East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-08-25
SENATOR chamberlain TAKES
A RAP AT THE OPPONENTS OF
ACT TO GOVERN WATER SITES

PORTLAND, Ore, Aug. 25.-"It
will generally be found that the same
elements which in time past have op-
posed the withdrawal OF public lands
for forestry and other purposes, are
arrayed against any efficient re-
strictlve or regulative legislation as
affecting water power sites or the de-
velopment of hydro-electric energy"
declared United States Sen. Cham
berlain in his address before the Joint
sessions of the Oregon and Washing
ton Bar associations.
Senator Chamberlain address was
both an indictment of the interests
that have exploited the public domain
for their own interests in the name
Of development and an argument In
favor OF the water power leasing bill
now before congress.
In beginning he called attention to
improvldence Of congress and the
states in relinquishing public lands
and natural resources without any ef-
fort to secure adequate return for
the public.
ut might be interesting to discuss
In detail legislation which has been
enacted from time to time affecting
the public domain" said he, "and to
show therefrom how improvident con-
gress has been in the disposition
thereof, but can only touch upon the
subject.
"Not only has this improvidence
characterized congressional action but
IL has characterized state legislation
as well, and lands granted by the gem
eral government to the several states
for educational and other public pur-
poses have been recklessly disposed
Of and at wholly inadequate prices, to
the detriment OF the people Of these
states. Each legislation which had
for its purpose the bona fide settle
ment and disposition Of the public do
main has in many instances by ad-
mnistratlve laxity been used to trans.
fer title from the government to cor
porations to timber barons, and to
others, placing 1t beyond the reach
either Of regulation or the general
welfare.
Laws Have Been Abused.
THE homestead and pre-emption
laws have been availed Of time with
out number, for the fraudulent ac-'
quirement of public lands; and the
timber and stone act, passed in 1873
ostensibly to enable the homesteader
and other settlers an opportunity to
acquire timber and stone, has been
more generally abused than all other
legislation combined, and soon be-
came an instrument for perpetrating
the most gigantic frauds against the
government
In the short period Of 80 years
after its enactment over 12500,000
acres were acquired under It, and the
smaller part of this immense acreage
was obtained by the original locators
for their own use, but by far the
larger part was fraudulently acquired
by timber syndicates and monopolis-
tic combinations for the valuable tim
Der growing thereon.
In this state alone, 1850, ,905.45
acres, in the state of Washington, O.
70,563SS acres, and in the state of
California 2.71IO1O,13 acres were ac-
luired under this act"
Wagon Road Grant Discussed.
Senator Chamberlain discussed the
wagon road land grants to interests
that never built the roads and the
grants to railroads of great tracts
which were withheld from settle |
ment or sale or sold at prices or in
quantities violative of the terms of
the original grants.
From 1850 to June so, 1909, 159,
acres were granted to aid
in railroad construction, most of
which has been patented to the gran
tees: while S,2292SO,41 acres were
granted in aid Of military wagon
road construction. most of it having
been heretofore patented to the gran
tees.
The immensity of these grants
can be better understood when 1t Isl
that they equal in area
the states of Maine, New Hampshire, |
Vermont, Massachusetts,, Rhode Is
land, Connecticut, New Jersey Della
ware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, VIZ
yinia and West Virginia
Development at Great Cost.
1T may be insisted and 1t is prob
ably true, that the granting of these
lands has hastened the development
Of the western country, but at what
A sacrificed
Il venture to say that with the
which the past years have
brought to us, if our governmental
life had to be lived over again not an
acre of these lands would have been
so improvidently disposed Of, but the
itself would have under
taken the work of wagon road ana
railroad construction through its own
and would have
sold the land and utilized the pro-
ceeds with an immense saving, and
in fact, with a profit to the people
Of the whole country.
There have sometimes been at
tached stlpulauons to these grants,
requiring sale to actual settlers at
fixed prices and in limited quantities,
but these conditions have in most
cases been entirely ignored by the
grantees, and in this state suit in
stituted to forfeit a railrad grant be-
cause of the violation of similar sti-
pulation has recently been determ-
Ined by the supreme court Of the
United States, and the decision of the