Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-09-28

Pinchot gives information which NAV
be Of interest to the voters of this
section.
The conservation of natural re-
sources has become one of the largest
| issues of our time. In the campaign
of 1912, it formed one of the chief
planks III the Democratic platform.
and was often endorsed in Mr.. Will
dress committed him fully to sup
| port it.
For these reasons it is important
to know what the Wilson Administra-
ton has done. AS one man deeply
interested in conservation and famil-
lar with the record, | am writing to
lay it briefly before you.
When he took office, Mr.. Wilson
ceased to say much on Conservation,
preferring to let the members of his
Cabinet speak for him. After his
inauguration, the friends of Conser-
walton, regardless of partisanship, Of
fered him their help in putting the
Conservation policies through. The
opportunity invited action. The fight
to save Alaska from the Guggen-
helms had created living body of
public opinion which lacked only of
fetal leadership to save what re-
sources still remained in public hands.
It seemed at first that President
| Wilson would lead.
At the outset the work Of the Will
son administration in Conservation
was good. Congress passed, and Mr..
Wilson signed, the Alaska Railroad
Bill and the bill which assured Gov
eminent control of coal lands in
| Alaska. These measures were ex-
cellent, and President Wilson deserves
praise for their enactment. So he
does for his veto of a bill to give
away National Forest lands.
Unfortunately these creditable in
stances form but little Of the record.
Politics came into control Thus a
bill seeking to turn the natural re-
sources of Alaska over to political
commission was repeatedly recon-
mended by the Administration thru
the mouth of the Secretary Of the In
terror. If passed it would have thrown
Alaska into the hands of the special
interests and established a policy al
most certain to destroy the National
control of natural resources every
where else as well. This measure we
were fortunately able to stop.
When Wilson became President, the
Reclamation Service, in it's great work
of irrigating the arid lands of the
West, was wholly free from politics.
By the mouth of his Secretary of the
Interior Wilson advocated, and later
signed, bill which leaves the choice
of lands to be reclaimed to Commit
tee of Congress, and so makes politics
dominate the Service.
Director Newell was the man who
| created the Reclamation Service. He
| made and kept it one of the most eff
| ficient Bureaus under the Government
| The Secretary of the Interior forced
him out, and replaced him by Com
mission in which politicians control.
The Newlands bill in a Conservation
measure which proposes to develop all
the resources of our inland waterways
-waterpower, navigation, irrigation,
and domestic supply,-for the public
benefit. Although Wilson strongly
endorsed it during his campaign, as
President he let it drop, and instead
has signed two waterway bills of the
old pork-barrel type, which are every
thing the Newlands bill is not
Waterpower is the most valuable
resource still in public hands. There
is undeveloped waterpower in our
navigable streams equal to twice the
power of every kind now used in the
United States. 1t is huge prize For
years the waterpower interests have
been fighting to seize it. and the Con-
servationists to save it for the people
A waterpower measure, the Adam
son Bill, came before the House in
1914. It favored monopoly, and gave
the special interests, for nothing, the
public water power on navigable
streams. Nevertheless Wilson en-
dorsed it.
On its way through the House, the
bad parts of the Adamson bill were
stricken out, and the public rights
were secured. Thereupon Wilson re-
versed his previous stand, and en-
dorsed the amended bill.
This good bill then went to the SEN
ate, where it was shelved, and the in
defensible Shields bill was reported |
in it's place. The Shields bill gives
away the public waterpowers forever |
and for nothing. Both Roosevelt and
Taft vetoed bills drawn on the same
principle. Yet, by another reversal,
the Wilson administration got behind
it, and when widely circulated pub
lie appeal was made to the President
for his help to defeat it, he refused
AS to waterpower on the public
lands, there is but one reversal in
stead of two. Wilson first, by the
e - |