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Show H r , BLOCKING THE BURLEY OUT-OFF. 1 ,i Parley L. Williams, head of the legal department of the Oregoni H , , Short Line, has received a telegram notifying him that the building H j of the Ogden-Burley cut-off has received another setback by the ac- H tion of government. H I "They tell me that the secretary of the interior is working on H another stipulation for us," said Mr. Williams. "They sent one to i v jj us which jvc signed under protest, attaching our protest after our Hj , signatures. Tlje settlers north of Strevell are raising a crop of beets H on the Btrength of our promise to put the road there and we are au- 1 i xious to help them save their crops. We felt that we were entitled. H to tfie protection that the protest would afford us, in case the stipu- 1 j lation was not legal, and, if it was legal, the fact that we signed it, i i under protest would not affect it. The department of the interior, H j ij however, refused to accept the stipulation so signed, and I suppose H is trying to prepare one that wc shall sign withdut protest." B , I! This is a vexatious delay in the construction of the road from. ! Saline, 20 miles west of Ogden, to Burley, Idah6, and we join with, the Salt iLake Tribune in saying: "It is difficult to understand what the Department of the Iu- tarior means by its shabby, shifty treatment of the Oregon Short H j Line in the matter of the construction of the Burley cutoff. The 1 Oregon Short Line has built a great deal of railroad in southern' 1 i Idaho in the last few years, among which is this line to Burley. It m j offers a favorable opportunity for a cut-off to be built to a direct m I , connection with the Southern Pacific at the southern point of the 1 i Promontory. The company proceeded to get its right-of-way, H to grade the track and to prepare for the laying of the H raiLs- There as not only uo objection on the part of i 1 anyone to the building of this road; on the contrary, the set- 1 tiers were all enthusiastically in favor of it. The road' would help M j everybody, and there was uo reason in the world why it should not H J be built, but every reason why it should be. J j "All at once, however, the Department of the Interior stepped in 1 J and forbade the laying of the rails until indemnity could be provided- 1 J against damage to the National interests. That was easily fixed, bo- j j cause there was no possibility of damage to the Natiou,o any of- M ficialdom, or to any interest whatever. Then Ihe company' got ae- M tive for the completion of the road. But as explained by Mr. 1 L.. . Williams, the Department of the Interior has called a halt again j The Secretary is said to be working on another stipulation, the dc-' sign of which is unknown, and cannot be imagined. The forme:' i stipulation required of the company was readily furnished, under, protest, to be sure, because the company did not believe that tho Department had any right to interfere, since the right-of-way wafi j not in any way dependent upon the Department, but had already J been independently procured. i "The excuse for the interference of the Department is because- J of the deferred payments b' settlers q the land reclaimed, undei J the National irrigation law; but so far as the construction of thit jj road being any hindrance, it would be of vast and positive help; for i H the settlers, by the construction of this road, will be furnished with n transportation for their crops to market, and for supplies for them (1 selves. In every way the construction of the road is both a public j and private advantage; and yet this construction is held up on aj wholly fictitious pretense." We often wonder, if the interior department, by these senseless J obstructions to progress, is attempting to so misapply the conscrva- j tion rules laid by Pinchot as to make conservation a farce and pro-' j voke widespread opposition. It is well kn5wn that the Taft admin- i J istration is not in hearty accord with any policy that Roosevelt in-II augurated aud today is maintaining a show at carrying out the con-, J scrvation plans simply because public opinion is known to favor them. J |
