The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-01-24
BoRAH ON CONSERVATION.

In his speech to the Idaho Legislature
On Wednesday, Senator Borah very
Justly scored the Eastern idea of con
servation. That idea plainly is to halt
the development OF this Western region
at it's present stage. stop the taking nF
of further public lands, deny the use OF
water powers, and in general TO par
alyze the development Of every noun
tain and coast State. These States arc
already badly hampered by the huge
railroad and other grants, by forestry
reserves, by reservations Of coal lands
of water power sites, so that it il in
| deed difficult for the people to make
progress. All these various reserva-
tions and grants keep off from the. as
sessment roll large values that ought
to be added TO the States resources,
and should be taxed according to their
value; but as long as the Federal Gov
ernment reserves these values IL is i'm
possible to get them under assessment
or to tax, them in any form.
Senator Borab declared emphatically
against the policies of Mr.. Fisher, the
Secretary Of tho interior, and expressed
the opinion that he ought to be thrown
out of office. He also attacked the In
terror Department conservation poh-
cies on the just ground that they Yetard
the development OF the West, and if
carried to their ultimate purposes would
paralyze advancement in all this west
ern country.
The truth is that the people OF the
East do not really comprehend what
it is that they have accepted as lad.
If applied in their own regions they
would denounce the idea as an out
rageous imposition. IL it were pro.
posed, for instance, to withdraw from
the States Of New York and Pennsyl-
vania all the timber lands, to make
huge land grants of various kinds,
withdrawing large tracts from use
and taxation, 10 deny the people
the right to use water power
or to mine coal, there would be
such an outcry, such amazed fndigna-
tion and resistance, as would rouse tho
Republic and bring people TO their
senses. But the West is remote, and
1t is borne in upon the people OF the
East that they have some right in the
lands, in the water power, in the coal,
and In various Of the natural resources
of all this region. The fact that any
such right is SO shadowy as to be i'm
possible of realization is lost sight of
in the general sentiment that some
thing Is coming TO them and they want
it.
Senator Borah pleads for encourage
ment in the development OF all this
Western region, and against the ham.
pering policies that are so evil in their
effects towards restricting development
and the heading off Of progress. There
can be no question but that he Is night
il is to be hoped that he may be able
to convince President Wilson of the
enormous fallaoy that uuderlies the
Pinchot and Fisher conservation poll
cies, and which reverses the policies of
the Government from the first, aud
which, il such conservation had been
applied in the past generations, would
have preserved the whole Mississippi
valley to this time in state Of saw
agcry, and limited white settlements to
a fringe along the Atlantic. Indeed,
IL there could have been such copser-
vatiou policies applied from the very
first discovery of this country. white
people could never have obtained
lodgment at al in America
1t is to be hoped that Senator Bo-
rah and other Western men may be
able TO convince President Wilson Of
the fallacy Of all this stupid faddism.
If they can do so, there will be little
occasion to regret the overturn of pol
itics that was made by the election Of
last November