Show PUBLIC LAND LEASING POLICY by J P F gallbreath CALL BREATH in the summer of 1907 as secretary of the american mining congress I 1 was sent to washington to interview mr garfield then secretary of the interior with a view of securing his assistance in bringing about the creation of a bureau of mines through which federal operation cooperation co might be secured in the development of the mining indu industry mr garfield advised that he could give no encouragement to our movement but asked me what action had been taken by our organization with reference to alaska I 1 outlined to him the resolutions of tile the portland convention in 1904 and of subsequent conventions urging congress to grant gradt to alaska the right of territorial government mr garfield outlined to me the then unsatisfactory conditions in alaska stated that the administration was anxious to lend assistance and that he would be glad if this question could be considered at our next annual convention in order that he might have the advantage of its recommendations at our joplin convention the question was considered and a resolution adopted to the effect that the american mining congress cor was not sufficiently advised advise d concerning alaskan conditions to be able to declare itself as to what should be done and providing for a committee to investigate the situation and to present to its next annual convention its recommendations this committee has made various recommendations and untiring effort to secure some redress for alaska its members havo have appeared before congressional committees at various times urging what at the time seemed to be the most feasible plan for bettering alaskan conditions the situation in alaska has been persistently befogged by mysterious ma cerious whisperings of sinister dangers the fact is that there is nothing mysterious about alaska and no reason why it should be treated differently ferent ly from other territorial sections except as this treatment should be modified perhaps to meet climatic and other special conditions for seven years alaskans Ala have been beseeching see ching congress for remedial legislation for seven yep years rs congressional committees have conducted hearings have listened to the weird whisperings of suspicion s uron upon the one hand and plain statements statement S of fact upon the other and for seven years co conditions have been grow growing steadily worse as the patience an and d the powers of endur ance of the pioneers pioneer have been exhausted secretary of the american mining congress statement before the c ommittee committee on territories territories of 0 f the th e TL U S senate washington D CJ C may 10 1913 I 1 speak of congress as a continuing body bod and I 1 hope that you who have y more bently assumed these responsibilities re ty wi 1 ii have the courage to immediately provide remedy for the grave injustice which a all sides is admitted on I 1 want to emphasize what I 1 have said before that the treatment of alaska dy the federal government is the most shameful chapter in american history and what is the remedy in my mg jude ment it is exceedingly simple remove the icy hand of federal restriction an inconsequential patriot of the early days of american history made himself famous by a statement which began the words 1 I know of no light by which my feet may be guided except the lamp of experience peri ence 11 what has been the experience of ow out government with reference to the disposition of its public lands will anybody S say ay that the policy which passed title to the lands of ohio and illinois and the other great states of the mississippi valley was a mistake will anybody say that the policy under which california produced afif ty five millions in gold in one year through which the credit of the nation was saved during the civil war was a mistake what was this policy to pass into private ownership at the earliest moment possible every acre of the public domain under such restrictions as would protect not the federal government but the rights of other american citizens who might desire a part of the public heritage abraham lincoln outlined the basis of this policy in these words the public lands are an impermanent national poses sion held in trust for the maturing states on this principle the magnificent deve development 1 of the west has been based mr gifford pinchot told you a few days ago that the interests had prevented congress from enacting legislation for the relief of alaska when pressed to give g n names ames with creditable embarrassment he suggested the name guggenheim I 1 hoped that some member of the committee would ask mr pinchot to name ilan a few of the members of congress who have baa been controlled by the interests per so nally I 1 can feel nothing but resena for so unjust an insinuation tion I 1 have a personal regard for mir IM pinchot and I 1 rec cognize the valuable service which be has in forestry ma matters rendered the country but I 1 cannot approve the sug suggestion T that congress has been venal in permitting perrail per roil a condition for which he more than any other exa ex paine let us one man is responsible the facts this land policy founded by lincoln was reversed in the year 1906 by the executive withdraw el order of president roosevelt when the trouble began the order applied to au all coal lands in alaska whether located or not A few months later the flagrant injustice of this confiscation of the rights of american citizens acquired under law was so manifest that to escape public condemnation that part of the order relating to located lands was rescinded bat the injustice to individual locators was continued by an outrageous abuse of the administration of the public land office this abuse of administration applied not only to alaska but to all the public coal oil and phosphate lands and water power sites 0 oc the west what was the pu purpose pose of this new theory of administration the secret is revealed by a statement frequently made before this and other committees mit tees that the american people will never again permit the primitive sources of power to pass into private ownership A few gont gentlemen lemen in secret conference agreed among themselves that a leasing system a aej to the public coal lands would better conserve the rights of the people and being in high places were able to put in effect an administrative policy which would prevent the patenting of these lands and hold them in federal control until congress could be induced or forced to pass a leasing bill the approval of the american people has been sought by the most brazen audacious statements misstatements mis of the facts of the facts involved I 1 dislike to use harsh terms but if these same gentlemen had formed a similar agreement as to the selling price of chewing gum in wilmington and balitmore they would be deemed guilty of criminal con and liable to a penitentiary sentence the conspiracy which included the abrogation of national laws affecting the happiness and prosperity of millions of people was probably as in its conception as it was diabolical in its result the story of alanskas troubles you have heard the protest of western governors and alid legislatures have brought to your attention the condition in the western states the result of these restricted policies has affected every western industry tile the production of gold which is more immune from this influence than any other registers an average annual decrease for the five year period from 1906 to 1930 1910 as compared with the previous five year period of 8 or a total for the period of this in spite of the benefits from the more extended use of chemical reduction methods during the five year period ending in 1911 citizens of the united states emigrated to canada mostly farmers car crying with them property of value in excess of under these conditions should we plan more liberal treatment for the pioneers who 4 develop western resources or shall we drive the balance of our population to canada there are many arguments in favor of a state leasing system but nn n argument which justifies the federal government in taking a profit from the natural resources of a state there is no argument which justifies the federal government in keeping valuable property from the state taxing power and thus crippling its ability to maintain a republican form of government as required by the contract which authorized the state governments the avowed purpose of all these restrictions strict ions is to prevent the grinding power of mono monopoly p oly from controlling the sources of primary power does not the same argument apply with equal force to the production of food stuffs of wheat corn potatoes and meat the sources of real primary power which must be utilized before coal is made avail available availably abl Is not the preservation of human life more important than industrial developments why not carry this theory to its logical conclusion you were referred a few days ago to the eastern coal fields as a horrible example of the conditions sought to be averted mr walter L fisher the distinguished ex sec detary of the interior told you that in this country you will find the overwhelming over whelming proportion of coal land operated under a leasing system many western men nave suspected that M mr br fishers public land policies when in office were based upon information of equal accuracy the most reliable statistics available show that in 1909 acres were operated by owners and I 1 acres by leases the same estimates show the production of coal in the united states as follows by owners by owners and lessees lessels les sees by lessees lessels les sees the abstract of the census of the united states at page gives the acreage of producing coal enterprises in 1909 as follows by owners by les sees sixty eight per cent of the anthracite fields and seventy three per cent of the bituminous fields are according to the census report operated by owners the facts do not seem to bear out mr fishers statement let us examine the prime reason for the leasing system viz that it is necessary to prevent monopoly the present exploration of alanskas coal bearing areas justifies an estimate of square miles or acres mind you no coal has been produced the government land department is insisting as an all excuse for not granting patents to claimants that ahat ad no one ha has 1 s yet opened a coal mine as con templates tem plated by the coal land law probably not more than one third of alanskas area has been explored and yet there are almost as many acres in alaska classed as coal lands as in the states the census reports acres of coal lands in the states there are in the states today approximately potential coal mines approximately mines are now ready to produce coal and coal mines in actual operation three fifths of these mines employ employ less than twenty men each has monopoly resulted no on the contrary coal is being produced in the united states cheaper than in any other country in the world so active is the competition that the bituminous coal mining industry is approaching closer and closer to bankruptcy the average price at which bituminous coal was sold at the mines during the years 1904 to 1910 inclusive was per ton a price believed by experts to be approximately fifteen cents per ton less than the cost of production does this look like monopoly does this condition justify the abrogation of law the sacrifice of the rights of american citizen the paralysis of the commerce of a great territory in order to prevent monopoly if it were to prevent the very antithesis of monopoly the facts would furnish ample argument if we are to be guided by the lamp of experience we shall know that there is no danger of a coal monopoly in alaska under the existing law we shall know that the liberal public land policy of this government down to 1904 is the best possible system that the world has ever tried out for the development of virgil 1 territory remote from the centres bentres of population all sides of this controversy concede the injustice of present alaskan conditions dit ions all alaskans AIa Ala will agree upon che one proposition which I 1 most earnestly advocate viz the restoration of those conditions under which the west has prospered upon no other proposition can all alaskans AIa Ala be brought to agreement the law of 1908 relating to alanskas coal lands provI provide dep 0 more safeguards safe guards against monopoly than any other law of its kind ever enacted the abrogation of a law because its provisions do not meet the approval of the officers sworn to enforce it would justify revolution the justification of this principle means tyranny and yet the orders of 1906 were absolutely without authority of law the law did not meet the approval of the administration and the progress of the west was as stopped in aid of legislation and until congress should willy nilly make a new law which should meet executive approval later congress passed a law forbidding the increase of forest reserve arpas areas without its consent the executive at once added to the forest reserve in a blanket order every acre of the public domain which might possibly be suspected of forestry intentions and then approved the act ot congress and congress stood for it the principles involved in this question are most vital to the perpetuity of republican institutions we shall do well it if we be guided by the constitution and by the experience of our country in the application of constitutional principles when we are asked to establish new policies relating to the foundation of our national greatness I 1 do not believe in the principle of gov eminent construction of railways but railways cannot be constructed in virgin undeveloped country except that a part of the increased value of continuous territory created by the railway shall be made a recompense for the necessary loses in operation during the first years of its operation |