The daily sentinel., 1914-02-19
.SHACkLEFORD
TO GIVE
MONEY
Heating Shows How State viii
Benefit From New Good
Roads Measure.
(By EDWARD KEATING,)
Congressman at Large from Col
oradO.)

of s25,000,000 from the federal
treasury. The money will be dis
tributed among the states in proper
tion to their population and the num-
Der of miles of rural free delivery
and star routes within their borders.
Colorado's share will be about $780,
600. and as the state must contribute
dollar for dollar that means that Tom
Ehrhart and Tom lyman will have
at least $4,000 a year to improve
the states highways.
l tried to tack on an amendment
giving each of the public. states one
million acres of the public domain to
be sold at public auction and the pro-
ceeds turned over to the road fund.
Just as | thought | lad persuaded
my fellow members of the roads COM
mittee that this was a good scheme.
some one made a point OF order that
the committee on public lands had
exclusive jurisdiction over all ques-
tons affecting the public domain. and
the chairman sustained the conten-
ton. thus knocking out my amend
ment. 1t was a close decision but
one must be good loser In this con-
gressional game, so | endeavored to
look happy and offered an amend
ment which had been agreed upon
by certain western members and
which took approximately one mill
non dollars from the allotments of
the more populos states OF the east
and north and distributed II among
the western states.
The committee finally agreed that
might offer this amendment on the
floor of the house. | did SO and 1t
was carried by an almost unanimous
vote. Under 1t Colorado's allowance
is increased about $50. 900 year and
all the other western states Will
benefit. The sentiment for the bill
was so strong that this was the only
amendment of Importance which
mustered a majority. OF course. we
will not abandon the fight for
grant of land for road purposes. We
may succeed In inserting that feature
in the senate, and II so, l am conf
dent we can secure the concurrence
of the house.
So long as Uncle Sam insists on
retaining title to half the area of the
western commonwealths he should be
willing to contribute his share of the
cost of constructing roads.
Lanes Radium Bill.
Some weeks ago | yentured the
opinion in one of these letters that
Colorado had nothing to fear from
Secretary Lanes suggestion that the
national government should go into
the business of extracting radium
from carnotite ores and selling it to
American hospitals. This view is
| fully sustained by the bill dealing
with this subject introduced by Con-
gresham Foster of Illinois and which
1t is understood was prepared by the
secretary.
1t is a measure to encourage min
ing. not to hamper 1t. 1t provides that
the carnotite lands shall remain open
to the prospector. He may file upon
them Just as he does now, subject to
two conditions: HE MUST DEVEL-
OPP HIS CLAIM AND HE MUST
SELL HIS ORE TO THE GOVERN
MENT AT A PRICE TO BE FIXED
BY THE SECRETARY OF THE IN
| TERROR. The government binds
itself to erect a plant or plants to
handle the ore and agrees to an
nounce in advance the price it will
pay the miner for his ore.
The critics of the Lane plan made
much of this latter provision. l
would ask these gentlemen. who
now fixes the price for which the Col
orado miner must part with his la
bor?" Is 1t the miner or the smelter
trust?
That question is easily answered by
anyone familiar with conditions in
the western mining country. The
smelter trust has the miner by the
throat in every camp and his only
hope of relief lies in rigid regulation
of the smelters by the state or in
government ownership of the reduc-
ton plants.
II is true that the trust has not
seen fit to reach out for carnotite
ores. but it would experience little or
no difficulty in doing so.
If were mining carnotie l would
rather take my chances with Uncle
Sam than with the smelter trust or
the radium trust The miner need
not fear that his interests will SUI
fer. In the first place. l believe he
may count on Secretary Lane giving
him a square deal. because the sole
purpose of the secretary is to get the
largest quantity of radium in the
shortest possible time, and he has
sense enough to know that fair
price will stimulate production while
an unfair price will retard produc-
ton. In addition to this. every
western state has two representatives
| in the United States senate ana many
Representatives In the house and ey-
cry one of these men would be ready
and willing to do battle for the west
ern porspector.
| | am unalterably opposed to that
brand of conservation which locks
up our national resources and pre-
vents settlers making home on the
public domain That's the policy
! which made the term "PinchotisniP
lodious to western ears. welcome
the policy Of Lane which frees the
miner from the grip of the combine
controlling the treatment process and
assures him certain market and a
fair price for his ore.
would suggest that before our
commercial organizations or mining
associations adopt any more resolu-
lions ION this subject they procure