The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-08-05
TO Unlock Its Rich Unused
Resources
M FOR THE MILLIONS
TO Be Opened, Says Secretary
of The Interior-Immediate
Construction of Railroads
the First Necessity.

The government has fenced in the
forests, locked up the coal lands in
Alaska, withdrawn the w~ateI-pnwer
ntcs. sequestered the oil wells, the
phosphate beds, and the other stores |
IF national capital. This vas a splcn-
lid and necessary piece Of work.
But it was merely preliminary 20
conservation; it was not conservation |
Itself. 1t was comparatively easy to
collect this enormous wealth and
mark it reserved" But the Secre-
.ary of the Interior, Mr.. Lane, has
he really diff cul task. lie has t.
open IT up again.
Il asked him what he proposed TO
DO about this great problem says
Burton j.. Hendrick, in the August
Worlds Work.
The first thing I would like" he
said, lis a liberal appropriation from
Congress with which to buy d large
supply of scissors. They would be
useful in cutting red tape"
oh yes. the problem is a great
one Mr.. Lane continued, but it is
nothing to despair about. Everything
Is not conservation that is ~sO-called.
There are no questions involved that
cannot be solved by the application
If common sense. If 1 could get to-
gcther all the people most interested,
sit down at a table n quietly talk
things over, l am sure We would set
tie everything amicably and Satisfac-
torily to all concerned. We need to
approach all conservation matters
from the human point of view. My
great ambition is to humaniZe this
whole department. We have a de-
finite situation. The Nation has
nttc rcn snnc fill fnf IN n
In oil, in mineral deposits. in water
power sites, in forests, and in grazing
land. These lands exist out there
not primarily to be surveyed, mapped,
reported on in dreary official dOCu-
ments, and fenced in by red-tape.
They exist to be used. My interest in
them is human, not geological. They
Will serve a valuable urpOs only il
they make the people happier, more
prosperous, and COntented. We need
To develop them SO that we shall lave
room for another 100, 000, 900 people
II goes without saying that they are
not TO be monopoliZed. A monopoly
OF any kind is the most perfect in
trumen of oppression and u%nrighte.
business known, whether a monopoly
IN railroads, in manufacturing, or il
land. PROFESSIONALLY men have be
come so audacious in recent years
their im~aginations have been so in
tanned by the gigantic scale upOl
which modern industrialism is baset
that they have actually dreamed
Of concentrating the control owe
enormous areas-whole states, per
haps a territory as large as Alaska
But this is only a dream-they vii
not succeed. My mbition will be t
encourage settlement and develop
ment in the real sense of the term"
That an organized effort is now be
ing made to break down the conser
walton policy of the last sever year
Is clear. 1t crops out everyWhert
There are those in Washington VIII
are making it their business to dis
seminate information" on this grea
question. This hostility assumes esv
eral phases. The main cry is thu
the conservation n have '1ock
ed up and otherwise set aside on
national resources. Timber is rOttin
IN the forests, we are told, and lun
bermen are crying aloud for wooo
water is running to waste down OF
streams while cities are going VI
lighted and mill wheels are standin
unturned. What is the use OF pho
phate beds if we mo use the
for fertilizer? What good are Q
wells that are untapped or coal LAM
that are unmined? These Objecto
make SO much noise that the publ
IS in danger of seriously believ1I
that conservation" really meal
botuing up"
The truth is that for seven yea
the Roosevelt conServationistS ha'
been attempting to reopen the publ
omain. The opposition has con
from those who are now making SUI
a great lamentation. Bills in endle
numbers are presented to every Co
gress providing for the developme
of Alaska and all our public Ian
9ut these bills do not pass. The re
on is that they carefully safegua
ne public interest. They do n
pen the public domain to the e
ioitation that prevailed in the go
Id grab-bag days. Powerful int
SITS, in Congress and out, regular
efeat them. At present the oppO
on takes the form Of CIamOrinE