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10 LET NATION HOLD ITS COAL LANDS. (Continued from page 7.) ence with the interstate commerce and anti-trust laws shows that what is needed is not prohibition of all com binations, but such supervision and control over combinations, and other corporations entering into them, as will prevent the evils, while giving to the public the advantages of combina nation. Government Control of Pasture Land. “Let me also urge that public leg islation be passed to provide for gov ernment control of the public pasture lands of the west on the same general principles which now apply in the government control of the forest re serve. The local control of the range should be in the hands of western men familiar with stock raising, and there should be full local participation in the management of the range. There is no need at present that the gov ernment should get a net revenue from grazing on the public range, but only enough to pay for administration and improvement, and it may be wise to provide that any surplus shall go to the states and territories in which the fees are collected. Let me urge that congress provide $500,000 in ad dition to the present estimate, to be immediately appropriated to the clear ing of arrears of business in the gen eral land offices as regards the detec tion and prevention of fraud in dis posing of applications for patents to the public lands. “I wish to express my utter and complete dissent from the statements that have been made as to there being a minimum of fraud in the actual working of our present land laws. T am exceedingly anxious to protect the interests of bona fide settlers, and to prevent hardships being inflicted on them. But surely we are working in their interests when we try to prevent the land which should be reserved for them and those like them from being taken possession of for speculative purposes, or obtained in any fraudulent fashion.” The president says the present force of special agents is utterly insufficient to conduct the proper field examina tions, but adds that in six months ending December 31, last, they secur ed indictments in one hundred and ninety-seven actions for fraud, 26 of which have been tried, resulting in 14 convictions and 12 acquittals. “In the forest reserves, where we have been able to examine a great number of claims,” he adds, “in about one-third the law was not complied with.” I? H H FIGHTING SHIP SUBSIDY. National Grange Master Is at Odds With Grosvenor. FAILED TO PRINT ANSWER. Former Gov. Bachelder, of New Hamp shire, Representing 900,000 Farmers, Declares Against Plan to Subsidize Merchant Marine—Chairman of Committee Should Have Had Letter Printed. The National Grange, composed of 900,000 farmers throughout the United States, Is disappointed because Chair man Grosvenor, of the house commit tee on merchant marine and fisheries, did not print, with other data, its re ply to a letter from him in opposition to ship-subsidy legislation. The corres pondence may be read on the floor of the house. Former Governor Bachelder, of New Hampshire, who Is master of the Na tional Grange, sent a letter to Presi dent Roosevelt, in which he said: “I regret the duty which devolves upon me to advise you, on behalf of the great national organization of far mers which I have the honor to repre sent, that the farmers of the nation are for the first time unitedly and steadfastly opposed to the legislative recommendations you have made to congress in your recent message favor ing ship subsidies. We protest most urgently against any future payment of the public funds to any~ private firm or corporation for any purpose whatsoever without safeguarding such payments by a public accounting of the business of the firm or corporation to whom such payment is made.” Gen. Grosvenor Replied. The president turned this letter over to Gen. Grosvenor, who replied in a letter in which he said that the bill encouraged American farmers, and that a great majority of the members of the National Grange approved it. “You would make a waste place of our last shipyard and drive our last ship owners and seamen and shipyard mechanics to choose between the poor house and foreign lands,” said he. This correspondence was published in a public document compiled by the general. The former governor replied at length, but, according to the legisla tive committee of the Grange, Gen. Grosvenor declined to print the reply. As a result the members of the grange are sending floods of letters to their respective representatives in the house, urging them not to vote for the ship subsidy bill. Gov. Bachelder, in his reply, im presses upon Gen. Grosvenor that in his opposition to the subsidy bill he is backed by 900,000 farmers, who have in their conventions decided against the proposition by overwhelming ma jorities. Continuing, he says: “I wish to take exception to your assumption that the proposal to pay out of the United States treasury sub sidies to steamship companies, over and above a fair price for carrying mails, has anything in common with the protection of American farmers or American workingmen against foreign competition. Purpose of Protection. “So far as I know, not even the most extreme protectionist has ever claim ed that it would be right, even if it were possible, to protect the products of American farmers or labor by giv ing a subsidy to the portion of those products sold in foreign markets. Pro tection is intended for the home mar ket only, and it is an application of the protective policy hitherto un dreamed of that our government should put its hands into the treas ury to aid our induswies in compet ing in neutral markets. “I must also take exception to your assumption that I wish to make a waste place of our ship yards and drive our ship owners and seamen into the poor house. I favor nothing of the kind. So far as our domestic and coastwise trade is concerned, our ship owners and sailors have an absolute monopoly of the business, and it is only in connection with international trade that the advocates of ship sub sidies claim that our shipbuilding in dustries are languishing. “You are generous enough to as sume that in opposing subsidy legisla tion, I am doing so through a misap prehension of the facts. Plenty of Tramp Steamers. “You will pardon me if I suggest that this is a matter to which I have given sufficient attention to be in a position to know that there is not the slightest foundation for your state ment that foreign steamship companies are ousting our farmers from the mar kets in Brazil and elsewhere. You refer to evidence to this effect sub mitted to your committee. I have heard of this evidence, but could never find that it was more than mere rumor or groundless allegation, which had no foundation in fact. “Your statement that because for eign nations had ships and we have THE WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. none Australian farmers are enabled to drive us out of the flour market of the Orient, is a fair sample of the argument used in support of subsi dies. If you will consult any of the large flour milling concerns in Minne apolis, or other parts of this country, they will tell you that there are al ways more tramp steamers seeking freights for any part of the world than are needed. “I cannot agree with you that the practically unanimous attitude of the farmers against subsidies is due to ignorance of the facts. Farmers Know Situation. “The farmers have been reading about this subject and discussing it at their local, state, and national grange meetings for the past ten or twelve years, and they are fully convinced that it is contrary to their best inter ests. They do not see how it would benefit them for the foreign consumer of their wheat or meat products to have his freight carried at possibly slightly lower rates. “Any benefit which might rejsult from increased competition in the ocean carrying trade would inevitably redound to the foreign consumers, and not to the American farmer. “1 would call your attention to the fact that there are many, hundreds of business and commercial organiza tions in this country, and, so far as I can learn, comparatively few are in favor of the sudsidy bill. “I regret as much as you do the fact that our shipping industry, in so far as the foreign trade is concerned, has fallen off so largely since 1861. I am sincerely desirous of seeing this in dustry restored to its former great proportions of the world’s carrying trade, but I cannot see how the tax payers of the country can justly be called upon to pay money out of their pockets toward this particular indus try, any more than they should to pay subsidies to a local express or freight service in the farming sections of the country, to enable carriers to make larger profits than they do now.” HMM MAIL TRANSPORTATION. Railroads’ Receipts from This Source —Road’s Protest Against Re duced Compensation. Railroads throughout the country are offering vigorous protests against the proposed reduction in the compen sation for the transportation of mail, arguing that they are already receiv too little for the service rendered, and that any further reduction must needs impair the efficiency of the mail serv ice. There is something that strikes the average observer as more or less amusing in the apparently conflicting statements that are being made in be half of the railroads in connection with this question of mail transporta tion. One large railroad here in the east sent out telegrams last week to influential citizens along its lines, urg ing them to impress upon their repre sentatives in congress the necessity of maintaining the present compensation for mail transportation on the ground that were the railroads’ income from this source lessened it would become necessary to reduce the train service on the lines. In the same breath it was added that of course the railroad Itself cared nothing for the trans portation of mail, inasmuch as it was not profitable, but it did not wish to see its patrons inconvenienced. The popular impression is that the transportation of mails is a valuable source of income for the railroads, and the railroads themselves, despite their claim that the compensation is inade quate, have done much by striving for mail contracts to confirm this impres sion. Admittedly, however, there are two sides to the case, and the government officials themselves admit that In some Instances at least the pay re ceived by the railroad is not commen surate with the service rendered to the public. In view of all the facts, how’ever, it can scarcely be doubted that all in all the transportation of mail is a valuable source of income to the railroads. How important an item - it is in their earnings is made clear * by the fact that the earnings from t mail amount to about 7 per cent of the gross receipts of the railroads. * The present discussion of the sub ject adds interest to the development of the railway mail service, which is indicated by the following figures: Am’t ; Pd per R. R. Mail. Amt. Pd. Mile. Year. Mileage. Mileage. R. R.’s. Cents. 1879 79,991 93,092,992 $9,792,589 10.51 1882 100,563 113,995,318 13,127,715 11.51 1885 121,032 151,910,485 16,627,983 10.95 1888 143,713 185,485,783 19,524,959 10.52 1891 159,518|228,719,900 25,183,714 11.01 1894 169,768 264,717,595 30,358,190 11.46 1897 173,475 273,190,356 33,876,521 12.40 1900 179,982 297,256,303 37,793,982 12.71 1903 192,852 333,491,684 41,886,848 12.56 1905 200,965 362,645,731 45,576,515 12.56 I HMM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. If you have a gray-haired mother In the old home far away, Sit down and write the letter You put off day by day. Don’t wait until her tired steps Reach heaven’s pearly gate But show her that you think of her Before it is too late. If you’ve a tender message, Or a loving word to say, Don’t wait till you forget it, But whisper it today. Who knows what bitter memories May haunt you if you wait; So make your loved ones happy Before it is too late. We live but in the present, The future is unknown— Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is all our own. The chance that fortune lends to us May vanish while we wait, So spend your life’s rich treasure Before it is too late. The tender words unspoken The letter never sent, The long-forgotten messages, The wealth of love unspent, For these some hearts are breaking, For these some loved ones wait — So show them that you care for them Before it is too late. HMM A SIGNIFICANT HEARST VICTORY. The renomination of Mayor Dunne by Chicago Democrats may have an important bearing upon national poli tics. In a bitter contest which has been waged for the nomination Dunne has had the support of Bryan’s arch-ene my, Williams. Both Williams and Dunne are classed as Hearst men. If the Democrats win in the Chica go municipal election these men can send a Hearst delegation to the next Democratic national convention from Illinois, the third state in the Union. That will give Hearst 54 delegates. New York, it is conceded, will, under the unit rule, give him 78 more. A neat nucleus, these 132 votes from only two states. Hearst is still in politics. And he may show Bryan a few tricks in the near future. —Record, Long Branch, New Jersey. H H H From reading the editorials in Wat son’s Jeffersonian Magazine one would conclude that Tom wasn’t in love with Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. Tom seems to know him pretty well. —Darien, Ga., Gazette.