The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1911-11-16
SEEK RELIEF FOR
ALASKA PEOPLE.
MINING ON ROYALTY
BASIS is SUGGESTED
Senator Smoot Discusses With Pres.
dent Taft Bills Proposed to Be In.
troduced at Coming Session Of
Congress.

1
Washington, Nov Ex-senator
Smoot was a caller at the White
House today and he spent an hour
discussing with the President legisla.
ton that is to be brought forward at
the approaching session of Congress
One of the first things to be taken
up will be the legislation providing for
the development of the national re.
sources of Alaska
The President Is very anxious that
something shall be done in this direc.
tion," said Senator Smoot after his
visit at the White House, land | think
Alaskan legislation will be the first
thing taken up by the public lands
committee. What is desired is to give
some relief to the people of that dis.
trict and permit them to utilize the re.
sources that are lying at their very
door The coal question of course is
the most important of them. I think u
probable that temporary law will be
enacted providing for the development
OF Alaskan coal mines upon a royalty
basis until Congress has time fully to
Investigate the subject and adopt some
permanent plan.
1T is my opinion that the currency
question will be widely discussed at
this session of Congress, but I do not
think any law will be enacted. Tariff
revision will be undertaken, and II
have no doubt but the House will send
to the Senate tariff revision bills as
1t did at the extra session But IL these
radical bills do get through Congress
am sure the President will veto them,
foT while he is in favor of revising
certain schedules in accordance with
the facts shown by the reports of the |
tariff board, yet he will not acquiesce |
in such unreasonable and baseless pro- |
posals as were submitted at the extra
session."
Senator Smoot said he proposes to |
push with vigor his printing bill, intro |
tuced at the last session of Congress.
for reforms in the bureau of engray. |
ing and printing and government |
printing office which 1t is claimed will |
save the government something like |
$l,OO0,000 annually. The first of these
reforms is the substitution of power
presses for hand presses in the print.
ing of currency in the bureau of en-
craving and printing. Another is the
elimination of what Senator Smoot de.
claTes to be useless printing in the
government printing office.
My bill proposes to substitute pow
er presses for the hand presses at the
rate Of twenty per cent year. giving
five years before all power presses are
in use said the senator.
Because of the immense increase of
the work of the bureau each year. | do
not think that any workman would
lose his place. Certainly no deserving
man or woman would be left without
a place. At the end of five years. when |
the presses would be in general use,
the saving to the government would
be s655,OOO a year
In the government printing office |
useless and undesirable public docu-
ments are printed each year at big |
cost to the government. These can be
eliminated without harm to anybody. |
have in mind one of these, the Pat.
ent Office Gazette. That costs $4,000
year and nobody wants it,"
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