Show Smoot Caught in Time r Utah it seems has the only remaining Gilsonite beds beds' of any value in the United States and Senator Reed Smoot has just been caught t in the act of trying l to give them away to the asphalt trust oRis His little tittle iUle scheme scheme however was discovered ed before aI any ally y great damage was done It was when one on one of the house bills dealing with Indian affairs went to the senate that Smoot showed his fine file Italian hand hand He Hc inserted a little amendment which provided for the opening up of the mineral lands of the former Uncompahgre Indian reservation for entry The land in question comprises the entire Gilsonite deposits in the United States of any great value J While Smoot was fixing up the amendment to open this land for public entry the asphalt trust so it is charged was preparing its dummies to take advantage of the rich deposits Representative Mays of Utah in discussing this matter in in the lower house of congress con said There were p people ople attempting to select this land through their dummies and at the present time I understand they thet have hundreds of dummy around and about these deposits ready to select any deposits of any value should this measure be passed If they the trust people should secure these deposits in Utah they would control contro the entire deposit of Gilsonite of any value in the United States It is a very useful product Representative Mays declares that members of the Barber Barbel Asphalt company testified before a congress congressional o al committee that they could afford to pay for twenty acre tracts of this Gilsonite land showing the value of the land that Smoot was trying to give giveaway away I think that the senator from Utah was imposed upon by the trust declared Representative Mays It was nice of Mr Mays to give Senator Smoot the benefit of the doubt as to the motive in ill making this amendment but Smoots Smoot's own record of blind obedience to his masters THE masters THE TRUSTS TRUSTS does does not leave any reasonable 1 r om for doubt that he lie was anxious anxious and willing to do this great favor for this powerful asphalt monopoly Has he not stood loyally by the SUGAR TRUST and all other big organizations 7 Did he not follow Aldrich around like a faithful dog voting every time for Big Business 7 Hadn't his whole training fitted him only to think in terms of money and support only the favored few who he believes are ordained by God to rule the masses as they choose Representative Mays declares that another bill has been reported which will serve to open up these lands to entry under regulations designed to prevent their being acquired by the trusts and yet et provide a source of revenue revenue for taxation purposes This bill in brief provides that a permit granting the right to prospect and mine the land may be issued for year ten periods free of royalty with the provision that bona fide citizens of the counties in in which deposits occur are to be preferred and that no assignments can be made without the consent of the government This will defeat the designs of the trust and will cause a horde of dummy squatters to disperse to their legitimate habitations if they have any An offer was made by one of the attorneys to pay high prices for these lands if the government would sell them under a sealed bid system But Mr Speaker the Barber Asphalt company owning the only railroad into that field and already owning practically all the Gilsonite land so far open to entry wOl would ld very probably seek to perpetuate its monopoly by purchasing the deposit said Representative Representative s Mays in congress This would be especially easy to accomplish because of the very limited supply of this very useful resource No other available supply of much value seems to have been yet discovered And yet Senator Reed Smoot from Utah wanted to make a present of the last of this valuable land to a trust He was merely playing his natural role in public life Under the bill fostered by bj Representative Mays s and other men of progressive i type in m in congress the poor common man has a chance to reap some i benefit out of these Gilsonite deposits That was the reason our senior senior senator from Utah was so anxious to put in that little amendment 1 He has been brought up in a school that believes the poor common man is only fit for exploitation Said Representative l I Mays ys in his discussion of the bill Under the bill reported by the public lands committee ommittee the proper committee to deal with public land matters the government will regulate the operation of these deposits and will permit the widest possible range of distribution The nature of the deposits permits the poor man to operate it at ata a profit with little initial investment The deposits occur in veins from three to twenty feet in width and of infinite depth and often outcropping at the surface The product is easily mined and is ie sold without treatment to the market at from 25 to 30 per ton An attorney of the American Asphalt association which claims not notto notto notto to b be trust but which a a admits that its representative are awaiting the passage of this Indian appropriation bill states that his company would be glad to buy the product of these small miners who may operate under the lease or permit The Barber Asphalt trust owns and operates the only railroad into that region and I am informed a prohibitive freight rate is exacted from any operator who would have the temerity to compete with the trust The rate for a distance of less than sixty miles of haul runs from eight to ten dollars per ton New railroad facilities are promised but in the meantime steps should be taken to correct such apparent injustice and the acquisition of further lands by this monopoly should be prevented ted |