THE BEE: OMAHA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 1010.
r
J
IAFT FOR LAND AND WATER
Liwi How on Books Hot Ample to
' . " Trotect Public
MONEY FOB RECLAMATION WOBK
Corrn Hhoall Intemrtlately Take
fceeessary Mepa to Conserve la
terest ( Fabllo fa Wood
ill Mtreame.
(Continued from First Page )
the public that character ol control which
will prevent a monopoly or misuse of the
land or their product. The power of the
secretary of the Interior to withdraw from
the operation of existing rtatute tracts of
land, the disposition of which under auoh
tatutee would be detrimental to the pub
llo interest la not cleat- or Sfitlnfactory.
This power haa heen ererclwd In, the In-
tercet of the public, lih the hope that
congress might affirm the action of the
, executive by law adapted to the new con-
dltlona. I'nfortilnaHly cfnre has not
thus far fully acted on the recommend
tiona of Mm executive, and the question
as what the executive I to do la, under
i... the circumstances, full of difficulty. It
seems to m that It Is the duty of con
jrreea now, by a statute, to validate th
withdrawal which have- been made by
" the secretary of the Interior and the prest-
. dent and to authorise the secretary of the
Interior temporarily to withdraw lands
pending submission to congress of recom
menditluns as to legislation to meet con
, dltlons or emergencies aa they arise.
' One of the most pressing needs In the
.matter of public land reform Is that lands
should be classified according to their
principal value or use. This ought to be
done by that department whose force Is
best adupted to that work. It should be
done by - the Interior department through
the geological survey. Much of the ioti
f union, fraud tnd contention .which has
existed in the past has arlaon from the
t lank of an official and determinative classi
fication of the publlo lands and' their con
ten la.
' What to Withheld.
t
It Is now proposed to dispose of agricul
. tural lands as such and at the same time
- to reserve for other disposition the treas
ure of coal, oil, aHphnKuiii, imlurii gas
' and phosphate contained therein. This may
' be b-K accomplished - by- separating the
right to mine from the title to the surface,
giving the necessary use of so much of
the latter as may be- required for the ex
' traction of the deposits. The surface
might be dlsposd of as agricultural land
under the general agricultural statutes,
while the coal or other mineral could be
' disposed of by lease on a royalty basis,
with provisions requiring a oertaln amount
of development each year, and In order to
prevent the use and cession of such lands
with others of similar character so aa to
. constitute a monopoly forbidden; by law
the lease should contain suitable provision
subjecting to f orefeiture the Interest of
, person participating 1n - such monopoly.
Such law should apply to Alaska aa well
; as to the United States.
It Is exceedingly difficult to framo a
statute to retain government control over
property to be developed by private
. capital In such manner as to secure the
governmental purpose and at the same time
not frighten away the Investment of the
' necessary capital. Hence, It may be neces-
sary by laws that are really only, expert
, mental to determine from their practical
operation what Is the best method of e-
curing the result aimed 'at.-
; rhosabato and. PvbUe Povrerv .
r The-eitttjnt or value of phosphate is hardly
v' realized, and with the heed that there will
be for It as the years roll on and the neces-
; slty for fertilising the land shall become
more acute, this Will be a product whfch
will probably attract the greed of monopo
lists. With respect to the publlo land whloh
lies along the streams offering opportunity
to convert water power Into transmtssable
electricity, another Important phase of the
publlo land question Is presented. There
are valuable water power sites through all
the. public land states. The opinion Is held
that the transfer of sovereignty from the
How Much
Must
I Spend?
- V
' Last spring a man spent
total of $16,000 advertis
ing a new fabric. In ninety
days he had secured 700
new accounts, sold
1 ,250,000 yards more than
' he had expected,' at an
average net advance .of
3c. per yard.
And, during the same
year, another advertiser
in a kindred line, who has
been in our columns corw
tinually for nineteen
years, spent $80,000 in our
publications.
Success in merchandize
Ing of fabrics depends not
so much on the size of the
appropriation as upon the
intelligence and thorough
ness of method.
As the foremost
women's pubiication.THtt
Ladies Hcmib Journal,
. would naturally be the
first medium in a fabric
merchandizing campaign.
And yet
"Method," rather than
pace tailing, is what we
would first like to discuss
with you. '
The Curtis
Publishing Company
Philadelphia -
Maw Tor Cbicaga
Tha clreulatioa f TH LADIES' HOMB
JOURNAL U mare the i.(as.oa copies,
each aaeath. The Mm forte whtaa have
uMd THB- JOURNAL'S iaue circula
tion have, at the eama time, anada H aa ad
vertising maiMuai ef anieue sewer.
federal government to the territorial gov
ernments as they become states. Included
the water power In the rivers except so far
a that owned by riparian proprietors. I
do not think It necessary to go Into a dis
cussion of this somewhat mooted question
of law. It seems to me sufficient to say
that the man who owns and controls the
land along the stream from which the power
Is to be converted and transmitted, owns
land -which is Indispensable to tb conver
sion and use of that power. I cannot con
ceive how the power In streams flowing
through public lands can be made avail
able at all except by using the land Itself
as the site for the construction of the plant
by which the power Is generated and con
verted and securing a right-of-way there
over for transmission lines. Under these
conditions, If the ' government owns the
adjacent land Indeed,, If the government
IS the riparian owner It may control the
use of the water power by Imposing proper
conditions on the disposition of the land
necessary in the creation and Utilisation of
the water power.
To Avoid Monopoly.
The development In electrical appliances
for tho conversion of water power Into
electricity to be transmitted long distance
has progressed so far that It Is no longer
problematical, but It Is a certain Inference
that In the future the power of the water
falling) In the streams to a large extent
will take the place of natural fuels. In
the disposition of the domain already
granted, many water power ' site have
com under absolute ownership, and may
drift Into one ownership, so that all the
water power under private ownerahlp
shall be a monopoly. If, however, the
water power sites now owned by the gov
ernmentand there are enough of them
hall be disposed of to private persons for
the investment of their capital In such a
way as to prevent their union for purposes
of monopoly with other water power sites,
and under conditions that shall limit the
right of use to not exceeding fifty years
with proper means for determining a rea
sonable graduated rental, and with some
equitable provision for fixing terms of re
newal, It would seem entirely possible
to prevent the absorption of these most
useful lands by a power monopoly. As
long as the government retains control
and can prevent their improper union with
other plant competition must be main
tained and prices kept reasonable.
Saving tb oil.
In considering the conservation of the
natural resources of the country, the fea
ture that transcends all others. Including
woods, waters, minerals, la the soil of the
country. It Is Incumbent upon the govern
ment to foster by all available means the
resource of tho country that produce the
food of the people. T thi end the con
ervatlon of the soils of the eountry should
be cared for with all means at the govern
ment's disposal. Their productive power
should have the attention of our scientists
that we may conserve the new soils. Im
prove the old soils, drain wet soils, ditch
swamp soils, levee river overflow soils,
grow trees on thin soils, pasture hillside
soils, rotate crop on 1 all soils, discover
method for cropping dry land soils, find
trasses and legume for all soils, feed
grain and mill feeds on the farms where
they originate, that the soli from which
they come to be enriched.
A work of utmost importance to Inform
and Instruct the publlo on this chief branch
of the conservation of our resources is be
ing carried on successfully in the De
partment of Agriculture, but It ought not
to escape publlo attention that state action
In addition to that of the Department of
Agriculture (as for instance hi the drain
age of swamp, lands) is essential to the
best treatment of tb sou In the manner
above Indicated.
The act by which. In semi-arid parta of
the publlo domain,, the area of the home
stead has been enlarged from 180 to 820
acre and ha resulted -most beneficially in
tho extension of "dry farming" and In the
demembration which has been made ot the
possibility, through a . variation In the
Character and mode of, culture, of raising
Substantial erops without the nres,ice of
uoh supply of water as has been hereto
fore thought to be necessary' for agricul
ture.
Money tor Reclamation.
But there are million of acres of com
pletely arid land In the public domain
which, by the establishment of reservoirs
for the storing of water and the Irrigation
of the lands, may be made much more fruit
ful and productive than the best lands In
a climate where the moisture comes from
the clouds. Congress recognised the Im
portance of this method of artificial dis
tribution of water on the arid lands by the
passage of the reclamation act. The pro
ceed of the public land create a fund to
build tho work needed to store and furnish
the necessary water and It was left to the
secretary of the Interior to determinate
what projects should be selected among
those suggested, and to direct the reclama
tion service, with the funds at hand and
through the engineer In Its employ, to
construct the work.
No one can visit the far west and the
country of arid and seml-arld lands with
out being convinced that this Is one of the
mcst .Important methods of the conserva
tion of our natural resource that the g.iv
ernment has entered uponT It would ap
pear that over thirty projects have be-?n
undertaken, and that a few of them aro
likely to be unsuccessful because of the
lack of water or for other rensons, hut
geneially the work which has been doro
has been well done and many Important
ei.glneeiing problems have been met and
solved.
One of the difficult lea which has arisen
Is that too many prolects in view of the
available funds have been set on foot. The
funds available under the reclamation
statute are inadequate to complete these
projects, within a reasonable time. And
yet the projects have been begun; settlers
have been Invited to take tip and, In many
Instances, have taken tip, the public land
within the projects, relying nnon their
prompt completion. The failure to c.im
plote the projects for their benefit Is, In
effeot, a breach of fslth arid leaves them
In a most dlstresRed condition. I urge that
the nation ought to afford the means to
lift them out of the very desperate condi
tion In which they now are. Thla condition
does not Indicate any excessive waste or
any corruption on the part of the reclama
tion service. It only Indicates n over
realous desire to extend the benefit of
reclamation to as many acrea and as many
states as possible. I reooromrud therefore,
that authority be given to issue, not ex
ceeding $30,000,000 of bonds, from time to
time, as the secretary of the Interior shall
find it necessary, the proceeds to be ap
plied to the Completion of the. projects al
ready begun and their proper extension,
and the bonds running ten years or more,
to be taken up by the proceeds of returns
to the reclamation fund, which returns, as
the years go on, will Inert asa rapidly in
amount. '
There Is no doubt at all that If these
bonds were to be allowed to run ten years,
the proceeds from the publlo lands, to
gether with the rentals for water murnlshed
through the completed enterprises, would
quickly create a sinking fund large enough
to retire the bonds within the time speci
fied. I hope that, while the statute shall
Piovlde that these bonds are to be paid
out ot the reclamation fund. It will be
drawn In uch a way a to secure Interest
at tha lowest rate and that the credit of
the United State will be pledged for their
redemption.
1 urge consideration of the recommends-
rmmsassxsMi
CORRECT DRESS FOR MEN AND BOYS
J1
JiirW(Dl stayrs
Look for the best their money can buy. They recognize the
economy of buying the best made most Fashionable and most Perfect
Fitting Clothes and a great number have learned that THE BERG
CLOTHING CO. are the leading and largest sellers of correct clothes
for men and young men in Omaha and in buying these clothes you get
more for your money than any other store in Omaha can give and
that means at the original price. But NOW at HALF there's
nothing to it but money in your pocket for on the cheapest huh we
sell you, which is $5 you save $5 on a $12 garment you save $6
and on a $15 garment you save $7.50 and so on up to $40 you save
$20.- Then smart snappy styles for the chap that wants td be IT or
quiet refined stylish. clothes for the man of affairs.
The Money Savei The shrewd investor is welcome.
Our Boys' Suits and Overcoats
Divided into three great lots for Saturday
$1.45. $2.9.5. $3.95
A-
I
weatcrs
The turtle neck styles, for hunting and other outdoor comfort; our
whole assortment, qualities and colors worth to $5.00; all go at
Special in Neckwear
All our grand assortments of Holiday Neckwear that sold at $1.00- ff C2.
nnH tWn's h nmnsr nmmmt nf atiirrlinruM alonff with the HUU '1ouf ai one Pnc now-
styles in the make of these garments. As we never deal in All our 50c and 75c Neckwear, 35c; three for
trash. At either price we have named you are positive of a
genuine bargain at half pric and even less. :
...... VF-C
$1,00
A Shirt Sale Worth While
All of our $1.50 and $1.75 Shirts
17c
at.
25o 30c and 35c qualities,
at
Three pairs for 50c. Men here'sa chance to get busy. Fine cotton, lisle at
and mercerized hose. ' .
Underwear
Broken lines and odd suits of men's winter plain and fancy,
that sold up to $3:50 a garment NOW, a garment. ........
All of our $2.00 and $2.50 Shirts-
c
Patterns to suit most tastes some gay and
sporty others plain,.and the right fitting kind, too.
Stars, Excellos and E. & Ws. none better that
we have knowledge, of.
WVXT. 11 JJrXVT
Hen's Sweater
Coats -
With pockets all the vari
ety of colors and combina
tions, worth up to Ti 85
$3.00-now
r ; ' ' " 11 .
...... , -. , - , ' ' v .
25 discount . on all Union
.Underwear, including "Vasar" and
"Superior." t -
;In attractive patterns find
: worth up to $5.00, (T 185
for 41-
tlons of the secretary of the interior In his
annual report for amendments of the recla
mation act, proposing other relief for set
tlers oh these projects.
Forester Uwi.
Respecting the comparatively small tim.
bered areas on the public domain not in
cluded in national forests because of their
isolation or their special value for agri
culture or mineral purposes, It is apparent
from the evils resulting by virtue of the
Imperfections of existing laws for thedls
posltlon of timber tends that the acts of
June i. 1878. should be repealed and a law
enacted for the removal of the timber to be
subject to appropriation under the agricul
ture or mineral lands laws. What I have
said is really an epitome of the recom
mendations of the secretary of the Interior
In respect 'to the future conservation ot
the public domain In his present annual
report. He has given close attention to the
problem of disposition ot these lands under
such conditions as to Invite the private
capital necessary to their development on
the one hand and the maintenance of the
restrictions necessary to prevent monopoly
and abure from absolute ownership on the
other. These recommendations are incor
porated In bills he has prepared, and they
are at the disposition of the congress. 1
earnestly recommend that all the sugges
tions whloh he has made with respect to
these lands Shall be embodied in statutes,
and especially, that the withdrawals al
ready made shall . be validated so far as
necessary and that the authority of the
secretary of the Interior to withdraw
lands for the purpose of Kubmltttng
recommendations aa to future disposition
of them where new legislation is needed
shall be made complete and unquestioned.
The forest reserves ot the United States,
some 190,090,000 acres In extent, are under
the control of the Department of Agricul
ture, with authority adequate to preserve
them and to extend their growth so far
that may Ba practicable. The Importance
of maintenance of our forest cannot- be
exaggerated. The possibility of a scientific
treament ot forests in order that they
shall be made to yield a large return in
timber without really reducing the supply
has bee i demonstrated In other countries,
and we should work toward the standard
Set by them, a far aa their method arv
applicable to our conditions.
Privately Ovraed Timber.
Upwards of 400,000,000 acres of forest Isnd
In this country are In private ownership,
but only three per cent of It Is being treated
scientifically and with a view to the
maintenance of the forests. The part played
by the forests In the equalisation of the
supply of water on water aheds Is a matter
of discussion and dispute, but the general
benefit to be derived by the p-lbllo from the
extension of forest lands on watersheds
and the promotion- of the growth of trees
In places that are now denuded and that
once had great flourishing' forests, goes
without saying. The control to be exercised
over private owners In their treatment of
the foreets which they own Is a matter for
state and not national regulation, because
there I nothing in the constitution that
authorise the federal government to
exerrte any control over forests within a
state, unlees the forests are owned In a
proprietary way by the federal government.
It haa been proposed and a bill for the
purpose passed the lower house In the last
congress, that ihe national government ap
propriate a certain amount each year out
of the receipts from the forestry business
of the government to Institute reforesta
tion at .the 'sources of 'certain navigable
streams, to be selected by the geological
I survey, with a view to determining the
practicability of thus Improving and pro
tecting the streams oV federal purposes. 1
think a moderate expenditure tor each
year for this, purpose, for a period of five
or ten years, would be of the utmost bene
fit in the development of our forestry sys
tem. ' Waterway Improvement.,
- 1 come now to the improvement of the
inland waterways. He would be blind, in
deed, who did not realize that the people
of the entire west, and especially those ot
the Mississippi valley, have been aroused
to the need there to for the Improvement
of our Inland waterways. The Mississippi
river, with the Missouri on the one hand
and the Ohio on the other,, would seem to
offer a great natural mean of Interstate
transportation and traffic How far, It
properly Improved, they would relieve th
railroad or supplement them In- respect
to the bulkier and cheaper commodities. Is
a matter of conjecture. No enterprise
ought to be undertaken the cost of which
Is not definitely ascertained and the bene
fit and advantage ot which are not known
and assured by competent engineer and
other authority. When, however, a pro
ject of a definite character for the Im
provement of waterways has been de
veloped ao that the plana have been
drawn, the cost definitely estimated, and
the traffic which will be accommodated
is reasonably probable, I think It Is the
duty of congress to undertake the project
and make the provision therefor In the
proper appropriation bill.
One ot the projects which answer the
description I have given is that nf Intro,
drxlng dams Into the Ohio river - from
nttsburg to Cairo, so as to matntatn at all
Seasons of the vesr. by slack water, a
depth of nine feet. Cpwards of seven of '
these dams have already been constructed
and six are under ronrtructlon, while the
total required Is fifty-four. The remaining
coat Is known as K3, 000, 000. ,
Irirsrjr la Apparent.
It seems to me that In the development
ot our Inland waterways It would be wise
to begin with this particular project and
carry It through as rapidly as may be. I
assume from reliable Information that It
can be constructed economically In twelve
years.
What has been said ot the Ohio river Is
true In a less complete way ot the Improve
ment of the upper Mississippi from 8t.
Paul to St. Louis to a constsnt depth ot
six feet, and of the Missouri from Kansas
City to si. haul to 1" constant depth of
six feet, and from tit. IjduIi to Cairo of a
depth of eight feet. These project bave
been pronounced praotioal by competent
boards of army engineers, their cost ha
beeu estimated and there 1 business which
will follow th Improvement.
I recommend, therefore, that the present
congress In the river and harbor bill make
provision for continuing contracts to com
plete these 'Improvement. ,
Aa these Improvement are being made
and the traffic encouraged by thain shows
Itself of sufficient importance, th Improve
ment of the Mississippi beyond Cairo down
to tha gulf, which 1 now going on with
th maintenance of a depth of nine feet
everywhere, may be changed to another and
I greater depth tt the necessity for It shall
appear to arise out of the trafflo which
can be delivered on the river at Cairo.
I am Informed that the Investigation by
the Waterways commission In Europe that
the existence ot a waterway by no means
assure traffic unless there Is traffic
adapted to water carriage at chenp rate
at one end or the other of the streams.
It also appears In Europe that the
depth ot. .the non-tidal streams Is
rarely more than six feet and never
more than ten. But It Is certain
that enormous amount of merchandise
are transported ovor the rivers and canals
In Germany and France and England, and
it Is also certain that the existence of such
methods of traffic materially affects the
tates which the railroads charge, and It Is
the best regulator of those rate that we
have, not even excepting the governmental
regulation Ihroigh the Interstate Com.
merce commission. For this reason, I
hope that this congress will take such
steps that It may be called the lnangurator
of the new system of Inland waterways.
For reasons which It Is not necessary to
state, congress has seen fit to order an
Investigation of the Interior department
and the forest service of -he .Agriculture
department. The results of tho Investiga
tion are not needed to determine the value
of, and the necessity for, the new leglaln
tion which I have rqcommendfd in respect
to tho publlo lands and In respect to re
clamation. 1 earnestly urge that the meas
ures recommended bo taken up and dis
posed of promptly, without awaiting tha
Investigation which has been determined
upon. WILLIAM H. TA FT.
The White House, January 14, 1910.
Children like Chamberlain Cough Rem
edy. It Is pleasant to take.
Advcntists May
Build College
Biennial Convention Considering: Con
struction of New School at
St.' Joseph.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo., Jan. 14.-(Sp.c al.)
Seventh Day Advcnt.'sts of five stales are
In session here In the fourth biennial meet
ing of the central union conference. The
meeting will continue ten days. About
sixty delegates, one representing eaoli
church in the conference, are here and the
headquarters have been established at the
Young Men's Christian association
Among the business matters to be dis
cussed at the biennial Is the proposed con
struction ot a $76,000 college In 8L Joseph.
This, If the plan materializes, Is to be built
and supported by funds provided by the
central union conference.
Yesterday's sessions were principally de
voted to the recaption ' and enrollment of
delegates. President Rufsell of Lincoln.
Neb., In the afternoon addressed tho dele
gutes, speaking of "The Principles of the
Adventiut's Religion." In the evening K
R. Falmer of Washington, D. C, ds'l
ered a lecture Illustrated by stcreoptlo,:
views. , .
An elaborate set of scenery to Illustrate
numerous prophecies of th Old Testament
has been installed In the stage of the music
hall of th Toung Men's Christian asso
ciation, where the' session are held and
figure Of beast, 'angel and men are me-
chanlcally operated to" carry out th Mu.
slons.
One of the principles of th Poventh Day
Adventlst Is the prohibition of the use of
liquor and tobacco In anv form and tlt
majority of members of the faith' do not
drink tea.ar coffee. In explanation of this
a delegate said that, these article contain
poison and the Advehtlgts consider !t slnrui
to injure the body glVeh by tha Omnipotent.
Tho officers of the conference are:
Elder E. T. Russell, Lincoln, Neb., presi
dent. . .
re?ar& Hurfman' Polle View, Nt . aeo-
J. Wlghtman. tfonsas City,' Mo.', sec
retary of religious liberty bureau.-,'-
C. a. Uellah. Poplar IJluff. Mo., general
missionary secretary. .
B. M. Emerson. Lincoln. Neb., treasurer.
J?r?l ? Pi, ,iwl". College View, Neb.,
preeulent of Union college. .
pf;.N- Miller, College View, editor, of
Christian Record, the denomination offi
cial publication.
The union conference Includes the con
ferences of ncrthern Missouri, southern
Missouri, eastern Colorado, western Co'o-
ratio, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas, and
it Is a component part of the general con
ference of the International organisation
. Storm-on 0Ur.sard Anniversary. '
HURON. 8. D., Jan. 14.-(8peclal.)-In
'Utbration of the 'twenty-second annlver
ry of the great bllsxard thst prevailed
jver South Dakota January li, ISSS, . a
;t,ivy nowUorm prevailed here and
hroughout this seH'on . all day Wednes
"ayr The storm created apprehension lent
. fuel famine result. ' The supply of coal
in this city and Immediate vicinity I very
'limited.
Skirt. Skirt. Skirts. Skirt.
-.On. sale Saturday at half price at th
Parisian Cloak Co., 11) Bo. 16th St.-
if - - - - -- - - '"- r ...z:.;".'."".- "3L
l "N - .... iiiim ,
i MOW' fPM
I siiBURN-cnosEtrca I i
