The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 3, 1919, Page 11

- " lative representative of the -should be trying to give away, Washington Bureau, Nonpartisan. Leader. ONGRESSMAN JOHN M. BAER of North Dakota has opened his fight against the Standard Oil interests, the Milwaukee rail- road interests, the Anaconda copper interests and the .-other stop their latest raid — the Smoot-Sinnott mineral lands Baer will have the help of Represen- leasing bill. tatives Sinclair and Young of North Dakota, Keller and Carss of Minnesota, and other members of Ahe house who are ready to stand up aganist big busi- ness in this battle for the safeguarding of the public lands. Between $30,000,000,000 and $35,000,000,- 000 worth of coal, oil, phos- phate and sodium is covered by the measure. It proposes to “encourage development” of these natural resources by giv- ing 20-year leases, with re- newal privileges, to large tracts of the land where coal or oil or phosphate or sodium may be found.’ Railroad corporations share in the general grab, and while city governments are permitted to take leases, the state gov- ernments are shut out. But the fundamental issue is one of turning this vast inheritance of the people over into the hands of profiteers, or of keeping and developing it directly by pub- lic authority, for the public benefit. Keeping in mind_the fact that the British government is being driven to nationalize its coal mines, and that the or- ganized coal miners of the United States have demanded by unanimous vote in their re- cent convention- that the coal industry of this country be na- tionalized, it seems an aston- ishing~ thing that congress under lease; all the remaining mineral lands belonging to the public. Ed Wallace, national legis- United Mine Workers of . America, has filed with the house committee on public lands a protest against the Smoot-Sinnott bill. He shows that the coal mines now devel- oped in this country are nor- mally operated at only 65 per cent of their possible capacity, and that it is because there is not a sufficient demand for the coal that mines and miners are idle so much of the time. LABOR LEADER CHARGES MINES, UNDERPRODUCING “It has been computed,” he points out, “that with the pres- ent development of mining properties, present. equipment, and the number of miners now employed in the production of bitumi- nous coal in the United States, it is possible to pro- duce 800,000,000 tons annually. ~The industrial and domestic demands for this quality of coal is, on the average, about 580,000,000 tons per annum. * * * If more mines were opened it would entail still further reduction of the working time of mines now open. During the war period the land-grabbers shouted that this mineral lands bill must be rushed through as a “war emergency measure,” so that more oil wells and coal mines might be opened for -emergency production. That excuse no longer-holds, but they are going ahead any- how, on the old political ground of having “the votes.” L% : So Jim Gillett, former governor of rCalifqrpggf; looters of the public domain, to - The farmers® allies in North Dakota Baer Starts Fight on Mineral Land Grab Northwest Congressmen Prepared for Battle to Prevent Huge Gifts of Natural e | Resources to Coal and Oil Monopolies who has spent four or five years here as an oil lobbyist, smiles as cheerfully as he did at. the famous banquet here in the national capital years ago, when E. H. Harriman patted him on the shoul- der and-told him he could be governor of the state. Gillett can almost see the bill passed, and the president signing it, thanks to the special political oil lobby that is located inside the administration. There are Senators Phelan, Pittman, Myers, Thomas and Henderson, and Ray Baker, director of the mint, and his friend Thomas F. Logan, author of the “Diamond T” letter to Swift. Logan is once more seen in public with Joseph P. Tumulty, after a hiatus due to the Swift letters becoming public. Logan is-known as the society lobbyist for many big corporations, among which are the Standard 0il companies. | . MOBILIZING THE FARMERS’ ALLY I L\ \\‘ Representative Baer is a member of the house committee on public lands. The bill is being whip- ped into final shape in that committee. Baer pro- tested the committee’s decision that no hearings should be held upon it, and a compromise was made whereby Benjamin C. Marsh of the Farmers’ Na- tional Council was given an hour in which to declare against the whole measure. Representatives Raker and Elston of California, White of Kansas, Smith of Idaho and Chairman Sinnott of Oregon in turn assailed Marsh’s suggestion that the people are tired of private exploitation. They ridiculed his plan for public development of coal and oil and phosphate whenever the new deposits are needed.’ When Baer and J. Weller Long, secretary- treasurer of the American Society of Equity, who was present, maintained that only a minority of farmers are prosperous today, the. . 'PAGE.ELEVEN ST A T —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris. and other states are mobilizing to get into the battle next fall. Organization of the Women’s auxiliary is going by leaps and bounds in North Dakota and has begun in Minnesota, while in Nebraska there is considerable enthusiasm for an auxiliary. members of the committee scouted the sugges- tion as being untrue. And upon the theory that — coal and oil prospectors and promoters ought to “have a chance” to make some money out of the public lands, they are getting ready to report this bill to the house. Readers of the Leader will recall that when this measure came before the senate, at the end of August, it came there from committee without any report. Senator La Follette held it up for days, speaking a total of 86 hours. On the vital issues the vote in the senate went always against the Wis- consin fighter. His amendments proposing govern- ment regulation of all profits to be taken from oil wells and coal mines on government land were beaten by votes of about 30 to 10. Baer is going to fight to save the navy’s fuel sup- - e ply. He is going to fight to save the phosphate supply for the farmers of the Northwest. He is going to fight to save the coal and oil lands that are now, but which should be kept by the public as a club to ham- mer down the price of gaso- line and all other fuel when the monopolists tighten their grip on the throats of the American people. BAER TO FIGHT FOR MINERS’ FAMILIES More than that, Baer pro- poses to make the fight for the coal miners and their families, who have built their homes near the existing mines, and who will suffer if they are fore- ed, in large numbers, to move away because production in these existing mines is further reduced. “What we want is not more coal mines, but better opera- tion of existing mines, and a just distribution of the profits of the coal industry,” said Baer. ‘whether it is true that three- fourths of the privately owned coal lands, which are only half of the total coal lands in the country, are held out of use. This leasing bill seems to be an attempt to bring all of the possible sources of fuel supply into private hands, so that the private control of the industry, and hence of fuel prices, may be strengthened. “So long as the public has its oil and coal lands ready for quick development under its own control, it holds over. the heads of the coal and oil operators a club which is a sort of industrial right of re- call” = : " Representative Sinclair is assisting Representative Baer in the preparation of the fight which will take place on the floor of the house when the bill comes up for final passage. ™ Baer will have as his text a minority report which he is now filing with the committee. Sineclair will make his first speech in the house on this issue of the giving away, by lease, of $30,000,000,000 worth of public lands. He is going to suggest that the oil and coal and phosphate speculators can probably get along through another winter without so big a 3 gift. He believes that the farmers and the wage- workers of the country are going to insist, one of these days, on public development and operation of coal and oil and phosphate workings, in order to reduce the cost of coal, oil, gasoline and farm fer- tilizers. There will be other liberal congressmen on the same side of the question. They will force a roll- call on the bill. Members who vote for the grab will at least have to go-on record. That record may - become very important.in 1920 or 1922, 1 Fh i not needed for development- “We want to find out