Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-16

, navigation All of them depend to
some degree upon protection and aid
of some kind and from some source for
one or more Sof these uses. Increas-
ingiy that source tends to be the Ma
ton and not the states. sd1SHiETlU
Some of the individual states are
developing effective policies of water
| conservation but it is the federal gov
eminent after all which is called upon
| to make the chief expenditures for the
development of navigation and for the
protection of the forest cover around
the sources and along the watersheds
| of both navigahle and non-navigable
streams.
| The Secretary emphasizes the rec
ornmendation made in his annual re-
port last year for the need of a COM
prehensive land classification and of
administration based thereon. The ex-
| listing statutes, he says, attempt to
recognize in a very general and inef-
| fective way the fundamental differen-
| ces between the different classes of ag-
ricultural lands still remaining in the
| public domain. The present system is
not flexible enough to recognize the
differences, he declares; and greater
difficulties are found in the present
laws or lack of laws with regard to
other parts of the public domain, es-
pecially our timber lands, our grazing
lands. our water-power and reservoir
sites and our lands containing coal,
oil, gas, asphalt, potash, nitrates and
phosphates.
Secretary Fisher recommends the
adoption of active legislation with re-
spect to waterpower development and
the control and the comprehensive APP
plication of the leading system to the
development of our public coal, oil.
gas, asphalt, nitrate, potash and phos
phate lands, With appropriate provis-
ion for the protection of prospectors
dhring a reasonable exploration period
preliminary to the leasing of the
land" He points to the fact that in
the Appalachian Mountains the Ma
tional Forest Reservation Commission
is now buying lands upon which
timber can be raised but not good for
agricultural purposes, for conserving
the waters at the heads of navigable
streams
ut is inexcusable,' he declares, ito
permit public lands of this character
to be acquired now by private inter-
ests, when we are spending pubic
moneys to buy just such lands else
where and may have to repurchase in
the future she very lands from which
the government is now parting. There
are public lands in the West in a
similar situation to those now being
bought in the East, he adds. and these
should be retained by the govern
ment in order that the streams whose
hcadwaters they protect may be made
as useful as possible. l am informed
that there exist areas of public lands
a. the headwaters of streams in the
West, and particularly in the arid
Southwest, which should be withdrawn
from entry Because if their acquisition
by private interest is permitted the
usual destructive effects will follow.
II is not proposed to include lands
whose value Cor other purposes is
greater than their value TO the COM
munity for stream protection.
AS TO homestead law legislation, the
Secretary says he is still of the same
opinion, in spite of a somewhat diff
ferent law passed last June, that the
homestead settler should be excused
from the necessity of residing upon his
land during the first two years after
entry. provided he substituted for res
idence during that period the improve
ment and cultivation of a substantial
portion of the ground" The law
passed, he says. is being administered
to encourage as much as possible the
bona fide settler
The whole development of Alaska, he
reports, is waiting largely upon lhe
passage of suitable legislation for the
development of its transportation ia
cilties and of it's coal lands.
As 70 the Reclamation Service, he
says the problems confronting that
Bureau are rapidly becoming those of |
administration rather than engineer |
ing. Financial and technical questions |
of building shrink into insignificaEce |
compared with the more difficult hui
man problem of dealing with thous-
ands Of settlers and Nf inducing them
10 take action along lines which viii
lead to their greatest individual sue
cess"