The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-10
SHOOT STEALS WALSH'S LAND
 GUARDING BILL G. O. P. Kidnaps Democra- tic Measure Killed By
 Filibuster. ACT WAS SIX
 YEARS TIED UP Lands Taken From Public Entry By Taft Would
 Be Restored.

Washington. D. C., Sept 1O.---An- ment is about to be kidnapped by the Republicans, and, in the course of time, the country will be asked to ap- plaud the intelligence of the G. O. P. in protecting public lands containing coal, oil, gas, potash and sodium. Ii is hoped by Republican leaders thu, by that time. the Democratic fight of years, the fruit of which was killed by a Republican filibuster, will have been forgotten, and that public praise will be undiluted
 The name of Reed Shoot will be attached to this measure as he is it's official prOponent at this time. Yet. so strange are the ways of RepubIi- can politics, he was one of the most instrumental in seeing that this same meritorious measure was killed be- cause it was formulated and urged by Democrats. Through the same line of reasoning Republican senators. heretofore opponents. displayed a calm reversal of form and were found among those strongly supporting the IiII
 F 900 acres of land have been tied up because of their withdrawal from public entry by President Taft. The value of thls land today Is approxi- mately one billion dollars. It took the Democrats under the lead of Sem ator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana six years to perfect this measuEe and de- velop the necessary strength so that it could he brought to the floor of the Senate from the committee room. The q. 0. P. leaders who slaughtered a Democratic bill have now appro- priated the same act as their own
 The old custom was to sell pub lie lands outright. together w.th title, and this resulted Tn many private for tunes being made but without ade- quate return to the government. The provisions of the Walsh biII-practf- cally identical with the present Shoot bill-are for the government to re- tain title to the 5O,OOO,0OO remain ing acres containing coal. oil. gas. potash and sodium, but permitting leases of 20 years duration with suit able returns to the federal owners.
 Pure politics is manifestly the chief cause of the Republican change of front. Democratic leaders assert, the reason being that public approval of the bill has been frequently mani fested during it's long struggle toward enactment Another reason is that because of the decade of fdleness the production of all the commodities mentioned has seriously fallen off. and greater supplies are needed i'm mediately by the world
 A conference was held early in the Wilson administration in 1913 at tended by Secretary of the Interior Lane, Senator Walsh and Rep. Foster of Illinois, chairman of their respec- tive committees on mines and mining and Senator Henry L. Myers of Mon tana and Rep. Scott Ferris of Okla homa, respective chairman of the public lands committees. The result was the measure now known as the Shoot leasing bill. It was introduced that year, 1913, and in every succeed ing Congress and was stoutly opposed by all Repu blican senators. and, for a time by a few Democrats from the West who wanted the old system to prevail.
 This opposition brought some amendments that were adopted by the public lands committee, but the bill, after six years struggle, passed the Senate in 1917, after a prolonged debate. About a month later the House of Representa- tives passed a bill differing radically from the Sen ate measure. and more generally re- sembling the original Walsh bill After delay of eight months the conference committee of the two houses reported in February. 1918, but the bill was killed in a filibuster
 
 Toilette of Wisconsin, who was par ticularly aided by Senator SmOot of Utah, the father of the kidnapped Democratic act.
 Canvasses made by whips of both the Democratic and Republican par ties indicate little opposition when the voting is to be done, despite continuous opposition oratory on the part of Senator La Toilette.