Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-24
Selected by Tavenner

! for so years. really. on account or the
impracticable provisions Tor the re-
capture" of the property and the PREF
erence rights which it gives TO the
grantee for renewal, makes the lease
either indeterminate or perpetual.
In a report to it's membership on
this vicious bill, the National Conser-
walton association said: by making
the issuance of a lease mandatory, by
requiring no rental until the plant is
in operation, and by requiring the
lessee to make development only as
market demands require, the bill
makes it possible for one interest or
group of interests to secure control
of every available site upon the pubic
lands tributary to any given market
and to hold such site indefinitely
whether developed or not so long as
what appear to be the reasonable de-
I mands of the market are being sup
piled. If the bill had aimed to encour-
age the monopoly of power sites, 1t
could not have been drafted in more
effective language. 1t gives the con-
troll of water powers on public lands
for all practical purposes as irrevo-
cabIy into the hands of private inter
ests as though it parted with the title
to the land.
Another Vicious Bill.
pending in congress, and already ex-
posed in these columns, is the Phelan
oil land bill. sponsored by Senator
Phelan of California. Reported TO the
senate May Is by the public lands COM
mittee, this bill now awaits passage.
1t is principally a measure for the dis
posaI of our remaining oil lands. At
time v hen gasoline prices are higher
than ever before it is especially i'm
portant- 1t proposes to dispose OF
about three million acres of govern
ment lands in California and Wyom-
ing, which were withdrawn in 1909 to
protect them from monopolizatiOn by
private interests. Included in them
are naval oil reserves, which Secre-
tary Daniels has declared are absO-
Iutely essential for the navy.
The oil mOnOpOlists, however, are
not worried about Gripping the navy,
if they can sell the oil to the navy at
exorbitant rates. Between the time
the lands were withdrawn and the pas
sage of what is known as the Picket
act (which specifically gave to the
president of the United States the right
to withdraw lands), these oil lands
were plastered with claims of all
kinds. The department of justice has
taken action against many of the
! fraudulent claimants, and the cases
are now pending. The Phelan bill
would nullify these suits and give the
claimants a preferential right to get
the valuable lands in question.
Thus, while the public is absorbed
in the international situation, in pre-
paredness" agitation and in the Mexi-
can imbrOgliO, subtle interests intent
upon stealing the few crumbs which
the people have retained of their public
mr.
loose these remaining resources.
Let Opportunity Slip BY.
With the water power still in pub
lie ownership, the people of the coun-
try could, through their government,
supply themselves with sufficient cleo
trical energy to solve many of the
problems of modern civilization. If it
is turned over to private capitalists,
this opportunity will be lost. The pub
lie supply of oil still remaining could
be used, under public operation, to re-
duce the price of petroleum and all its
varied products to the people and to
supply fuel for power and other pur-
poses at cost of production 1t would
break the monopoly now possessed by
Standard Oil as it cannot be broken
otherwise
Similarly the national forests and
the remaining public lands, if operat-
ed by the people through their govern
ment, could be used to supply an in
definite variety of products at cost
On and in the remaining public lands
are opportunities for the establishment
of industries which will supply the
people with the things the people need
War agitation, turning the public mind
away from economic toward "patri-
otto" subjects, aids the grafters and
Srra hbPrg q nothing elsa could