Show URGES NEEDS OF PUBLIC P L I 1 C DOMAIN aulffo M A I 1 immediate legislation Is imperative pera tive says the president ASKS NEW LAWS FOR ALASKA rule rules governing acquisition of arid or semiarid semi Sem and lArid lands should be bodif ed commission on cost of living washington feb 2 A special mee mes sage on the work of the interior de apartment part ment and other matters was read ak to congress today to the senate and house of depre senta tives N there Is no branch of the federal jurisdiction which calls more impera lively for or immediate legislation than that which concerns the public domain and especially the part ol 01 that domain which Is in alaska the progress under the reclamation act has made clear the defects of its limitations which should be remedied T the lt jules rules governing the acquisition on ot f hoge of land that Is not arid or semi arid are not well a adapted to h perfecting of title to land made arbeit u by government reclamation work i I oscur with the secretary of the tho interior herfor in hig his recommendation that after entry la Is made upon land being reclaimed actual occupation as a homestead of the same be not re quiren until two years after entry but that cultivation of the same shall be required and that the present pro vision under which aich the land Is to be paid for in ten annual installments shall be so modified as to allow a pat ent issue tor for the land at the end of five years cultivation and three years occupation with a reservation of a government lien for the amount of the unpaid purchase money this leniency to the reclamation home will relieve him from occupy tion at a time when the condition of the land makes it most burdensome and difficult and at the end of falvo years will furnish him with a title upon which he can borrow money and continue the improvement of his bold ing I 1 also concur in the recommends recommend a tion of the secretary of the interior that all of our public domain should be classified and that each class should be disposed of or administered in the manner most appropriate to that particular clase class leasing of government lands the chief change however which ought to be made and which I 1 have already Fe recommended commended in previous messages aad communications t to 0 con gresa gress la is that by which government coal land and phosphate and ather mineral lande lands containing li ferous minerals shall be leased by the government with restrictions as to ize size and time resembling those which now brou broughon brough gh ot the country between the awne sways ts t s in la led fee and the lessees alo work the mines an 4 in teases like hag jopee which have been most successful e in ill australia new now zealand and nova scotia the showing made by investigations into the successful working of the leasing system leaves no doubt as to its wis flom dom and practical utility requirements as to the working of the mine during the term may be so framed as to prevent any holding of large mining properties merely for specula uon while the royalties may be made sufficiently low not unduly to in crease the cost of the coal mined and at the same time sufficient to furnish a reasonable income for the use of the public in the community where the mining goes on in alaska there Is no reason why a substantial income should not thus be raised for such public works as may be deemed necessary or useful would build trunk line railroad I 1 am not in favor of government ownership where the same certainty and of service can be had by private enterprise but I 1 think the conditions presented in alaska are of such ruch a character as to warrant the government for the purpose of en cou raging the development of that fast vast and remarkable territory to build and own a trunk line railroad which it can lease on terms which may alay be varied and changed to meet the growing prosperity and development of the territory I 1 have already recommended to congress the establishment of a form of commission government tor for alas ka the territory la Is too extended its needs are too varied and its distance from washing washington ton too remote to en able congress to keep up with its necessities in the matter of legisla tion of a local character ape the governor of alaska in his re port points out certain laws that ought to be adopted and emphasizes what I 1 have bave said as to the I 1 nead need for a government ot of much wider I powers aers than now exists there if it can be said to have any government at all L lower colorado river there Is 1 transmitted herewith a letter from the secretary of the in arlor setting out the work done un der joint resolution approved june 26 25 1910 authorizing the expenditure of 1000 or so much thereof as might be necessary to be expended by the president for the purpose of protecting lands and property in the imperial valley and elsewhere the colorado river in arizona the money was expended and the krotec tive works erected but the disturb ances in mexico so delayed the work and the floods in the colorado river were so extensive that a part of the works have been carried avay aray and the need for further action and ex pend iture of money exists water power sites in previous communications to con gress I 1 have pointed out two methods by which the awater ater power sites on non navigable streams may be con trolled as between the state and the national government it hag has seemed wise that the control should be con ce cent rated in one government or the other as the active participant in supervising its use by private enter adae 1 4 A the secretary of the interior has suggested another method by which the water power site shall be leased directly by the government to those who ho exercise a public franchise un der provisions imposing a rental for yie the water powe to create a fund to be expended by tbt general govern ment for fok ilia of 01 ahe che stream and the benefit of the local community where the power site Is and permitting the state to regulate the rates at which the converted power Is sold the latter method sug by the secretary is a more direct method tor for federal control and in view of the probable union and systematic organization and weld ing together of the power derived from water within a radius of or miles I 1 think it better that the power of control should remain in the national government than that it should be turned over to the states under such a system the federal gov would have such direct su perv islon of the whole matter that any honest administration could aas ily prevent the abuses which a monopoly of absolute ownership la in private persons or companies would make po possible sIble for some years past the high and steadily increasing cost of living has been a matter of such grave public concern that I 1 deem it of great public interest that an international confer ence enco be od d at this time tor for the purpose of preparing plans to be sub bitted to the various governments tor for an international inquiry into the high cost of living its extent causes ef facts and tind possible remedies I 1 there tore fore recommend that to enable the president to invite foreign govern ments to such a conference to be held at washington or or elsewhere ele where ih the con press provide an appropriation not to exceed 20 to defray the expenses of preparation and of participation by the united states commission on industrial industrial relations the extraordinary growth of indus try in the past two decales decades and its revolutionary changes have raised new and vital questions as tp the relations between employers and ad wage earners which have become matters of press ing public concern industrial rela eions concern the public for a double reason we tre are directly interested in the maintenance of peaceful and sta ble industrial conditions for the sake of our own comfort and well being but society Is equally interested in ite its effectively civic capacity in seeing that our institutions are effectively maintaining justice and fair dealing between any classes of citizens whose economic interests may seem to clash the magn magnitude iture and complexity of 0 modem industrial disputes have put upon some of our statutes and our presen mechanism for adjusting such differences where we can be aid qaid to have any mechanism at all a strain they were never intended to bear and for which they are unsuited what Is urgently needed to day is a re egami misbranding imported goods my attention has been called to the injustice which Is done in this country by the kile ot of article in the trade purl ottlig to be made in ireland when the aie not so made and it is suggested that the justice of the enact ment of a law which so far as the jur ot ol tbt th federal government can go would pi event a continuance of this misrepresentation to the pub lie and fiat liand d upon those who are en titled to use u the statement in the sale of their goods I 1 think it to be great ly li il the interest of fair dealing which ought always to be encouraged by law tor for t to enact a law making it a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment to use the mails or to put into interstate commerce any ar tides of merchandise which bear upon their face a statement that they have havo been manufactured in some ome particular cular country when the fact Is otherwise |