Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-01-11
CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE COM.
MlTTEE ON INTERSTATE COM.
MERGE WILL INTRODUCE MEAS.
URE AND WORK FOR 1T.
NEW MESSAGE is
EXPECTED SOON
1T is DECLARED FORTHCOMING
DOCUMENT ON CONSERVATION
WILL PLEASE MOST ARDENT
FRIENDS OF THAT POLICY

washington, d. c., Jan. 10.-Senafor
Eik1ns, chairman of the committee on
Interstate commerce, will present the
senate administration bill for the
amendment of the Interstate com
merce law. 1t will go in within the
| next day or two. The enator is known
ior MS conservatism In railroad lepis.
iatlon but he has indicated to the
| president his willingness to sunnort
this measure. Elkins considers thar
II fairly represents modern Thought
he says public opinion demands gov.
ernment regulation of railroads and
ne does not consider this objection.
able so long as it stops short of gov.
ernmental management. He thinks
the bill will be enacted into law dur
Ing the present session.
Representative Townsend intro
duced in the house this afternoon the
| Dill embodying the recommendation
OF the president for amendments ia
the interstate commerce law.
Conservation Message Coming.
The exact date of President Taft,s
conservation message has not yet lJ,,f,yti
set, 1t Is promised at an early day
Ihe message will be strongly in favor
OF conservation Of the national re.
sources. 1t will be a practical notice
| TO congress that all the LEGISLATION
which Mr.. Pinchot has urged and the
| absence OF which presented the oppor.
tunity for the abuses which Mr.. Pin.
| chot thinks have been committed by
the secretary of the interior and his
subordlnates, must be passed as soon
as practicable 1t will urge the ade.
quate protection of water power sites
within the public domain. 1t will ad.
vocate the Withholding from entry OF
the coal lands such as those whose
acquisition by the Cunningham syndi-
cate was made the pretext for the cry
OF protest from Special Agent CLAWS.
1t will also suggest further protection
for the mineral lands other than coal.
| 1t is promised that the most ardent
conservationists will find 1t hard to
| pick flaw in the presidents con
servation policy as he will express it
in the message.
! Mr.. Taft will make 1t clear that ne
has set his face against any reduction
of the forests. This preservation can
be done, as Mr.. Pinchot pointed out in
his last annual report, first, by the
perfecting of claims Initiated before
the forests were put aside, under the
public land laws not operative after
the forest proclamation, except for
claims already located; second, by the
| location and protection of new claims
| under those public land laws which ap-
| ply equally to the national forest
lands and the unreserved parts OF
public domain, and, third, by taking
up of national forest lands listed for
settlement under the forest home.
stead law of June Ii. 1906.
Pnchot Views are Taft's.
! II is proper, of course, for the
claims not contrary to the public in
te-est and Of value to the private in.
divldual, to be approved, since set
tiers within or near a forest aid in its
protection and development.
The views of Mr.. Pinchot in this
respect are those of President Taft.
| The latter will make 1T clear that he
is in entire sympathy with the vigor-
GUS prosecution of all corporations
and individuals guilty Of wrongful
land grabbing. no matter how great
| their influence or how high their sta
| ton, but he realizes that the govern
ment Is handicapped in it's develop
ment Of the policy Of conserving the
natural resources through the lack Of
effective legislation.
| The president believes the proposals
Of Secretary Ballinger provide the
best remedies for the present unsatis-
factory situation Of the public domain.
That an intelligent administration OF
this important feature of the country
may be had, the first step to take is
to classify the public lands into vari-
GUS clearly defined divisions in ac-
cordance with their principal value or
use. The legislation of the past has
classified the lands as mineral, des.
ert, timber and coal
VIII Separate Mining Rights.
Mr.. Taft will recommend, as Mr..
Ballinger did in his annual report,
that specific legislative authority be
given to the interior department to
classify and segregate the public
| lands into well defined divisions ac.