Show 9 i Land Office Frederick H. H Newell Chief Engineer of tho the Reclamation Service bervice and Gifford Pinchot Chief of tho the Bureau of ot Forestry has pas during the course of two years made mado a study ot of the public lands' lands condition and has brought in a report which has been forwarded to Congress by the President with a special message recommending the repeal of the Timber and Stone Act and the substitution of a rational sorest forest policy of selling only the stumpage stumpage stumpage stump- stump age from the public timber Umber lands retaining retaining re re- the tho lands for tor future timber growth recommending the radical amendment of the commutation clause of the Homestead Act and a like amendment of the Desert Land Act In such manner at as a to require actual residence residence resi resl dence and improvement under both of the latter named laws amounting to I their practical repeal The provisions of this report are highly satisfactory to the Forestry and Irrigation Committee of the National Board Doard of Trade which believes that their enactment into law lawI strictly enforced enforced en en- forced would do away w with th land and timber grabbing and promote these polIcies policies pol pol- ides on this subject for which the Board has consistently striven The present indefensible land of the United States is resulting In an actual money loss to the government of tens of millions of dollars annually in the denuding of our watersheds and the destruction of all chances for a future timber Umber supply in the tho building up of lordly landed estates in the West of tens and hundreds of thousands of acres in single ownerships instead of providing for the creating of thousands of small rural homes homes In in short in the mismanagement an and waste of the greatest resource ever possessed by any l nation on earth The attention of our lawmakers in Congress should be urgently called to the fact that while th they y are attempting economy in the expenditure of money they are allowing laws to remain in force under which by far the most valuable asset of the nation is being recklessly wast wasted d. d Under the tho Timber imber imber and Stone Act the sales of p public timber Umber lands during during dur duro ing the last five years have been as follows Year Acres 1901 1902 98 1903 1904 J an v 1905 1 38 A large of these thes lands have been in the heavily timbered belt of the far Northwest and Is of the class of timber Described by the Secretary of the Interior Int In his report for the fiscal year jear ended June 30 1903 in which he says 1 The Th Timber and Stone Act will If not repealed or radically amended result re re- re suIt sult ultimately in the complete destruction destruction destruction tion of the timber on the ed and unreserved public lands The rapidity rapidity rapidity ra ra- with which the public timbered lands are being denuded of their timber and and the opportunity offered under the Timber and Stone Act for the fraudulent fraudulent fraudulent lent acquisition of title to public timbered tim tim- tiered lands at the uniform price of 2 50 per acre when they are In many instances worth forty times that has been heretofore set Bet forth in the pages of my annual reports and those o my V rv r N I undred Millon Dol Dolar ar Waste But estimating the values only of the acres of timber land disposed of In the last five years and at only 25 per acre the government has In r that time parted with the title of land landworth landworth landworth worth The price received for this land has been at the uniform rate of 2 50 per acre or a loss to the government of over Your committee endorses the recommendation of the President and his Public Lands Commission for the there there- repeal re ra peal of this Timber and Stone Act and the substitution of a rational forest policy by which the title to the public timber lands shall remain forever in inthe inthe inthe the g government ver ment the stumpage only to tobe tobe tobe be disposed of of at its market value Under such a plan as this and under an agreement whereby one ono half the proceeds could be devoted to the tho For Fo Forestry Forestry estry Ser Service and the other half to the Irrigation Fund two policies of oi great internal Improvement and importance importance importance im im- im- im could be generously maintained main tamed while at the same time the forestry question would be to a great extent solved public forest lands being t lumbered in such aj as to preserve pre serve the he young growth and leave the forest as a perpetual source of income to the nation and at the same time conserve tho the water supply If the tho which have been lost to the government t under the above showing were at hand a score score or more of enormous irrigation projects could coult be immediately constructed reclaiming from 2 to to acres o of desert land land and and enormous areas o of Eastern for forest t res reserves created through th the purchase of mountain timber lands east of the Mississippi In this connection connection yur committee is much impressed impress with the Importance of the creation of federal forest reserves reserves reserves re re- re- re serves to preserve the water supply of eastern steams upon the continued continue flow of which depends much of ou our manufacturing Tin Th western half of the United States has over acres set aside in national forest fores reserves reserves as a source of ot future timber timbe su supply ply ply- and for the preservation of the flow of streams for irrigation bu but th the east has no such an advantage whereas the menace to her water sup sup- J 1 f ply from forest aes destruction ruc on is equally as great Large areas in the Southern Appalachian and White Mountain flanges should be created into forest reserves For Eastern For Forest t Reserves In In a spee a at haleigh N N. C C. on October last I J Roosevelt said aid It is the tho upper r altitudes of ot the rested mountains ate ae most valuable valuable able to the nation as ns a whole especially because of their effects upon the tue water waler supply Neither state or nation can afford aford atford af- af ford ord to turn these mountains over to the he unrestrained greed of ot those who world exploit them at the expense ot of othe the he future We cannot afford aiford to wait walt longer before betor assuming control In u L. rests interests of the tho public of these forests for or if we do watt wait the vested Inter interests of f private parties in them may become be be- come omo so strongly Ink that it itay may ay be he a a. most expensive task to ou ous fem cm If the eastern states are arc wise i ithen then hen from tho Bay of Fund Fundy to b the tue j l ro vo rl Tl ECO within i hb tho the t ne-t few years rears ears a set let on foot similar to tI that hat so fortunately car ed td cd out in the theah ish ah I h Sierras of the tho wc west t by the Na Na- onal lonal government the high higher r AI Ap- Ap shorn shone bo ho re reserved resented ervel Such reserves would be he a paying investment not ot only in protection to many interests interests inter inter- ests but in dollars and cents to the government nt The importance to the southern people of protecting the southern south south- ern rn mountain forests is obvious These forests crests are the best defense against the floods which In the recent past have during a single twelve months destroyed destroy destroy- ed d property officially valued at nearly that it would cost to buy 0 the Southern Appalachian Reserve I I Ii i tin aMyl J r 1 1 rr a y x w we wi wl e L i o l N sz r t N Fl F J w s rl w e j 4 f fv t f fIN v APPALACHIAN IN THE S SOUK CAROLINA APPALACHIANS The importance of the Appalachian forest orest cover to the cotton milling industry Industry industry in In- alone in the Piedmont regions of North Carolina South Carolina and Georgia is shown by the statistics of the mills operated by the water power power derived from the tho streams having their sources in th these se mountains In these thes three states there theio are mills so operated with a combined capital stock of with spindles and looms and giving work to over employees The total annual annual an an- nual production of these mills is approximately approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately Virginia has inte inte ests also which are not included in the above figures as have also Tennesee and Kentucky on the western side of the mountains A National forest reserve in tho the White Mountains of New Hampshire Is also a matter of ot general concern and vital to the tho well being of the industries of all Now New England We are aro upon the threshold of great industrial competition tion with the producing powers porters of the world to maintain our supremacy we must retain our hold upon our cheap water power which through electrical invention is being utilized as never before before be be- fore and end greatly aiding to our national prosperity The creation of ot the e Appalachian and White Mountain Forest Reserves cannot can I not be left to the states the question Is 13 an state Inter-state and therefore a ana national na na- national one Nearly all the rivers of New head in the White Mountains Moun twins of N New w Hampshire and arid It is of supreme importance to t the e industries of all aU the New England States representing representing representing tens of millions of dollars that the forest cover cover at the river sources sources shall shaH be preserved and improved National delay in the acquisition of these reserves would be dangerous and wasteful Timber land which a afew afew afew few years aeo o could have been purchased purchased pur pur purchased chased at 1 50 to 3 an acre has now trebled and quadrupled in value alue Additional Additional Additional Ad Ad- delay will mean a further increase increase in in- crease in cost Congress should a act t tat at once and preserve from destruction one of ot the greatest r resources of the tha nation |