Show UNCLE SM SAM AFTER REM IDEM I 1 wanton destruction of utah forests DAMAGE IS incalculable regulations heg ignored by lumber next men and forests tired by sheep herd ers grand jury of tho second district instructed to investigate special agent spent months in tho south in his recent instructions to tho the grand jury now noly in session at deaver beaver judge bartell bartch called the ilia attention of of that body particularly to what Is generally called timber depredations T this his Oc occurring currl 19 simultaneously simultaneous ply with the arrival in salt alt lake of colonel andrews an all inspector and timber agent of 0 the general land ollice Is seemingly evidence 1 that the aid ot of tho the courts Is 13 to bo called in to stop tho the bariton violations of tho the timber laws and the do dc of the forest lands of 0 utah some months ago an agent of 0 the land office arrived here from washington and in the guise ot of a 0 settlor settler seeking for lands spent really neaily tour four mont months I 1 in daffe different rent 11 sections ot of the territory investigating numerous reports mado by the local land office of 0 violations more or less bellous ot of the iho law lav governing private timber grants and claims made by the general bovein ment lent ills his work vas as necessarily shrouded la in se cresy and no information of 0 any kind whatever could be obtained from the ilia authorities as to his movements or the lie objects ol of his visit the character ot of ills big duty as stated above was developed b by a tribune reporter subsequent to bir his I 1 leaving th the faw territory lor for washington A ew weeks ago the re suit of 0 ills his labor was made apparent in tile alio compilation and transmission to AV washington ashington ot of a list ot of private timber clams claims tor for cancellation this list was refused for put publication II and the hie ordet officials als ot of the land obice in answer to inquiries made stated staled that it was tor for technical violations such as failure to make monthly leports ot of work done etc provisions OF THE LAW the law under which these grants were made provides that any citizen ot of the united states and ot of tho the territory can call upon complying with all tho the conditions prescribed receive permission to go upon government timber ian lands 13 and erect a sawmill for tile the put pose ot of cutting lumber they are confined to ce tali specified sections ot of land are allowed to cut only a limited amount of 0 lumber and further are not liot to go out ot of the territory limited in their grants and must from day to day destroy by tire fire all underbrush dead limbs refuse sawdust etc to prevent its accumulation with the object ot of not providing feeders for any forest ire fire that might start regulations VIOLATED it Is safe to say that in a vast majority of cases all or the most material of these regulations have been llo to wilfully avid and wantonly without regard for the rights ot the government or ot of the people of the territory it has been a crying shame and a disgrace as clr C E Z puts it that past legislatures have taken no action looking to the protection ot of the forest lands ot of the territory the state stale coming into possession ot of all this land next year will make it necessary essaiy for the question to be taken up and be bottled there Is approximately 00 acres of public lands which the state will become became owner of A great part ot of this Is in forest and lies along and protects the watersheds of 0 the entire territory the situation a ai it Is pre presented seAted today Is riot not one totally tho the fault of th the e C general fineral land office congress has never ev or appropriated to the commissioner of the land office more than one fifth of 0 the amount of money re necessary cessar y to enable him to properly look after and protect the forests of the great west and utah has suf suffered feied in common with other western states slates in this respect under the present administration of 0 tho the local land office the inspection has been bc cn closer and as a consequence depredations and violations have been discovered more than before and are now in the process of correction the red tape that surrounds all government offices however prevents the detail of 0 the cases being given out consequently the people of the Teril tory nho are most interested in this matter have never been informed of the extent to which the tha private timber grantees granlees gran tees ha have 0 gone in destroying the forest growths growths of the territory MANY CASES REPORTED from various sources but lit in every case fro from mm I 1 entitled n titled to from absolute kno at ige it has big been learned that out of 0 wie le than sixty of 0 these timber grantees granlees gran tees at least one half it if riot not a majority have committed most moot serious depredations that should subject them to the severest penalties in meted by a rather lax law the sawmill proprietors have centrally tailed failed to clear up and destroy brush dead limbs and refuse and have allowed it to accumulate lit I 1 great heaps throughout the forests only to teed food any accidental fire are otherwise started in more than a hundred cases last tall fall this was tho the cause ot of very destructive tive fires which as near as can be estimated destroyed more than st worth of timber besides tile the damage done to the watersheds of the tory they have also gone oft of 0 the bec llona allotted them and culled fro from in vast stretches ot of woodland the bestif best ot th the e growing timber wantonly destroying and killing youns young trees and timber limber that stood in the way of 0 easily getting at tile the trees desired tor for lumber in this athla way thousands upon thousands of dollars have b been C en taken from the value of the lands intended tor settlers rett lers use and as a consequence has detracted just so much noni from ill arr taxable value ot of the lands to tho the state nhen w hen she enters into posses sjon blon next year dr jolin john R n park mr C E and members ot of the utah vor estry association have been deeply interested te in this matter tor for years and quite recently mail made an effort to have the abuses radically corrected th the visit last summer of the government le t timber inspector was wag one of the results of their efforts and it Is ia now how probable that those guilty 0 ot f i lol atlon 0 f the law will be punished punish and the abuses corrected incalculable calculable IN DAMAGE mr 1 3 ir who has baa made a personal investigation of the matter touched upon here stated staled to a tribune representative that it would lie an all impossible thing to calculate the vast amount of injury done the forest lands 0 of f the state by tho the wanton ard and wac wicked ice d destra destruction clion ot OC glowing timber in III t the lie outlying sections ot of the territory where sawmills have been not act up phils has been greater but it Is not confined con lind to remote danli lets in the immediate neighborhood of ft settlements and in fact near salt palt lake it li lias is been the ilia practice or of men unauthorized and without the shadow of fight to enter the gimbor lands and cut thousands of poles and logs loga which hae been hauled to town and sold by thom them even in city creek emigration mill creek aud and other canyons that has been tho iho practice and it BO coll continued figued including last season and will probably bo be done this year lf unite some borne are taken ly by tho the a authorities to prevent vent it it sawmill and lumbermen are not entirely 11 r ay bl e tor for the injury done dona the h for t 11 lands rid g it II Is tho inn rommon common I 1 practice r abc acc c 0 battla t a and nd sheep gerders herders to atari fa anres lea within vh 1 e tho the forests in the la alltis t fall and early curly winter to burn out all 11 or of the undergrowth and lushes bushes this Is 1 for tho the purpose of providing the next spring tor for addi additional tiona and nd new frazine lands for their berah herda and nocks flocks tile the fires so ao started through the forests making a dead deadening e fling of mile after r milo of 0 timber pacts destroying absolutely its value tor for lumber and its protection to the watersheds the assistant united states district attorneys have been instructed to investigate vesti gate awl and prosecute vigorously vigorous Y every charge ot of this kind and hereafter the violator of timber laws will have his life made fi a burden to him until he ceases front ilia hlo wanton practices |