Show SAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PLA nE TO CONGRESS WHICH DEFICITS S COULD jfe A VOIDED w during tile the patt five years tile government this has lost over it hundred million worth of timber the Il emedy ever every now and then there Is a sharp passage at arms in ili congress between tile the last east and the west in fact sonio some of tho the rather prominent men of congress still to think that the west la Is n separate country anti and not in reality i part of oc tile tho united states anti and entitled to tho the samo consideration that it shown tile tho mississippi valley tho the atlantic coast or tile tho nom nev england states an ali instance of at this kirl kira oc cured the other lay day when senator teller of colorado wits was addressing the senate lie he resented the intimations that tho the funds used lu ill connection with the irrigation reclamation service had been given as a bounty to the west in the first place sinco since the money Is all paid back to the government lie stated that it was simply in the nature of at it 0 outside dependency of the nation that tho the commercial interests of tho the east cast it if not its statesmen aro are alive to the desirability of promoting tho the settlement and internal improvement of at tho the west is shown by tho the very sive action taken recently by tho the national board of trado trade in ili washington a 11 powerful association composed of 0 representatives from most of tho the great commercial bodies of tho united stages the organization represents a combined capital of billions of dollars employing several hundred thousand workers it has been a strong factor in ili urging legislation on oil various important internal works it was the first of tho the great commercial bodies of the east to advocate the passage of the national irrigation law and it has a regular standing committee on forestry and irrigation tho the report of the organization this year la Is most ng and readick rea reads diCa oa faJo follows fajoni Nr it Is gratifying to note that muck much of tho legislation on forestry and irrigation matters which lias has been con urged by tho the national dania board 0 of f trade has been enacted into law tho the national doard was the first organization representing the commercial interest of tho the whole country to recommend a national irrigation policy and june 17 1902 a national irrigation law was eli acted there la Is in tho the irrigation fund at the present time about which Is increasing from the sale of at public lands at tile the rato rate of at least a year in tho the matter of 0 forestry legislation tile tho national doard board of trado trade recommended tho the passage of the bill providing for tile the consolidation of tho various forestry branches of tho the government into tho the bureau of forestry of the department of agriculture this bill was wai enacted into law at tho the last session of congress tho the national board of trado trade has stood against the practice of exchanging worthless scrip land in tho the national forest reserves tor for valuable ablo public lands outside of at tho the reserves and has repeatedly recommended tho the repeal of the law permitting this practice this law was repe repealed alea at tho the last session of congress at tho the last meeting of the national board opposition iou was ek expressed pressed to what was known as tho the acre homestead bills increasing tho the homestead entry in parts of 0 south dakota colorado r and in montana Mon tann from 1110 acres to acres these bills were all defeated at the abo last session of congress much however remains to to be dono done the national board of trade has consistently advocated the tha saving of tho the great public domain for the use of the real homemaker as against tho the land and timber grabber and the speculator trade and commerce will increase as population increases anil and our national land arid policy should bo be administered to preserve our remaining rma rc ining half billion acres of public lands for those who will build homes upon them As laws which 1 tend end to overcome this policy the national t board has continuously since its meeting in january 1902 urged tho the repeal of tho the timber and stone act tho commutation clause of tho the home stend act anti and the desert land act in accordance accor danco with tho the recommendations r ICA lu va lucky Bald baldvins baldwins wins irrigated ari ale 1 ranch itch twenty years fears ara AS a desert loan and further he contended that tho the irrigation law was of as much importance to tile east cast as to tile the west that it was national in character and that it woula benefit not only tho the section where it was applied hut but every other section in tact fact tile the west was somewhat tired of this idea which seemed to obtain among somo some eastern statesmen of being considered as an y N gs of the president in ills his annual messages to congress A public lands lamia commission appointed c a by the president consisting or of W A commissioner of the general continued on neit neat page dand officio 11 frederick rederIck 11 II nowell chiet engineer at tho the reclamation service and afford chief of the dureau of 01 For eairy tins nas during tile the courso course of two years made a cludy ot 01 the atio bubile lands condition and has haa brought lu in a report winch which him has been forwarded to congress by the iho president with a special message recommending iho abe repeal or of tho the timber and stone act and the substitution of ft a rational forest policy ot of selling only the stumpage front from the public timber bhuber lands retaining the lands for future timber growth recommending tho the radical amendment of the commutation clause of the homestead act and a like amendment of the desert land act la in such euch manner ru ai to require actual residence and improvement under both of tho the latter named laws amounting to their practical repeal tho the provisions of tills this report are highly satisfactory y to tile For forestry ostry and irrigation committee of tile the national hoard board of bratle which believes that their enactment into law strictly enforced would to do away with land and timber grabbling grabbing and promote theae policies on this subject for which tile the doard has haa consistently striven the present indefensible land policy of the united states la Is resulting in an actual money loss to tile the government of tens lens of millions of dollars annually in the denuding of our watersheds find and tho the destruction of all chances for n future timber supply in the building up of lordly landed estates lit in tho the west of tens and hundreds of thousands of acres in single ownerships instead of providing for tho the creating of thousands 1 u r 1 iii 1 n short in tho the mismanagement and s ro bt ohp greatest resource ever possessed by any nation on earth the attention of our lawmakers in congress should be urgently called to the fact that while they aro are attempting economy in the of money they are allowing laws laft to remain in force under tinder which hy by far the most valuable asset of tho the nation Is being recklessly wasted under tho the timber find and staisia itono stono act the sales bales of public timber lands dur ing frig tho the last hio five years have am 0 boon it as follows year acres 1001 1002 ac 98 1903 1001 1901 0 1005 1905 38 A largo op of these lands have been lit in the heavily beav lly timbered belt of the far northwest est and nn Is of tho the class of timber described by the secretary of tile tho interior In terio ira in his report for the he fiscal year veir ended june julie no 30 1913 lu ill he says tile the timber and stone act will it if not repelled repealed or radle radically illy amended re suit ultimately in the complete destruction of tho the timber on oil the ed and mi unreserved reserved public me lands tile the rapidity with which the public timbered lands are being denuded of their timber and the opportunity offered under the timber and stone act et for tho the fraudulent acquisition of tm j public tim bared lands at tile the uniform inform price of per nere when they are in many instances worth forty times that liaa has been heretofore set forth in tho the pages pager of my illy annual reports and thice ot of my illy predecessors hundred 11 dred million dol dolar ar waste hut but estimating 11 0 e o rallies only of tile the acres of timber laud jaud disposed of lit in tile the ast abt ive five years ears and at only 25 per a 0 ro re tho the government hns has lit in that tinie imp patted with the title of laud worth tho the price calved ic for tills this land has been at tile tho uniform rate or of 2 50 per aire acre or a loss to the government of over you committee en dorset tile the recommendation of the president and his bis public lands commission for tho the repeal of tills this timber and stone act and tile tho substitution of a rational lat lonal forest policy by which the title to the public timber lands shall remain forever in ill the government the stumpage only to be disposed of nt at its market value under such a plan in as this and under tinder an agreement whereby ono one halt half the proceeds ds could bo be devoted de voted to the forestry foresto service and the other 1 half I ait to tho the irrigation fund two policies of great internal improvement and importance could be generously maintained while at tile tho same time tho the forestry question would be to a meat great extent solved public forest lands being lumbered in such a manner as to pro serve tho the young growth and leavo leave tho the forest as a perpetual source of income to tho the nation and at the r same ame time conserve the water supply if tile the which have been lost to tile the government nt under the above showing were at hand n or more of enormous irrigation projects could be immediately constructed reclaiming from to acres of desert land and enormous areas or ot hastern forest reserves created through tile the purchase of mountain timber lands cast of the mississippi in this connection r ur committee la Is much impressed with the importance of the creation of federal forest reserves to preserve tho the water supply of eastern steams upon tho the continued continue 1 now flow of which depends much of our manufacturing noh nofi vity tin thi half of tile the united states has over acres set aside in national forest reserves rescues as a source of future timber supply and for tho the preservation of tho the flow of streams for irrigation but the east has no such an advantage whereas the menace to her water sup ply from forest destruction Is equally as groat great largo areas in the southern appalachian and ami white Moun mountain talu should be created luio into forest reserves for or eastern dorest deserves in ill a ct n ni at It aleigh N C on october guiti last I 1 resident ident es roosevelt said it Is tho the upper altitudes of thu the dint niu ate most valuable to tho the nation as a whole espich especially ally because of their effects upon tile tho water 8 aup I 1 I 1 lily neither state or nation can arford to turn ahme jhc thc ho moUn mountains Lains over to tile tho unrestrained greed breed of those who w orld exploit them at tho the expense of tile future wo cannot afford to wait longer before in ill tit lv interests ol of the public of those forests tor for if we wa do wart tile vested interests of private parties in them may bo be come he bo strongly in trenched that it may lo be a most expensive ta to cm ra if tile the eastern castein states are wise then from the day of feudy to the gilr L if 0 yo o will see within the next few 3 years ars a policy set on oil foot similar to that hat so fortunately barred can ud out in the i agh sierras of tile tho west by the na anal a government P the higher ap palm hilans 0 bl 00 0 1 ho be rp ri er vel suph such reserves would le 1 e a paying investment not only in protection to many interests but in dollars and cents to the government tho the importance to the southern people of protecting the southern mountain forests is obvious tholo forests nio ate tile tho best beat defense tiffi hoods floods which in tho the recent af have luring during a single twelve eli lis ast destroyed r 0 y r d property 0 at t n nearly 0 irly twice thalji avow bould cost to buy tue appalachian reserve K na 1 1 1 1 e U at pok y f 1 1 1 e LN IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA appalachians |