The Batesville Herald. (Batesville, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 8, 1910 Page: 1 of 4
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The Batesville Herald.
VOL. 10
BATESVILLE, TEXAS, THURSDAY, SEPT. S, 1910.
NO. 34
D
W. D. Kiooald, Prvsidant.
K J. Rhelner, Otshier
J k. Mmgum VlM-PrMldcM.
The Uvalde National Bank
Depository for Zavala and Uvalde County Funde.
Cepltel Stook..................................$125,000.00
•urplue....................................... 25,000.00
•tookholdere' Reeponelbility..................... 125,000.00
T eta I Reeponelbility ........................ $2 7 5,000.00
SIRROTOR8:—T. O. Froet, J. U Klnoeid, W D Kiaoeld, W. 0.
WaleoM, P r Rhaioer, Oeo. . Kennedy, J. A Mxugon
We am ketta, ,np>n4 Ifcaa ever «e t a eara a# all kaelaaea eatraate4 le as.
Bead t roars.
Csraa, Ksla BUaat sal City ..all Plsaa. DTUP1. TKZ4I
DR. 6. E. HAYS
Reeldenoo Phone: Old 30
DR. D. M. MASSIE
Reeldenoe Phone: Old 180
HAYS & MASSIE
DENTISTS
Offloe over First State Bank UVALDE. TEXAS.
Phone. {
\)
Enlarging Your Business
If you are In
business and you
want to make
more money you
will read every
word we have »o
say. Are yon
spending your
mouey (or ad-
vertising in hap-
hazard fashion
aa if intended
for charity, or do you adver-
tise for direct results?
Did you ever stop to think
how your advertising can be
made a source of profit to
you, and how its value can be
measured in dollars and
cents. If you have not, you
are throwing money away.
Adveiusinj. is a modern
business necessity, but must
be conducted on business
principles. If you are not
satisfied with your advertising
you should set aside a certain
amount of money to be spent
annually, and then carefully
note the effect it has in in-
creasing your volume of busi-
ness; whether a io, ao or 30
per cent increase. If you
watch this g from year to
you will become intensely in-
terested in your advertising,
and how you can make it en-
large your business.
If you try this method we
believe you will not want to
let a single issue of this paper
go to press without something
from your store.
We will be pleased to have
you call on us, and we will
take pleasure in explaining
our annual contract for so
many inches, and bow it can be
used in whatever amount that
seems necessary to vo**
If you can sell goods over
the counter we can also show
you why this paper will best
serve your interests when you
want to reach the people of
thia community.
STANDS STRONGLY
President Taft’s Address Before
Congress at St. Paul.
DANGER IN CONTINUED WASTE
Chief Executive Outlines Plans Which
He Believes Should Be Adopted—
Statistics Make Speech Com-
prehensive tc Hearers.
Don’t Use a Scarecrow
To Drive Away the
Mail Order Wolf
You can drive him out
quickly if you use the mail
order house*’ own weapon
—advertising. Mail order
concerns are spending
thousands of dollars every
week in order to get trade
from the home merchants.
, Do you tftink for a minute
they would keep ft up if
they didn’t get the busi-
ness? Don’t take it for
granted that every one
within a radius of 25 miles
knows what you have to
sell, and what your prices are. Nine times out of ten your prices
are lower, but the customer is influenced bv the up-to-date adver-
tising of the mail order house. Every article you advertise should
be described and priced. You must tell your story in an inter-
esting way, and when you want to reach the buyers of this com-
munity use the columns of this paper.
The Right Kind of
Reading Matter
The home news; the doings of the people in this
town; the gossip of our own community, that’s
the first kind of reading matter you want. It is
more important, more interesting to you than
that given by the paper or magazine from the
outside world. It is the first reading matter
you should buy. Each issue of this paper gives
to you just what you will consider
The Right Kind ot
Reading Matter
8t. Paul, Minn., Sept. 6.—President
Taft delivered his long-expected
speech before the National Con-
servation congress here today. Sub-
stantially it was as follows:
Gentlemen of the National Conservation
Congress:
Conservation as an econonllc and po-
litical term has come to mean the preser-
vation of our natural resources for
economical use. eo as to secure the great-
est good to the greatest number
The danger to the state and to the peo-
ple at large from the waste and dissipa-
tion of our national wealth Is not one
which quickly Impresses Itself on the peo-
l#e of the older communities, because Its
most obvious Instances do not occur In
their neighborhood, while In the newer
part of the country the sympathy with
expansion and development Is so strong
that the danger Is scoffed at or Ignored.
Among scientific men and thoughtful ob-
servers, however, the danger lias always
been present; but it needed some one to
bring home tlie crying need for a remedy
of this evil so as to impress itself on the
public mind and lead to the formation of
public opinion and action by the repre-
sentatives of the people. Theodore Roose-
velt took up this task in the last two
years of his second^ administration, and
well did he perform"it.
As president of the United States I
have, ns it were, inherited this policy,
and I rejoice in my heritage. 1 prize my
high opportunity to do all that an ex-
ecutive can do to help a great people
realize a great national ambition. For
conservation is national. It affect* every
man of us, every wornun, every child.
What I can do in the cause I shall do.
not as president of a party, but as presi-
dent of the whole people. Conservation
Is not a question of politics, or of fac-
tions, or of persons. It is a question that
affects the vital welfare of all of us—of
our children and our children's children.
I urge that no good can come from meet-
ings of this sort unless we ascribe to
those who take part In them, and who
are apparently striving worthily in the
cause, all proper motives, and unless wo
Judicially consider every measure or
method proposed with a view to Its effec-
tiveness in achieving our common pur-
pose, anA wholly without regard to who
proposes It or who will claim the credit
for its adoption. The problems are of
v*ry * Mflifi Hv en : cel! 1 he
-ai Jen cion fore-
sight. Many of the questions presented
have phases that are new In tills (..un-
try, and It is possible that In their solu-
tion we may have to attempt first one
way and then another. What 1 wish to
emphasize, however, Is that a satisfac-
tory conclusion can only he reached
promptly If we avoid acrimony, Imputa-
tions of bad faith, a,nd political contro-
versy.
The public domain of the government
of the United States, including all the
cessions from those of the thirteen states
that made cessions to the United States
and Including Alaska, amounted In all to
about 1,800,000.000 acres. Of this there is
left as purely government property out-
side of Alaska something like 700,000,000 of
acres. Of this the national forest re-
serves In the United States proper em-
bi i-‘ 114,000.000 acres. The rest Is largely
mountain or arid country, offering some
opportunity for agriculture by dry fann-
ing and by reclamation, and containing
inetalH as well as coal, phosphates, oils,
and natural gas. Then the government
owns many tracts of land lying along the
margins of streams that have water
power, the use of which Is necessary in
the conversion of the power into elec-
tricity and Its transmission.
I shall divide my discussion under the
heads of (1) agricultural lands; (2) min-
eral lands- that Is, lands containing
metalliferous minerals; (3) forest lands;
(4) coal lands; (6) oil and gas lands; and
(6) phosphate lands.
Agricultural Lands.
Our land laws for the entry of agricul-
tural lands are now as follows:
The original homestead law, with the
requirements of residence and cultivation
for five years, much more strictly en-
forced than ever before.
The enlarged homestead act, applying
to nonlrrigable lands only, requiring live
years' residence and continuous cultiva-
tion of one-fourth of the area.
The desert-land act, which requires on
the part of the purchaser the ownership
of a water right and thorough reclama-
tion of the land by irrigation, and the
payment «»f $1.2.*) per acre.
The donation or Carey act. under which
the state selects the land and provides*
for its reclamation, and the title vests in
the settler who resides upon the land and
cultivates It and pays the cost of the
reclamation.
The national reclamation homestead
law, requiring five years* residence and
cultivation by the settler on the land ir-
rigated by the government, and payment
diy him to the government of the cost of
the reclamation.
The present congress passed a hill of
great Import a nee, severing the ownership
of coal by the government In the ground
from the surface and permitting home-
stead entries upon the surface of gir*
land, which, when perfected, give tie*
settler the right to farm the surface,
while the coal beneath the surface Is re-
tained in ownership by the government
find may be disposed of by it under other
laws.
There Is no crying need for radical re-
form In the methods of disposing of what
are really agricultural lands The pres-
ent laws have worked well. The en-
larged homestead law has encouraged the
successful farming of lands In the seml-
arld regions Of course the teachings of
♦ he agricultural department as to how
fhrse siihnrM lands muv la- t»•*•»t♦ I find
the soil preserved for useful culture arc
of the very essence of conservation Then
conservation of agricultural lands Is
shown in the t#* lamatlon of arid lands
hv Irrigation and I should devote a few
words to what the government has done
and is doing In ♦his regard. ^
Reclamation.
—II_______ Give, you the reeding matter ie
§ ifCr tmOffW I (fpCrl which you have the jraateai >o-
___________ i. i . ------ tercet the home newt It» every
issue will prove a welcome visitor to everv member of the temily It
should head your lift of newipeper and periodical tubecriptionv
Uy the reclamation act a fund has been
I 'Tested of the proceeds of the public
land* of the United States with which to
j construc t works for storing great bodies
of water at proper altitudes from which,
by a suitable * stern of canal* and ditch
cs. the water Is to bo distributed Over the
arid and suburb! lands of the government
♦ o be wild to settlers at a price sufficient
*n pay for the Improvements. Primarily,
the projects are and must be for the Im-
provement of public lands. Incidental!v,
• here private land is also within reaf-h
f the water supply, the furnishing at
co*t or profit of this water io private
owners by the government is held by the
federal court of appeals not to .>e n
usurpation of power. But certainly this
ought not to be done except from gib*-'
plus water, not needed for government
land. The total sum already accumula-
ted In the reclamation fund Is v«>,278,‘-
268.22. and of that all but 16,491.966.34 has
been expended. It became very clear to
congress at Its last session, from the
statements made by experts, thAtkthese
30 projects could not be prompt 1> ,,om-
pleted with the balance retnalndig on
hand or with the funds likely to accrue
In the near future. It was found, mere-
over, that there are many settlors who
have been led Into taking up lauds with
the hope and understanding of having
water furnished in a short time, who are
left in a most distressing situation. I
recommended to congress that A./tliorlty
hr given I., tiii) secretary <>f t ho inter lot-
to issue bonds in anticipation (B the as-
sured MMltngg hv the projects, so that
the projects, worthy and feaalbk, might
be promptly completed, anti the settlers
might be relieved from their present In-
convenience and hardship. In aw’iorlzlng
the Issue of these projects, ongi-ss lim-
ited the application of their proceeds to
those projects which k board of nrmy en-
gineer*, to be appointed by the president,
should examine and determine to be
feasible and worthy of completion. The
board has been appointed and *"0» will
make Its report.
Suggestions have been made thnt the
United States ought to aid In the drain
ige of swamp lands belonging to the
states or private owners, because, if
drained, they would be exceed! orl> val-
uable for agriculture and contribute to
the general welfare by extending the
area of cultivation. I deprecate the agi-
tation In favor of suc h legislati >i It is
Inviting the general g tvemmmt into
contribution from Its treasury toward en-
terprises that should be conducted either
by private capital or at the Instance of
the state. In th*ae days there Ip a dispo-
sition to look too much to the federal
government for everything. I am liberal
In the construction of the Constitution
with reference to federal power but 1
am firmly convinced that the , ily safe
course for us to pursue is to I • *1*1 fsst
to the limitations of the Const! "non and
to regard as sacred tiie pow» n of the
states. We have made wondet ful prog-
ress and at the same time 3uve pre-
served with Judicial exactness the re-
strictions of the Constitution. *'here Is
an easy way In which the Constitution
can !»e violated by congress without
Judicial Inhibition, to-wlt. by appropria-
tions from the national treasury for un-
constitutional purposes. It will . e u sorry
day for this country If the i e ever
comes when our fundamental compact
shall be habUually disregarded in this
manner.
Mineral Land*.
By mineral lands I mean iLose lands
bearing metals, or what are called metal-
liferous minerals. The rules if owner-
ship and disposition of the*e lands were
first fixed by custom in the west and
then were embodied in the in'. . and they
have worked, on the whole, so fairly and
well that 1 do not think it Is wis • to
attempt to change or better them.
Forest Land*.
Nothing can be more import! In Die
matter of conservation than ih«r »•*. neat
of our forest lands. It was probably the
ruthless destruction of forests In the
older states that first called attention to
a halt in waste of oi t rc *ru This
was r*' ,_-«•»<*#•«.» bv cons’’”** h *• I
authorizing the executive to reserve from
entry and set aside public timber lands
as natjonal forests Spenking generally,
there has been reserved of the existing
forests about seventy per cent, of all
the timber lands of the government.
Within these forests (including 26.000.000
acres in two forests in Alaska) are 192,-
000,000 of acres, of which 166,000.000 of
acres are in the United States proper and
Include within their boundaries some-
thing like 22.000.000 of acres that belong
to the state or to private individuals We
have then, excluding Alaska forests, a
total of about 144,000.000 acres of forests
belonging to the government which is
being treated in accord with the princi-
ples of scientific forestry.
Til* government timber in this coun-
try amounts to only one-fourth of all the
timber, the rest being in private own-
ership Only three per cent, of thnt which
Is In private ownership is looked nfter
properly and treated according to mod-
ern rules of forestry. The usual de-
structive waste and neglect continues in
the remainder of the forests owned by
private persons and corporations. It Is
estimated that fire alone destroys $M.06§.-
ftOO worth of timber a year. The
management of forests not on public
land is beyond the Jurisdiction of the fed-
eral government. If anything can be done
by law’ it must be done by the state leg
Tdatures. I believe thnt it Is within their
constitutional power to require the en-
forcement of regulations In the general
public Interest, as to Art* and other
causes of waste In the management of
forests owned by private individuals and
corporations.
I have shown sufficiently the condition*
ns to federal forestry to Indicate thnt no
further legislation Is needed at the mo-
ment except an Increase In the fire pro-
tection to national forests and an act
vesting the executive with full power to
nmke forest reservations In every state
where government land is timber-covered,
or where the land Is needed for forestry
purposes.
Coal Lands.
The next subject, and one most impor-
tant f»T our consideration. Is the disposi-
tion of the eon I lands In the United
Htates and in Alaska. First, ns to those
In the United Htates At the beginning
of this administration they were el.issi-
fied coal lands amounting to .1,476.000
acre*,, and there were withdrawn from
entry for purposes of classification 17,-
vnT.tfOO acres. Hlnce that time there have
been withdrawn by my order from entry
for classification 77.646.WiO tores, making
a total withdrawal of 91.filft.000 acres.
Meantime, of tlu* acres thus withdrawn.
11.371.ooo have h«-en classified anil found
not to contain coal, and have been re-
stored to agricultural entry, and t SftO.ono
acres have been classified as coni lands;
while 79.7*8,000 acres remain withdrawn
from entrv and await classification, fn
addition 336/00 acres have been classi-
fied as coal lands without prior withdraw-
al. thus Increasing the classified coal
lands to 10 b;vooo acres.
Under the laws providing for the dispo-
sition of coal lands, the minimum price
at whhh lands are permitted to be sold
Is $10 an acre: but the secretary of the
Interior has the power to fix a maximum
price and sell at tliftt price. By the first
regulations governing appraisal. ftp
proved April 8, 1907. the minimum was fio.
as provided by law. and the maximum
was $and tie- high'st price actually
placed upon any land sold was $.'• !*•
der the n»*w regulations, adopted April lo,
♦'•id. th< max'mum prl*e w*'s tnereasi -1 t »
?3.o, except in regions where there are
large mines, wln-r* no maximum limit Is
fixed and the price Is determined by the
estimated tons of eonl to the aefie. The
highest price fixed for anv land under
this regulation lias been $G08. The ap-
pro Isa’ value of the lands » lassifi- d ns
eoal lands and valued under the new and
| old regulation* Is shown to tie ns follows
t 921 acres valued under the old regu-
lations at $77.6U:,9. an no-rigs of $;s an
acre, and 1.v:t.702 aepess classified and
valued under th» new regulation at $3*1
'♦•3.-12. or a total of T*» 16v 623 acre*, val-
id ..I $471 >17 171
For tlu* year * ndfng March 31, 19 0, 227
coal entries were made. « rubra■ Ing an
• •
♦''JO.40. I or the year ending March 31.
1910, there w’ere 176 entries, embracing an
urea of 23.413 acres, which sold for $608.-
81$. and down to August, 1910, there were
but 17 entries, with an area of 1.730 acres,
which sold for $33,110.60. making a dispo-
sition of the coal lands in the last two
years of about 60.000 acre* for $1,306,000
The present eftngreas. as already said,
has separated the surface of coal lands
either classified or withdrawn for classl-
ficatlon, from the coal beneath, so as to
permit at all times homestead entries
upon the surface of lands useful for ag-
riculture and to reserve the ownership
In the coal to the government. The ques-
tlon which remains to be considered Is
whether the existing law for the sale of
the coal In the ground should continue
in force or he repealed and a new method
of disposition adopted. Under the present
law the absolute title In the coal be-
neath the surface passes to the grantee
of the government. * The price fixed is
upon an estimated amount of the tons
of coal per acre beneath the surface, and
the prices are fixed ao that the earnings
will only be a reasonable profit upon the
amount paid and tlie Investment necea
sary. But. of course, tills is more or less
guesswork, and the government parts
with the ownership of the coal In the
ground absolutely. Authorities of the ge-
ological survey estimate that in the
United Htates today there is a supply of
about three thousand billions of tons of
one’ and ihat of this one thousand bllliona
an l-th niblli* domain. Of course, the oth-
er two i uisand billions are within private
ownership and under no more control as
i. the use or the prices at which the
coal may be sold than any other private
property. If the government leases the
coal lands and acts as any landlord
would, and imposes conditions in its
leases like those which are now Imposed
by the owners In fee of coal mines In the
various coal regions of the east, then It
would retHin over the disposition of the
coal deposits a choice as fo the assignee
of the lease, or of resuming possession nt
the end of the term of the lease, which
might easily he framed to enable It to
exercise a limited hut effective control
In the disposition and sate of the coal to
tiie public. It has been urged that the
leasing system has never been adopted In
this country, and that Its adoption would
largely Interfere with the Investment of
capital and the proper development and
opening up of the coal resources. I ven-
ture to differ entirely from this view’.
The question as to how great an area
ought to he Included in a lease to one
individual or corporation, Is not fret* from
difficulty: but In view of the fact that
the government retains control as owner,
I think there might be some liberality in
the amount leased, and that 2.500 acres
would not be too great a maximum.
By the opportunity to rood Just the
terms upon which the coal shall* be field
by the tenant, either at the end of each
lease or ut periods during the term, the
government may secure the benefit of
sharing In the Increased price of coal and
the additional profit made by tiie tenant.
By imposing condition* In respect to the
character of work to he done In the
mines, the government may control the
character of the development of the
mines and the treatment of employes with
reference to safety. By denying tiie
right to transfer the lease except by the
written permission of the governmental
authorities. It may withhold the needed
consent wh mi tt Is proposed to transfer
the leasefK Id to persons interested in es-
tablishing a monopoly of coal production
in any state or neighborhood. The change
from the absolute nt to lens'
system will tnvnh a go •<
♦rouble in the out . and tl • r
eg perm In L*e visiter of . { • op«*i
leases; but the change will be a good
one and can be made. The change Is In
the Interest of conservation, and I am
glad to approve it.
Alaska Coal Lands.
The Investigation of the geological sur-
vey show that the coal properties In
Alaska cover about 1,200 square miles,
and that there are known to be available
about 16.000,000,000 ton*. Thla Is. however,
an underestimate of the coal in Alaaka,
because further developments will prob-
ably Increase this amount many times;
but we can say with considerable cer-
tainty that there are two fields on the
Pacific slope which can he reached by
railways at a reasonable cost from deep
water In one case about fifty miles and
in the other case of about f50 miles
which will afford certainly 6,000.000,000
tons of coal, more than half of which Is
of a very high grade of bituminous and
of anthracite It is estimated to be worth.
In the ground, one-half a cent a ton,
which makes Its value per acre from $60
to $600. The coking-coal lands of Penn-
sylvania are worth from $800 to $2,000 an
acre, while other Appalachian fields are
worth from $10 to $3*6 an acre, and the
fields In the central states from $10 to
$2,000 an acre, and In the Rocky moun-
tains $10 to $600 an acre. The demand for
coal on the Pacific coast Is for about
4,600,000 tons a year. It would encounter
tiie competition of cheap fuel oil, of
which the equivalent of 12,000,000 tons of
coal a year Is used there It Is estimated
that the coal could lie laid down at He-
nttle or Han Francisco, a high-grade bi-
tuminous. st $4 a ton and anthracite at
$1 or $6 a ton. The price of coal on the
Pacific slope varies greatly from time to
time In the year and from year to year
from $4 to $12 a fob. With a regular coal
supply established, the expert of tiie
geological survey, Mr. Brooks, who lias
made a report on the subject, does not
think there would he an excessive profit
In tiie Alaska coal mining because the
price nt which the coal could he sold
would l»e considerably lowered by compe-
tition from these fields snd by tiie pres
erne of crude fuel oil. The history of the
laws affecting the disposition of Alaska
coal lands shows them to need amend-
ment badly.
On November 12. 1906, President Roose-
velt Issued an executive order with
drawing all coal lands from location and
entry in Alaska. On May 16, 1907, he
modified the order so ss to permit valid
locations made prior in the withdrawal
on November 12. 1906, to proceed to entry
and patent. Prior to that date some '*■♦>
claims had been filed, most of them said
to be illegal because either made fraudu-
lently by dummy entrymen in the Inter-
est 41f one Individual or corporation, or
l*e ai>*- of agreements made prior to lo
cation bet ween the applicants to co-operate
In developing the lands. There are 33
claims for 160 •acres each, known a? the
* ♦ unriitigham claims," which are claimed
to l»4* valid on tiie ground that they were
made by an attorney for 33 different
and bona fide claimants who, as
alleged, paid tlnlr money and took the
proper steps to lor ate their entries and
protect them. Tiie representatives of tie*
government In the hearings before the
hind office have attacked the validity of
these Cunningham claims on tin* ground
that prior to their location there was an
I undersfatiding between tiie claimants to
! pool their claims att*T th'-y had been
piTlot ti-| and unite them in one com-
pany The trend of decision wf*ni i to
j show that such an agreement would In-
I validate the claims, although under the
subsequent law of May 2*. 19*. the con -
soltdatlon of such claims wsts permitted,
j after location and entry, In tr.u fs of
2,SCO a< res It would be, of course, 1m-
I prof>«u for t»u* to intimate what the re-
I stilt of tti^ Issue as to tin* ♦ 'unnlngham
and other Alaska claims Is likely to be.
blit it ought to be distinctly understood
that no private claims for Alask-i coal
lands have as vet been allowed or per-
fected. and also Unit whatever the result
its to pending claim*, the existing coal-
land laws of Ala: l;n are most urisatfsPir-
tory and shoti'd t»*• r t»! » • 11 v amended
To begin with, the p ir» base price of the
land Is a flat r»*e of fp* aere. al-
though, as we h;i\<* seen, the estimate of
the agent of th«* geological survey wo cl
carry up the maximum of value to $u(W)
an acre. In my Judgment It is essential
In the proper development of Alaska that
these coal lands should he opened, and
that the Pacific slope should be given the
benefit of the comparatively cheap coal
of fine quality which can be furnished at
a reasonable price from these fields; but
the public, through the government,
ought certainly to retain a wise control
ami interest in these coal deposits, and 1
think it may do so safely If congress will
authorise the granting of leases, as al-
ready suggested for government coal
lands in the United States, with provi-
sions forbidding the transfer of the
leases except with the consent of the
government, thus preventing their acqui-
sition by a combination or monopoly and
upon limitations as to tiie area to be In-
cluded In any one lease to one individual,
and at a certain moderate rental, with
royalties upon the coal mined propor-
tioned to the market value of the coal
either at Seattle or at Han Francisco. Of
course such leases should contain condi-
tions requiring the erection of proper
plants, the proper development by mod-
ern mining methods of the properties
leased, and the use of every known and
practical means and dtvlc* for saving the
life of the miners
Oil and Qat Lands.
In th«* last administration thero were
withdrawn from agricultural entry 2.830.-
000 acres of supposed oil land In Califor-
nia; about a million and a half acres In
Ixnitslana, of which only 6.600 acres
were known to be vacant unappropria-
ted land; 75.000 acres In Oregon and 174.-
00ft acres in Wyoming, making a total of
nearly 4,000,00ft acres. In September. 1909,
1 directed thnt all public oil lands,
whether then withdrawn or not, should
be withheld from disposition pending con-
gressional action, for the reason that the
existing placer mining law. although
made applicable to deposits of this char-
acter, Is not suitable to such lands, and
for the further reason that It seemed de-
sirable to reserve certain fuel-oil deposits
for the use of the American navy. Ac-
cordingly the form of all existing with-
drawals was changed, and new with-
drawals aggregating 2,760,000 acres were
made In Arizona, California, Colorado,
New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Field
examinations during the year showed
that of the original withdrawals, 2,170,-
000 acres were not valuable for oil, and
they were restored for agricultural entry.
Meantime, other withdrawals of public
oil lands In these states were made, so
that July 1, 1910, the outstanding with-
drawals then amounted to 4,660,000 acres.
The needed oil and gas law Is essential-
ly a leasing law’. In their natural occur-
rence, oil and gas cannot be measureil In
terms of acres, like coal, and it follows
that exclusive title to these products can
normally be secured only after they reach
the surface. OH should be disposed of as
a commodity In terms of barrels of
transportable product rather than in
acres <>f real estate. This Is, of course,
the reason for the practically universal
adoption of the leasing system wherever
oil land Is In private ownership. The
government thus would not be entering
on ati experiment, but simply putting
Into effect h plan successfully operated In
private contracts. Why should not tiie
government as a landowner deal directly
with the oil producer rather than through
the intervention of a middleman to whom
tiie government gives title to the land*
T'* *- initoet underlying feature of
sueii legislation should be the exercise of
•n *«e|a| c* ol iswi the collec-
don « venue. 4 a not o, i.ingest
o* ' ’anuu, nut as a . .pact'vs
in me i.u f ” ;»> reason of the
Increasing use of fuel oil by the navy,
the federal government Is directly con-
cerned both In encouraging rational de-
velopment and at the same time insuring
tiie longest possible life to the oil sup-
ply*
One of the difficulties presented, espe-
cially In the Oallfornla fields, is that the
Southern Pacific railroad own* every
other section of land in the oil field,
and in those fields the oil seems to be in
a common reservoir, or series of reser-
voirs, communicating through the oil
sands, so that the excessive draining of
oil at one well, or on the railroad terri-
tory generally, would exhaust the oil in
the government land. Hence It Is Im-
portant thnt if the government Is to have
Its share of the oil it should begin the
opening of wells on Its own property.
It has been suggested, and I believe the
suggestion to be a sound one, thst per
mlts t>e Issued to a prospector for oil
giving him the right to prospect for two
years over a certain tract of government
iand for the discovery of oil, the right to
he evidenced by a license for which he
pays « small sum. When the oil Is dis-
covered. then he acquires title to a cer-
tain tract, much In the same way as ho
would acquire title under a mining law.
Of course If the system of leasing Is
adopted, then he would be given the
benefit of a lease upon terms like that
above suggested. What has been said In
respect to oil applies also to government
gas lands.
Phosphate Land*.
Phosphorus Is one of the three essen-
tials to plsnt growth, the other elements
being nitrogen and potash. Of these
tliref>, phosphorus Is by all odds the
scarcest element In nature It Is easily
extracted In useful form from the phos
phate rock. Hnd the United Htates con-
tains the greatest known deposits of tills
rock In the world. They are found In
Wyoming. Utah and Florida, as well as
In South Carolina, Georgia and Tennes-
see The government phosphate lands are
confined to Wyoming, Utah and Florida,
prior to March 4, 19ft9. there were 4.ftftft,ftftft
acres withdrawn from agricultural entry
In the ground that tin* land covered phos-
phate rock. Since that time, 2,322.000 acres
of the land thus withdrawn was found
not to contain phosphate in profitable*
quantities, while 1,678,000 acres was classi-
fied properly ns phosphate lands. During
tills administration there has been with
drawn and classified 437,00ft acres, so that
today there Is classified as phosphate rock
land 2.116,000 acres This rock Is most
Important In the composition nt fertilize rs
to Improve the soli, and as ilie future* is
certain to create an enormous demand
throughout this country for fertilisation,
the value to the public of Sljcti deposits
as these cat) hardly be exaggerated, e'er
talnlv with respect to these deposits a
cur* ful policy nt conservation should he
followed. A law that would provide a
leasing system for the* phosphate depos-
its. together with a provision for the sep-
aration of tiie surface and mineral rights
ns Is already provided for In the case of
coal, would m * ru to meet the need of
pre inciting the* development of these de
posits aricl their utilization In the ngrt
cultural lands of the west. If It ?s
thought desirable to discount* the expor-
tation of phosphate rock arid the saving
of it for our own InneU this purpose*
could la* accomplished by condition'* in
flu* tense gr’in’ed bv tiie government to
Its lessees ♦ If course*, under tile consti-
tution tin government could not tax
and t on|d not prohibit tiie exportation of
phosphate, tail as proprietor und owner
of th* Janets In which life phosphate Is
deposited It could Impose- conditions upon
the kind of sites, whether foreign or do-
mestic, which tin- lessee* might make of
fife pliosphste mined
Water-Power Site*.
Prior to March 4. 1909, there hnd been,
on tiie recommendation of the reclama
tlon service, withdrawn from agricultural
entry, because they were* regarded as
ns» ful for water-power site* w hich ought
not to tie disposed of as agrh ulfral lands,
I 11ac ts amounting to aland four million
acres. Tin withdrawal* were lisstllv
1 i* rop ntid Included a great deal of land
vtint was not useful for power sites.
, They v < re Intended to Include the power i
sites cm 21 rivers In nine states Blnue
that tlms 1,475,442 acres have been re-
stored for settlement of the origin I four
million, because they do not contain pow-
er site*: and meantime there have been
newly withdrawn 1.146.892 acres on v a cast
public land and 211,007 acres on entered
public land, or a total of 1,466.699 acre*.
These withdrawals made from time to
Him* 00V6T all the power sites included
In the first withdrawals, and many more,
on 136 rivers and In 11 states. The dispo-
sition of these power sites Involves on#
of the most difficult questions presented
in carrying out practical conservation.
The statute of 1891 with its amendments
permits the secretary of the Interior to
grant perpetual casements or rights of
way from water source* over public
lands for the primary purpose of Irriga-
tion and such electrical current as may
be Incidentally developed, but no grant
can be made under this statute to con-
cerns whose primary purpose is gener-
ating and handling electricity The stat-
ute of 19ftl authorises the secretary of
the Interior to issue revocable permit*
over the public lands to electrical power
companies, but tills statute Is woefully in- .
adequate bei-nuse it does not authorise
tiie collection of a charge or fix a l»rm
of years Unpttal Is slow’ to invest in an
enterprise founded on u permit revocable
at will.
It is the plain duty of the government
to see to It that in the utilization and de-
velopment of nil this Immense amount
of water power, conditions shall be Im-
posed that will prevent monopoly and
will prevent extortionate charges, which
are the accompaniment of monopoly The
difficulty of adjusting the matter Is ac-
centuated by the relation of tin- power
sites to the water, the fall and flow of
which create the power. In the stale*
where these sites are, the ripprlsn own
er does not control or own the power in
the water which flows past bis land.
That power Is under the control and with-
in t!m grant of the state, and generally
the rule Is that the first water user I* en-
titled to the enjoyment. Now. the pos-
session of the hank or water power^slte
over which the water Is to be conveyed
In order to make the power useful, give*
to its owner an advantage and a certain
kind of control over the use of the water
power, and It is proposed -that the govern-
ment In dealing with its own lands should
use this advantage and lease lands for
power sites to those who would develop
the power, and Impose conditions on the
leasehold with reference to the reason-
ableness of the rates at which the power,
when transmuted. Is to he furnished to
the public, and forbidding tiie union of
the particular power with a combination
of others made for the purpose of monop-
oly by forbidding assignment of the
lease save by consent of the government.
Herious difficulties are anticipated by
some In such an attempt on the pnG of
the gi'neral government, because of the
sovereign control of the state over the
water Power fn Its natural condition, and
the mere proprietorship of the govern-
ment In the riparian lands It is con-
tended that through its mere proprietary
rlffht In the site, the central government
lias no power to attempt to Afgrt’l** po-
lice jurisdiction with reference to how
tiie water power in a river owned and
controlled by the state shall he used, and
that It Is a violation of the state's rights,
I question the validity of tills objection.
Tim government may impose any condi-
tions that it chooses In its lowso of
own property, even though it mav riavo
tin* same purpose, and in effect accom-
plish Just what the state would accom
pllsh by in* extui if M :<ov erMai^tj.
There are those (un the rector of tru*
geological survey* Mr. At,dU>, who hai
given a great deal of uthmtlcn to ti.ta
matter, Is one of them) who Insist that
tills matter of transmuting water power
Into electricity, which can be conveyed
all over ths country and across staf*
lines, Is a matter that ought to be n-
talned by the general government, and
that it should avail Itself of th* owner-
ship of these power site* for Ihu very
purpose of co-ordinating In one general
plan the power generated from \he*a
government owned sites.
Argument* Against Idea.
On the other hand, It Is contended that
It would relieve a complicated situation
If the control of the water-power sit*
and the control of th* water w*re vested
In the earn* sovereignty and ownership,
v17 . the states, and then W*f* 4l*p0**d
of for development to private lessees un-
der the restrictions needed to preserve
the interests of the public from th* extor-
tions and abuses of monopoly Therefor*,
bills have be*n introduced In congress
providing that whenever the state au-
thorities item * water power HMflll they
may apply to the government of the
United Htates for a grant to the state
of the adjacent land for a water power
site, and that this grant from the fed-
eral government to the state shall con-
taln •> OOndttfcM that the state shall
never part with th* title to the water
power site or the water power, but shall
lease It only for a term of years not ex-
ceeding fifty, with provisions In the
lease by which the rental and the rates
fur which the power Is furnished to the
public slinll he readjusted at periods less
than the term of the lease, say, every ten
years. The argument Is urged against
tills disposition of power sites that legis-
lators and state authorities are more sub-
ject to corporate Influence and control
than would be the central government; In
reply R Is claimed that u readjustment
of the terms of leasehold every ten years
would secure to the public and the state
Just and equitable terms.
I do not express un opinion upon the
controversy thus made or a preference
as to the two methods of treating water-
power sites i shall submit the matter to
congress and urge that one or tiie other
of the two plans he adopted.
I have referred to the emir** of the last
administration and of the present one in
making withdrawals of government lands
from entry under homestead and other
law** and of congress in removing all
doubt us to the validity of thesii with-
drawals us a great step in the direction
of practical conservation. But it Is only
»>ne of tW4» necessary steps to effect what
should tie our purpose. It ha* produced
a status quo nnd prevented waste and Ir-
revocable disposition of the lands until
the method for their proper disposition
can lie formulated. Hut It Is of the ut-
most Importance that such withdrawals
should not be regardeil as the final step
In the course of conservation, and that
the Idea should not la* allowed to spread
thnt conservation Is the tying up of th*
natural resour* cs of the government for
Indefinite withholding from use nnd the
remission to remote generations to decide
what ought to tie don* with these means
of promoting present general human com-
fort and progress. For. If so, It Is certain
to arouse the greatest opposition to ron-
servatlon ms a cause, and If It were a
correct expression nt the purpose of con-
servationists It ought to arouse this op-
position As I have said elsewhere, th*
problem Is how to save and how to util-
ize, how to conserve and still develop;
for no sane person can contend that It Is
for the common good that nature's bless-
ings should l»e gtored only for unhom
ge nera lions.
I beg of you, therefore, In your delib-
erations and In your Informal discussions,
when men come forward to suggest evils
that the promotion of conservation Is to
remedy, that you Invite them to point
out ttie specific evils and the S|>*olf)c
remedies; that you Invite them to come
down to details In order that their discus-
sions may Bow Into chanel* thst shall be
use ft it rather than into periods that shall
tie eloquent and entertaining. without
shedding‘AM light on the subject. The
people should tie shmVb exactly whnt Is
needed In order that they make their
representatives In congress and the state
legislature do their intelligent bidding.
. .mtm
H . 4
V
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Herman, George C. The Batesville Herald. (Batesville, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 8, 1910, newspaper, September 8, 1910; Batesville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1108247/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .