Show FOREST LOOT tho great forests of the pacific slope contain the finest merchantable timber in the world today said a prom anent californian who was recently in washington but the noblest of forests are fast being mowed down before the swath of commercialism regardless of future lumber supplies or the source of our western water supply notwithstanding abo of the government agents the work of despoiling the timber lands 0 the coas goes merrily on the forest lands of the mississippi valley states are almost bare and the timber grabbers are working in full force in the unrivalled pine and cedar forests of idaho washington and gregon and in the redwood belts of california yielding their almost incomprehensible cut of timber per acre it is commonly believed in the west that unless some drastic action la taken there will be no virgin forests 20 years from now except in the forest reserves the present plan by which our people get possession ot ane timber lands Is an improvement on the benson and hyde method after investigating a region of timber country that he covets the timber capitalist starts the report that it it were on the market he would pay a good price tor it and this tip falls on fallow ground the land la immediately entered under the timber and stone act by settlers settlors sett lors settlers chosa object t is to sell to the capitalist they are dummies but under the law it Is impossible to prove that their intentions arc not good and after they have secured title from the government they can do what they choose alth tho land the government safeguards are futile the commissioner of the general land office himself has been quoted as officially fici ally stating that the government has lost over on timber lands sold for the nominal price of an acre the great bulk of we all know has gone into the hands of timber grabbers not only has the government lost this money but the so called settler has received only a tithe of it and the worst of all is that the land Is being recklessly denuded of its forest cover and our water courses are alternately raging torrents and dry beds |