The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-03-09
Conservation Gone Mad---People of
Idaho Should Protest Now Through
Special Session of the Legislature
(Chester T. Kennan)

our vast public domain-greater than
many kingdoms of Europe combined
with patronage, perquisites, power,
sinecures, and graft unlimited?
From its very inception that i'll
starred political raid, styled "Conser-
walton on Our Public Domain" has
steadily been promoted with an eye
single to the glory and gain of it's
predacious promoters led by the secre-
tary of the interior.
But from whom is this wrongful
the people of the east, the middle, or
southern states? No! All that wrong
full glory, gain and graft for these po-
litical exploiters of our public domain
are plotted from the beginning to be
extracted from the West-the public
land states-the people of the west.
There are practically no more pub
lie land states eastward from the
eleven mountain states-all those
states eastward have the lands within
their borders in private ownership and
subject to taxation by those states
Our secretary of the interior, AFRO
eating brazen effrontery almost I'M
thinkable, now boldly proposes that
the present public lands shall. not pass
to private ownership, but shall be
leased upon rents and royalties to be
paid our federal landlords; that the
present public lands shall remain nom
taxable by the states in which they
lie; that the western states shall be-
come mere provinces, or despised de-
tendencies whose people shall be gov
erned through the soil by our preda-
tory bureaucrats; that our long es-
tablished system of land tenure-es-
abolished and pursued since the Pill
grims landed at Plymouth Rock-shall
be subverted; and the cordially hated
long discarded, ancient feudal land
system shall be substituted in its
place; that we of the west be hence
eorth forbidden to purchase public
ndlord for the use of land such rents,
royalties, seigniorage and tithes, as in
the benevolent discretion of the secre-
tary of the interior may seem good to
him and his political chums.
Congress has long standing invi-
tation from our bureaus-Which inVi-
tation is being most urgently pressed
just now-to say to the homeless up
on our shores: Remain We forever
homeless! Rent. Pay rent. To your
taskmasters, the bureaus"
Verify, this is bureaucracy gone
mad.
But who are they who have Matched
such a bold and criminal scheme for
subjugating the west?
Who are they who are now endeav
oring with feverish zeal to force these
leasing bills" through congress?
Who are they who are now striving
with might and main to make of our
western people serfs and vassals of a
ruling landlord?
And why?
He must be blind indeed, and who'll
ly lacking in ordinary human knowl-
edge and sagacity, who can not see
that when "the general leasing bills"
are passed, and our whole vast public
domain falls under the personal con-
troll of our bureaucrats to lease out"
to miners, farmers, fruit growers,
stockmen, etc, we, mere citizens, will
be called upon to defray the salaries
and expenses of a million political
taskmasters to administer the grand
estate
Our secretary Of the interior win
then possess and dispense more politl-
cal patronage" than any king, poten-
tate, or car who ever ruled on this
earth. Forest rangers, mineral rang
ers and examiners, farm rangers,
lock rangers, fruit rangers, coal rang
ers, oil rangers, bargain makers, lease
drafters, appraisers, affidavit CLEAN
ers, petty officers, bookkeepers, notar-
les public, general solicitors, special
solicitors, attorneys, press agents, sta
tisticians, common spies, lecturers,
muckrakers, detectives special agents,
starchamber courts, collectors of rents,
and bills, and seigniorage, and royal
ties, and tithes, and graft, ETC., etc.,
etc, etc.-till hell would have no more.
Verify, this is bureaucracy gone
mad-with our dear congress arm in
arm.
However, our western congressman
explain that the following mitigating
circumstances are strictly truth: That
conservation" in so far as the pub
lie domain is concerned, is simply po-
litical gangsters out after "porkbarref'
nothing else That all conservation
bills affecting the public domain are
drawn by the secretary of the interior;
and that when they are in committees
not word is allowed to be changed
without first consulting the secretary
of the interior, and not then without
his willing consent That no argu-
ment, whatever, by the minority has
the slightest effect That many mem
bers of congress from the west have
become so disguised and disheartened
rnttnnnnCg