Arizona state miner., 1925-08-15
i. s. RESOURCES
FOR PROFITEERS

The great conservation movement
inaugurated by President Roosevelt
when Pinchot and BoIlinger ran the
interior Department, covering all re-
sources of the nation, such as forests,
fisheries, coaL OIL national parks,
Indian reservations, reclamation and
irrigation projects, was rightfully in
tended for benefit OF all the people
Of the United States-to provide rev.
enueS and lessen tax burdens of the
people for conducting the goiernment.
What has it accomplished? In a
brief resume, it has built up political
machines and bureaucracies that haye
greatly increased our tax burdens,
cost Of living and curtailed production
Of every commodity and necessity of
life
To elucidate: One Of the earliest
national reservations was the Matan-
uska coal field of Alaska, reserved
Ostensibly for use of the q. S. Navy
on the Pacific coast, including great
oil reserves in Montana, California
and New Mexico. An excuse for res
ervatioOn of the AlaSnan coal fields
was to obviate the great government
expense of paying about SIS a ton to
the Pennsylvania coal barons, who
controlled the supply in order to tran
sport it to the Coast
How much Matanuska coal has been
mined and how much of it has ever
reached Uncle Sans Pacific Coast
Fleet are questions that expose a con-
ditiOn of fraud in leases and tieing
up of this reserve which has increased
the price of coal and justifies the
continued cross country shipments
from Pennsylvania. Twas the same
as with the oil leases of California
and Montana to the Doheny and Sin.
clair interests-which have tied up
production and raised prices through
out the United States
From the Corwin and That's coal
mines near Behring Straits. coal
belt traverses Northern Alaska clear
across the territory to the British
border and even beyond it. At the
seacliffs some of these coal veins are
30 feet thick without partings-an-
swering every requirement of Uncle
Sans navy.
For nearly a hundred years these
seacEff mines, without money and
without price. have been public coal
mines, where northern mariners could
mine and coal up as their needs re-
quired. The only requisite necessary
was to mine in certain ways by Ieay-
ing pillars SO the workings might not
be destroyed. This free public coal
resource and public coal mine set
aside by Uncle Sam for his revenue
service in early days in the Arctic
IS now also gobbled up by an alien
syndicate from PiccadilIy, London,
which has usurped the mines, built
narrow gauge line to a landing wharf
and is selling coal at $35 to S38 per
ton every summer
This instance is cited as a circum.
stance wherein the natural resources
OF the nation are not at all guarded
by socalled conservation.
Arizona reservations are another in
stance where bureaucracies or special
privilege are allowed to step in. tie
up nearly the entire states domain
Of natural resources to keep them
from falling into hands of possible
competitors which might lower prices
TO consumers.
The time is nearing when special
privilege must be obliterated by siren
nous measures in order that competi-
ton, spoilation and adulteration of
nearly all the necessaries of life NAV
not be used to exploit the common
people and build up powerful pluto
cracy Of national profiteers and ex-
ploiters.