OCR Text |
Show Outside of the report of the commissioner commis-sioner of the general land oflice show-. show-. ing the areas of lands sold in the various vari-ous states and territories under the different dif-ferent laws of congress for the disposition disposi-tion of the government domain, the most interesting part of Mr. Groff's report re-port refers to the preservation of the government timber. The commissioner commission-er says: The most valuable timber on the public lands is being rapidly exhausted, and the laws relattaK to tho subject are utterly Inadequate to properly protect either publlo forests from unlawful appropriation or the Interest of settlers. set-tlers. Over S30,00 were reoelved last year from timber depredations. Provision should be made for the legitimate procuring of timber from the public land by mill men and lumber manufacturers for sale to the extent necessary to supply the e immunity ln th locality in which they opsrate with lumber and timber 4 products needed ln tin settlement thereof. But the exportation of public timber should b! prohibited and also t he removal of timber from any reserved land and from the mountainous regions and other wooded lands at or near the vicinity of the head waters or sources of streams w hlch, for climatic, economic or public pub-lic reasons, should be held permanently as forest for-est reservations, exception being made ln favor of settlen or miners tor their personal necessities. neces-sities. , |