Arizona state miner., 1919-10-03
THAT MEETING OF
THE WESTERN GOVERNORS

The purpose of the "Meeting of
the Western Governors" says the
Post, appeared to be to consider the
high cost of living. Exhaustive in
vestigations are being made through
out the state and the newspapers
have printed columns of discussions
of food prices, and have given the
number of retailers and wholesalers
guilty of profiteering. They wisely
refrain from mentioning names, so
that each one may make his own
list of those that he thinks are
profiteers. This investigation is not
meant to injure the retailers and
wholesalers, and perhaps not even to
lower the prices. 1t appears to be
a scheme of the Packers to divert
the attention Of the people to the
retailers, to turn their Indignation
to their fellow townsmen, while the
white-wash is being applied to the
Packers. They have millions of profit
yearly at stake and they can we'll
afford to arrange for meeting of
Western Governors.
1t is scarcely a year since the
voice of the defender of our natural
resources of the nation has been
silenced For many years Roosevelt
had stood guard over the lands, for
ests and waters Of our country. No
one dared to come out openly for
the distribution of the nations lands,
for Roosevelt knew the source of
such demands and he would unhesi-
tatingly have denounced them and
their motives. For years he fought
off the great financial interests of
The country, who were forever hover
ing like vultures, over the forests,
the metal-filled mountains and the
power-giving streams. The most
beautiful forests and natural won
ders he succeeded in perpetuating as
National Parks.
At that meeting it was urged that
the Governors of the Western States,
not collectively, for that would have
betrayed the political machinery,
but each one individually, urge con-
gress to give the federal lands over
70 the control of the state. No
doubt this present republican con-
gress has been primed, and the mat
ter may slip through.
Nearly every Western state is con-
trolled by the vested interests. There
are 202, ,448,225 acres of federal land
which would come under the jurisdic-
tlon of eleven states. If these lands
are turned over to the states, these
interests will get what they want,
the choicest parts, and the small fry
may fight it out for the rest The
great timber companies will appro-
pirate the forests; the mining cor
porations the mineral lands; the oil
interests the oil land; the packers
and their subsidized cattlemen the
grazing lands; hydro-electric COM
panies or irrigation promoters the
rivers and lakes; agricultural promo
ters the fertile lands; and the people
may scrap for their 100 acres of
homestead lands of desert or rocky
soil. The newspapers are silent on
this important question for they too
reflect the golden glitter of the great
interests.
The meeting of the governors
seems to have been cleverly plan
ned for releasing an offensive shot
at the retailers and wholesalers by
the packers, and for a concerted ac-
ton to obtain 200,000,000 acres of
federal land for private interests.
George t. Hampton, director of
the Farmers National Council, re-
Gently said:
"The natural resources of Amer
lea, basic raw material for all indus
tries, are largely monopolized in
private ownership while the United
States congress is attempting prac-
tlcally to give away it's resources yet
remaining under public ownership.
The American farmer has been
mulcted under private ownership of
the railroads and of shipping.
ga 1920 model of a trust-the