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Show t ill C'APITOL. . finSrW WATCHDOG V J By Bill Hendrix Momentum in the 'sagebrush conflict' The "Sagebrush Rebellion", as it has been called, is gathering momentum. Followers from states not directly affected by government control of lands are jumping on the bandwagon. One of the most noteable is Congressman Phil Crane (R-Ill.), who distinguished himself most recently in the Iowa Republican debates. Until then, most Americans didn't have the slightest idea who Phil Crane is. He's a candidate for President, under the provizo that Gov. Ronald Reagan should become unacceptable to the Republican Party for a reason such as Reagan's age. In a recent statement for the Congressional Record, Crane said what most Utahn's feel. And he did it from a platform in a place not impacted by the failure of the Federal Government to recognize states rights. Here's what he said: "In order to produce our way out of the energy crisis we are facing, and to reduce our dependence on foreign resources, we must utilize all of the resources within our country. These federally owned lands contain 85. percent of our nation's oil reserves, 37 percent of our natural gas and 45 percent of our timber. Plentiful supplies sup-plies of coal can be found in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Arizona while 37 percent of our uranium resources, and 72 percent of our shale oil is contained within this federally owned property. With all this potential sitting in our backyard, it makes no sense for the federal government to continue to lock-up these lands and prevent us from benefiting from the responsible development that these state governments can provide." i Crane goes on to say, "Would Easterners give up 60 to 70 percent of their land to Washington? I think not. Therefore, we who represent the states east of the Mississippi should grant our sister states west of the 100th meridian the same rights we so cherish.. .Let us now, at long last allow these 13 Western ' states to join the Union on the basis of equality." Rep. Crane and 16 U.S. Senators are supporting and sponsoring S.B. 1680 which provides for the "cession and convayance" to the states federally owned, unreserved, unappropriated lands. One of the chief co-sponsors of that legislation is Sen. Jake Gam who joined with the original sponsor and drafter of the measure, Sen. Orrin Hatch. Both are from Utah and pushing for passage of the legislation. |