Bill Taft: “He pointed out the necessity for the irrigation and reclamation of our arid and semi-arid land.”

Now, Therefore, I, William Howard Taft, President of the United States of America, do, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Congress and the joint resolution of Congress herein named, declare and proclaim the fact that the…

I think it to be greatly in the interest of fair dealing, which ought always to be encouraged by law.

Now that they can be studied and understood—all the business men who touch the decision in any way will conduct their business hereafter according to the law.

There is no difference between the reasons which call for the application of the leasing system to the coal lands still retained by the Government in the United States proper and those which exist in Alaska.