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Show CONSERVATION HOBBLES. It is good to sec that the American Mining Congress is wakening to the troubles that tho senseless conservation policy of Mr. Pinchot would place upon their industry. 'Tho Tribune has directed di-rected attention to this feature of tho fake conservation heretofore It has printed protests, from mining interests in Colorado, in Montana, and elsewhere against tho exclusion of prospectors and mine operators from the immense areas covered by forest reserves, contrary to law. In response to a denouncement of his policies by Colorado miners some two years ago, Mr. Pinchot pointod out that under tho law his forest rangers were not authorized to put obstructions in tho way of mining development on the forest reserves. He was right about it, HO fur !1K tlni lnw rrnnc Tlin 7o. rl.rc not permit thorn to obstruct mining operations on tho forest reserves, but nevertheless they do obstruct those operations oper-ations and havo done so right along. Mr, Pinchot 's showing simply amounts to this,- that his rangers wero defying the law just as he defies the law and as the Roosevelt administration officios offi-cios generally defied the law when the law ran counter to tho things they wished to do. And now the American Mining Congress Con-gress is rousing tip to the situation, and realizing that the conservation policy as administered would throttle the mining min-ing industry on vast areas of mining ground all through this western country coun-try that have been withdrawn from settlement set-tlement as forest resorvos. It is good to see that this congress has at Inst sensed its real relation to tho conservation conserva-tion policies as administered by Mr. Pinchot. Wo shall hope to see other industries also arousing as to the like restrictions that aro being placed upon them by those same policies. It is time that this whole western country aroused itself to a realization of what this sort of conservation really means. It moans hobbling progress all over the west and forbidding the use of the natural resources re-sources of the country to those who would settle on tho land- and develop them. And when this fact, which is known to those who havo taken practical prac-tical notice of what is going on, is realized real-ized by eveiybody, thero will bo a unanimous opposition all through this western country to tho fako conservation conserva-tion policies which have won so much favor for Mr. Pinchot in the East, where tho restrictions which ho has put upon' the settlement and dovclopmeut of the public domain do not apply. |