THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



267 



gation of large areas for forest reserves, would lead 

 one to believe that not be.ing able to carry out his plans 

 comfortably, he becomes vindictive. This is rather a 

 questionable impression to get out concerning the head 

 of our nation. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE is in no way in politics; its 

 interests lie in the clean and rapid development of our 

 western country under irrigation, and unless the men 

 representing the Government in the West possess super- 

 ior ability and exhibit good judgment, grave errors are 

 liable to creep in which will materially retard this great 

 work. 



In discussing the subject before the Land Congress 

 Congressman Mondell of Wyoming spoke as follows: 

 '"The methods practiced and the arguments used in 

 bringing the proposed new policy before the public 

 -and in presenting it to Congress, is, I think, quite fa- 

 miliar to all of you and therefore a recital of it is not 

 necessary at this time. 



"Certainly no one will attempt to deny the extraor- 

 dinary character of the proposal of the radical depart- 

 ure it contemplates from our past policy of non-inter- 

 ference with the use of the grasses of the public domain. 

 It not only proposes making the Government a perma- 

 nent landlord over all the public domain, but assumes 

 municipal right of sovereignty by the nation over all 

 the western States, and places in the hands of one man 

 the secretary of agriculture or some one designated by 

 him absolute control over the vast estate thus created 

 without limit to his authority or appeal from his judg- 

 ment. I think I can truthfully say that no such grant 

 of absolute power over the use of so vast an area of land 

 has ever been given, in time of peace, in any civilized 

 country. 



"Should this proposed legislation become law every 

 person grazing stock on any acre of the public lands 

 except by direct permission of the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture or his agents would be a trespasser and, of course, 

 subject to pain and penalties therefor. Under such leg- 

 islation the Secretary of Agriculture would have the 

 authority to lease every acre of the public land to 

 one individual, or he could refuse to lease a single acre 

 of public land to any one. Under such a law the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture would have authority to charge a 

 grazing fee of any amount for every domestic animal 

 grazed anywhere on any part of the public domain by 

 anybody, or he could charge a grazing fee for the priv- 

 ilege of grazing on the public lands in one locality and 

 not make any charge in another." 



Prom the above by Congressman Mondell it may be 

 readily seen what power would thereby be placed in the 

 hands of Forester Pinchot. 



Notwithstanding the remarks of the President at 

 Jamestown, concerning the ability of this man Pinchot, 

 there are thousands of people in the West who are of 

 the opinion that an individual of his mental make-up 



should not be vested with this great power, nor should 

 any one; in case it is necessary to control the range, 

 as suggested by some of the friends of the administra- 

 tion, it would be much better to appoint a commission 

 to be selected by Congress, said commission to be com- 

 posed of a representative from each of the States inter- 

 ested, as well as one or two of the heads of the bureaus 

 in Washington. In this way it is the impression of 

 THE IRRIGATION AGE that much better results may be 

 obtained. 



THE IRRIGATION AGE will at a later date publish a 

 complete statement of the work performed by the chief 

 forester and will attempt to prove that while he may 

 be a faddist and sincere in his efforts at reforestration, 

 he is not a man of large enough caliber to fill the posi- 

 tion of dictator to the entire West. 



The attention 6f our readers is called to the edi- 

 torial notes by Mr. Shumway published in this issue,, 

 which will, perhaps, give a clearer idea of what was 

 accomplished at the meeting. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



BY G. L. SHDMWAY. 



The Public Lands Convention recently held at Den- 

 ver was the most important one in the history of the 

 West. We observed many of the old vanguard who have 

 attended the Irrigation Congress, the Trdns-Mississippi 

 Congress and similar gatherings. It proved a disap- 

 pointment to the politicians of the East inasmuch as it 

 developed itself into a sober deliberating body deter- 

 mined upon advising the President of the sentiments 

 of the West, instead of a catspaw to please the politi- 

 cians. 



The sentiment was decidedly one way, not of course 

 unanimous, but probably two to one. While Colorado 

 and Wyoming held the largest number of delegates those 

 from distant states were equally determined in express- 

 ing their sentiments. E. W. Ross, Land. Commissioner 

 of Washington, Senator Carter of Montana, Walter H. 

 Graves, of Idaho, and L. Bradford Prince of New Mex- 

 ico, were in evidence. 



Colorado's splendid congressman, P. H. Goudy, and 

 Congressman R. W. Bonynge, and Congressman Mon- 

 dell of Wyoming, the senators from various States, in- 

 cluding Teller of Colorado and Clark of Wyoming, in 

 temperate addresses informed the representatives from 

 Washington that there was nothing the matter of the 

 West that needed remedies or surveillance. It was a 

 scene well worthy of going miles to witness, where a con- 

 vention made up of people, 90 per cent of whom were ad- 

 mirers of President Roosevelt, deliberately repudiated 

 some of the policies he has inaugurated. 



