ITEMS OF INTEREST March 20, 1909 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

A settlement has been effected by the Secretary of the Interior of the Government suit against the Union Pacific Railway, involving coal lands in Wyoming estimated as worth a million and a half dollars. The land is said to have been acquired by the company through what are known as "dummy" entries. The land involved aggregated 4,560 acres, and after numerous conferences the company decided not to defend the suit, but to reconvey the lands to the Government. It also paid nearly $33,000 in settlement for the coal mined from the lands. The company has discontinued mining from the land reconveyed, which has been withdrawn from entry until June 1, next. Besides reconveying the land and paying trespass damages, the company loses the $91,200 which was paid as purchase price for the land. This is one of the cases included in former Secretary Garfield's letter to Congress, which showed that lands worth over $100,000,000 were under investigation or in litigation.

The latest proposition to increase rapid transit facilities in New York through private capital comes from the Amsterdam corporation, which wants permission to construct an interterminal belt line, passenger and freight road, part elevated and part subway, skirting the river front of Manhattan island from Fifty-ninth street and the North river to and around the Battery, up the East river water-front to Fifty-ninth street, and cross-town in the latter street, thus forming a complete circuit. Connections are also provided in the plans with the Grand Central station and the Pennsylvania terminal. Plans have been filed with the public service commission with a request for a franchise. Plans for a further extension of the rapid transit system, to cost about $50,000,000, are being prepared by engineers of the Inter-borough Rapid Transist Company and will be submitted to the public service commission soon.

The joint committee on cooperation for the conservation of the national resources, which was authorized by the recent governors' conference in Washington, held its initial session last week to prepare a plan for united action by all organizations concerned with this problem. The joint committee of eleven members consists of six chairmen of state conservation commissions and five who are members of the national conservation commission. The committee will formulate a working plan, assigning to the different conservation organizations a definite plan of work which is designed to achieve practical results. Recommendations for the character and scope of work to follow have been submitted by all the conservation bodies in the country.

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