons who felt little
or no responsibility for promoting the
national welfare through their develop
ment
"The truth is that title to millions
of acres or public lands was fraud.
ulently obtained, and that the right
to recover large part OF such lands
for the government long since ceased
by reason of statutes OF limitation"
A significant statement in the mes
sage is: Since March 4. 1909, TEN
porary Withdrawals OF power sites
have b TN made on 102 streams, and
these Withdrawals, therefore cover 22s
per cent more streams than were GOV.
cred by the Withdrawals made prior to
that date"