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Show U.S. Land Office Registers Plan For Mew Government Set-up ' The Registers of the different ; s Land offices In the Western states ;F have been exchanging views as to the best policy to be adopted in A administring the affairs of the Public Domain since the re-;T re-;T organization of the government de partments has been suggested by the President to Congress. The - Registers are in close touch with v : a this department, they having -charge of the administration of the local Land offices consequently consequent-ly they are very much interested In any legislation tending towards Vvvvvwvx the improvement of the present XM condition of the public domain. mW Qne of the proposed changes in (Continued on page ten) U.S. Lend Office Registers Plan For Hew Government Set-up (Continued from first page) the reorganization is the change of name of the "Department of the Interior" to the "DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION". As this change of name may be a matter of vital importance to the Western states the Registers held a meeting meet-ing at Los Angeles on November 24 and discussed the matter from all angles. They asked that a representative rep-resentative of the General Land office at Washington attend the meeting and if possible explain what the changing of the name signified in relation to the future administration and improvement of the public domain. The Registers Regis-ters were fortunate to have the General Land office represented at the meeting by Thomas C. Havel, who has been connected with the office for more than thirty-five years and who has a thorough knowledge of the public domain and its needs for future development. Mr. Havel advised the Registers that the Department of the Interior has a number of appendages that have no relation to it as originally created and which are detrimental and expensive expen-sive to the proper functioning of the Department. If and when the change of name is effected the "Department of Conservation" will deal exclusively exclusive-ly with the public domain, territorial terri-torial possessions and natural resources re-sources of the nation and enforce the conservation laws in regard to the same. All the public domain was heretofore considered was a source of revenue, but if the change1 of name is effected the public domain will revive the consideration which is its due and which it should have received long ago. The Registers report they left the meeting assured and well satisfied that upon the change of name to the "Department Of Conservation" Con-servation" the public domain will be considered as a field for the application ap-plication of real conservation and will get the consideration which is its due. As P. J. Keohane, register, U.S. Land office at Phoenix expresses it, "This will mean to the public domain what irrigation has meant to the arid lands of the west and we would suggest and sincerely hope that the cattle and sheep raisers will get behind this conservation conser-vation project as it will be to their interest to do so. It will mean water development, planting of trees to conserve and retain the moisture which are so essential to the cattle and sheep industry, also the building of roads and other improvements that may lead to the ideals of conservation and the future improve'nent of the public domain. "We believe the creation of the proposed department of conservation conserva-tion will provide an up-to-date, efficient ef-ficient instrument to carry out 1he desire of the nation for the conservation con-servation of its natural resources. The need and desiriability of this instument of government li a v e long been recount'.! and an unusually un-usually favorable opportunity for its establishment now exists." |