The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-02-15
Leasing of Mineral Lands and Water
Power Should be Vigorously Opposed
by Public Land States

main ialis uHuer the personal cOntro
of our bureaucrats to lease out" te
his favorites and political henchmen
and the remnants to the western min.
ers, oil drillers, ranchers, stockmen
fruit growers, etc, his sorry victims
we, mere citizens, will be called upor
to defray the salaries and expenses OF
at least million political taskmasters
to administer the grand estate For.
est rangers, mining rangers. oil rang.
ers, phosphate rangers, grazing rang.
ers, farm rangers, fruit rangers, min.
eral examiners, bookkeepers, petty of.
ficers. general solicitors, attorneys
notaries, press agents. statisticians
common spies, lecturers, detectives
special agents, secret service agents
affidavit cleaners, lease drafters, bar
gain makers, overseers, superintend-
ents, star chamber courts. collectors
of bills rents royalties tithes and
graft, etc, etc, ad infinitum.
But who pays for all this?
We, mere citizens, of course.
This result will certainly reach to
our heads.
Killed Power Development.
The development of water powers in
the west was proceeding in an entire
ly satisfactory manner, when the sec
rotary of the interior and his fellow
conspirators caused congress to pass
the acts of May IS, 1896; February IT,
1901 (revocable permit law) February
Z, 1905; May l, 1906, and March 4,
1911, designed to throw the control
and administration of all water pow
ers and water power matters of the
public land states into the hands of
the secretary of the interior. There
upon development Of water powers in
the west suddenly ceased, of course.
sums necessary for the development
of water powers and make those sums
subject to the whims, caprice and
greed of a political boss.
Having by such cunning means. and
by procuring Withdrawals of lands
from entry, driven the public domain
into a cul -de-sac, the noble secretary
now brazenly proclaims that the only
way to get it out again is to turn the
public domain over to the secretary
OF he interior to exploit and lease out
all as above set forth. It's now just
high time that we, mere citizens, take
a tumble to ourselves, scratch our
heads, and consider whether that's so,
or not. On due reflection, we think
We perceive the following is truth:
Two Plans for Relief.
If the above mentioned five nkases
of the secretary of the interior, which
We're enacted @into laws by congress,
We're now simply repealed, no new
legislation enacted and the president
directed by congress to restore these
power sites to public entry, the devel-
opment of water powers in the west
would Immediately proceed with a
rush-and in manner entirely salts
factory to everybody in the United
States, except Mr. Pinchot and the
secretary of the interior. Or,
If the substitute for H. R. 4OS in
troduced in the senate, which provides
for turning over power sites to the
states, We're adopted, that would
wiring the power sites from the greedy
grasp of the bureaus, and solve all diff
fculties.
BY the passage of III. r. 4OS nobody
would be benefited except the adj
Office holders under it
everybody else in the United States
would be injured, and most drastical-
ly of all, the people Of the public land
states.
While the eleven mountain states
hold within their borders the great
bulk of the public domain Of contin-
entail United States, their representa-
ton in congress is numerically small;
and it is therefore urged that you use
your great Influence in the senate in
behalf of justice and fair play to as
sist in the merited defeat of the leas-
ing clause in H. r. 40S.
Most respectfully,
CHESTER T. KEENAN,.
Murray. Idaho, February IL, 1917.