The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-11-03
HAMER AS A CANDIDATE
Boise Statesman)

/ (Boise Statesman)
IF l am returned to the congress
Of the United States, shall mako an
effort to put through legislation that
will return to the state the absolute
control Of all of the public domain
found there, taking away from some
theorists in Washington the right to
tie up thousands of acres of land on
the ground that coal or some other
mineral exists under the soil," said
Colonel Thomas R. Hamer in an
nouncing his candidacy for the lower
house OF the national legislature.
Il believe that the legislature of
this state is great deal more cap
able of handling the resources and
the public domain of this state to the
advantage of the home builder and
resident here than is the congress of
the United States, or some person
who has the conservation craze and
lives away off in Washington, he
continued. Nobody wants to let
down the bars entirely; nobody wants
to 60 into the forest and cut down
the timber without the slightest out
look for the future; nobody wants
to waste the coal lands of the state;
but there are some who have so stir
red up public opinion in the east that
we have had to make an awful fight
to get the use of our own land out
here in the west.
The public land question will be
the biggest issue in the next cam
paign. 1t is the one question that
the people of Idaho are interested in
because Idaho, more than any other
state in the union, has public do
main within her borders. There
should be some better laws separat-
ing the rights of the owner of the
surface from the rights of the man
who may afterwards want to take
coal from those lands. The govern
ment should designate just what are
coal lands so that the settler going
there would know just what to ex-
pect should the lands afterwards be
found to have the coal. But if the
government does not do this, think
that the settler is entitled to all that
he may find there.
II am not an enthusiastic conser
vationist. There are thousands of
acres in Fremont and Bear Lake
counties that have been withdrawn as
phosphate lands and there is not a
trace of phosphate on them. In
Fremont county there is plenty of
coal to supply the needs of the entire
state and yet we have to get our
coal from Wyoming and pay exorbi-
tant freight rates for the benefit of
the railroads. 1t strikes me that the
railroads are the only ones that get
any benefit from such an arrange
ment.
THE tariff may be injected into the
campaign because of the national sit
uation. 1t is like the poor-it is
always with S. think that If we
do not protect our own industries in
this state that we will be in bad
shape, and to tell the truth, l think
that any honest Democrat believes
the same thing. believe in a rea-
sonable tariff on wool in order to
protect our people here. The various
industries in this state that need pro-
lection should be given reasonable
protection by the tariff laws.
II am Taft Republican. l believe
that he has the right idea on the
trust situation and that he will make
that idea win. think that the trust
problem is big question and you
have got to go slowly. President Taft
will put his program through and he
will do the country great deal of
good. l heartily endorse his pro-
gram on this and ON the tariff ques-
ton. l believe that he and Secre-
tary Fisher are going to give the
people of the west a square deal, a
thing they have not had before.
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WHITE SLAVERY CHARGE rs