Show TAfT T INSISTS ON IAFTmwm WITHDRAWAL BILL Land Conservation Measure Is Considered Important by President IS OPPOSED BY WESTERNERS Democrats Hope to Elect Successor to James Breck Perkins In New I YorkSenators Are Against I Proposed Treaty with I Liberia Washington Is becoming sharp ly evident that tho presidents conservation conser-vation measures will be beset by many difficulties but finally they may BOO tho light of passage One of tho bills as prepared authorizes the presi dent to withdraw from the public domain do-main any lands which ho may deem advisable In order to protect the peoples Interest Many of the western west-ern senators and representatives and a goodly number of those from the east oppose this measure as putting as they think too much power Into the hands of the chief executive It will be recognized at once that tho reasons back of the desire to pass this legislation have for their basis the wish to find a way to prevent valuable val-uable water sites and mining lands from passing Into the hands of per pons who Intend eventually to turn them over to tho uses of corporations which on once securing control might make millions out of property which has cost them comparatively little and would then be in a legal position which would bulwark them against any attempt to force them to pay the original owners the people any lease Inoney Only Two Bills Have Chance I It was supposed when congress first pame together that several conserve i lion bills of different kinds would be Introduced and that the president would Insist that all of them be passed The length of the presidents pogram and the lackadaisical way In which congress has gone at the work of the session make it seem certain cer-tain now that only two conservation measures have any real chance of passage pas-sage this year One of them Is the withdrawal bill of which mention has Just been made and the other Is the measure which looks to the separation af tho surface lands from tho mineral lands which may lie underneath In order or-der that different methods of dispoSing dispo-Sing of each may be found In the tecoid conservation measure the idea Is to secure means by which the government gov-ernment can lease the right to deVelop de-Velop mines while disposing of the surface lands for agricultural purposes pur-poses in any way that may seem best While the extreme west and north vest have been markedly progressive along the lines of the Roosevelt en leaver It Is nevertheless true that n conservation matters the former president did not have the entire sympathy sym-pathy and support of men who stood py him upon all other matters of public pub-lic policy to which he gave his adherence adher-ence President Taft is most Insist put that a law which will give him and succeeding presidents the power lo withdraw public lands when It seems necessary shall be passed at this session He Is constantly referring refer-ring to the subject when the senate and house leaders visit him In the White House and he Is telling them that this bill must go through in virtually vir-tually the form in which it was drawn lIe is trying hard to win the northwest north-west to his views Involves Ballinger Trouble It is perfectly easy to understand why Mr Taft is so anxious that this particular piece of legislation shall goon go-on the statute books in the form In which It has been sanctioned by him and by the attorney general and the secretary of the Interior One of the first acts of Secretary Balllnger was to restore some of the lands which had been withdrawn by his predecessor predeces-sor Secretary Garfield Mr Balllnger did not believe and docs not believe today that Mr Garfield had the legal authority to withdraw the lands As soon as the new secretary of the Interior had restored a part of the nubile domain which Mr Gorfleld had withdrawn harsh criticism of the act was made by the principal advocates of the Roosevelt policies of conservation conserva-tion GIfford Plnchot and others made representations to President Taft and as a result Mr Ballinger was compelled com-pelled to withdraw some of the lands which ho had restored to their former status It IB needless to say that the secretary of the Interior did this with no very good grace for by the act he was compelled to go In the face of his own belief of the rights In the matter This difficulty over withdrawals and restorations of the public domain added add-ed coals to the already hot fire of controversy between Mr Balllngor service Mr Plnchot of the forestry and some of the officials of the land service Office and reclamation Hope to Gain Another Seat There has been great activity In the democratic congressional committee for the last few days The members are taking particularly sharp Interest In the outcome of the special election congressional district in the Thirtysecond trict In NeW York state where a representative elect resentatlvo In congress Is to be the vacancy caused by ed to nil the member James death of a Republican Brock Perkins to carry this Tho Democrats hope district which In New York rlbeenttlto western ordinarily has been Repub the past Icon Having elected n successor to David A DeArmond In a Missouri dls I rlct by a largely Increased majority and being successful In the Fourteenth Four-teenth Massachusetts district In tho election of Eugene N Foss on tho Democratic ticket In a Republican section of tho state the present minority mi-nority party naturally hopes to make a further gain In western New York Tho Republicans say that In the Massachusetts district where the Democrats Dem-ocrats won conditions were abnormal md that Foss who was elected by tho Democrats was In reality a Republican and that his opponent was a man not at all popular and therefore the Democratic Dem-ocratic success Is easily to bo accounted account-ed for The Democrats reply simply that the Republicans are whistling to keep up their courage and that tho election of the Democrat In western New York In a few days or the cutting cut-ting down greatly of the Republican majority will prove that tho country is ripe for a change In the party control con-trol of the lower house of congress Will Congress Pay Tariff Board It Is still a question whether President Pres-ident Taft Is to be given the 250000 which he has naked from congress to pay the expenses of the tariff board for the next fiscal year Tho president presi-dent has urged congress hard to sanction sanc-tion the appropriation Early In I the season Senator Halo of Maine who Is a protectionist of the old school gave sharp Intimation that If the president Intended to employ the tariff board for any purpose except to consider con-sider the questions of maximum and minimum tariff rates and their relation rela-tion to our foreign trade and to customs cus-toms discriminations congress ought not to give him money to carry out his wishes The downward revision Republicans and the Democrats with them say that the fear of the high protection element is that tho tariff board will conduct Investigations for tho purpose of getting material which can be used In future tariff legislation and that the high protectionists fear also that some of the facts which are adduced will lead the people to believe that low rates are a necessity Treaty with Liberia Opposed If the administration Is to secure what It so heartily desires a treaty with Liberia the boon will be given only after troubles that may take on the form of a congressional fight In reality It seems wholly improbable that the senate will consent to negotiating nego-tiating any treaty with the African republic at this session There Is a good deal of sentiment in America in connection with Liberia because Its government was modeled In the beginning be-ginning after that of the United States and because In the old slavery days it was considered a sort of haven for negroes and it was the hopeful belief of many of the old time abolitionists abo-litionists that In Liberia tho black race would prove that It was thoroughly thorough-ly capable of selfgovernment In his annual message to congress President Taft gave considerable space to the troubles In Liberia He called attention to the fact that there Is a provision In an early treaty with the African republic under which the United States may be called upon for advice or assistance Pursuant to this provision and In the spirit of the moral relationship of the United States to Liberia that republic last year asked this government to lend assistance In the solution of certain of their national problems Not long ago the report of the commission which the United States sent to Liberia was made public and the president has said that he hopes as a result of the commissions report some helpful measures might result and so through the department of state he has called the attention of the senate to the subject Position of United States Recently Secretary Knox Invited the members of the foreign relations committee com-mittee of the senate to a dinner at his residence and there he laid before them the reasons as he saw them for the negotiating of a treaty with Liberia Li-beria It seems to be the feeling In the state department that the African country Is likely to be made the scene of exploitation of English French or German Interests and that It may be eventually that one or the other of these countries may actually threaten the territorial Integrity of a country which in a sensa is considered a ward of the United States The members of tho senate committee commit-tee made It plain to Secretary Knox that they wero not In favor of n treaty with Liberia that in any way would bind this country to a course which might run counter to the wishes oC the three great European countries which have been named Mr Knoxs guests told him that while the United Uni-ted States was extremely cordial In Its good wishes to Liberia and had done much for that country it had done no more than Great Britain and that It 1 would seem like a slur at the English people If this country were even Indirectly In-directly to Intimate that It feared the British government was to be an ag grosser Meeting of the D A R The advance guard of the Datigh tern of tho American Revolution who will meet In Washington April 18 already al-ready has entered the city Within the next week there will be hundreds of representatives of the society In tho capital and already preparations are being made for the meeting which will last just one week The Daughters of tho American Revolution curiously enough have the same kind of trouble on their hands that recently beset congress Tho Daughters are divided Into two factions fac-tions which have been named regulars fond Insurgents Tho Insurgents In the main are opposed to the rule of the presiding officer who like Speaker Cannon comes from Illinois GEORGE CLINTON rtsl r Wd |