https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-accepting-the-republican-nomination-for-president

Special Message

February 13, 1905

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I submit herewith the second partial report of the Public Lands Commission, appointed by me October 22, 1903, to report upon the condition, operation, and effect of the present land laws and to recommend such changes as are needed to effect the largest practical disposition of the public lands to actual settlers who will build homes upon them, and to secure in permanence the fullest and most effective use of the resources of the public lands. The subject is one of such magnitude and importance that I have concluded to submit this second partial report bearing upon some of the larger features which require immediate attention without waiting for the final statement of the Commission, which, from the very nature of the case, it has not been possible to complete at this time. I am in full sympathy with the general conclusions of the Commission in substance and in essence, and I commend its recommendations to your earnest and favorable consideration. The existing conditions, as set forth in this report, seem to require a radical revision of most of the laws affecting the public domain if we are to secure the best possible use of the remaining public lands by actual home makers.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

Theodore Roosevelt, Special Message Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207134

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