The Glenwood post., 1912-04-27
CONTROL
THE ONLY SYSTEM

CONTINUED from first page)
50 All that the traffic would bearD has
been levied upon the products of such
resources and the public has been de-
prived of the benefits of competition.
Before the states can plausibly ask
the federal government to abdicate its
control of the public lands for the pur-
pose of conservation the states them
selves should give some evidence OF
willingness and ability to establish such
a policy. Considerable natural resource )
are already in the hands of states
whose governments are controlled by
those crying for state conservation.
and yet no steps whatever have been
taken toward reasonable conservation
thereof.
The opponents of federal conserva-
ton generally show an entire misunder-
standing of what conservation consists
OF by their assertion that it means
''locklng up the natural resources.
On the contrary, one of the essential
principles of federal conservation is
the use and development of all natural
resources, under such conditions as will
guard against monopoly and oppression
The forest reserve law provides for
homestead settlements, mining loca-
tions, water power development, lum
bering and grazing, roads, schools,
churches and permanent communities
within the forest reserve. On the 9TH
er hand private ownership, as already
shown, often excludes all of these
things.
State conservation of the federal do
main is impracticable, because the ma
ton cannot be induced to surrender
control of its lands to the separate
states.
State conservation as to state lands
is proper and should be encouraged as
supplementary to federal conservation
of federal lands.
The western country is vitally in
terested in conserving the forests which
protect the water sources in the noun
tains of the streams, upon which we
must depend for the irrigation of our
arid lands. This is of the most vital
Importance to all our people. 1t has
been demonstrated that we must depend
upon the federal government for such
protection, both because some of these
streams flow from other states, because
the federal government has taken up
the work of irrigation and because of
greater federal power and efficiency.
If the policy of bestowing upon the
states all of the public lands in their
borders should be adopted, especially
in states which were not even in ex-
istence as territories, much less as
states, when these lands were acquired,
then justice certainly would require
that ample corresponding compensation
should be made to the older states,
which were in existence before the ma
tion was formed, especially the state
OF virginia, for the vast domain now
including many states which that state
formerly bestowed upon the nation.
The argument is made that the east
ern states through jealous and selfish
motives have urged the establishment
of forest reserves and other conserya-
tion measures in the west. So far from
this being the case, it is absolutely re
futed by observing that these eastern
states have strenuously urged the es-
tablishment of forest reserves within
their own borders, as in the Appal,-
chan forest reserve, and have spent
millions from the state treasury as in
New York, for similar purposes, as in
in the west can now be secured without
the expenditure of dollar.