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Show j ( THE FOREST SEEVIOE UPHELD. Ml i H The opinion handed down by the United Slates supreme court Hi J on Mondaj, on the power of the government to establish and rog- M ' ttlatc forcst reserves, makes permanent one of the best branches of H , Tur government. Ilad the decision been adverse and had congress H failed to supply that which the court would have taken away, then fl ' U10 forest sen-ice, as wc know it, rapidly would have fallen into M I dry rot and finally would have disappeared. As it is. the conser- M vation policy has been made impregnable, unless congress should fl ( decide to undo what has been done to conserve the resources which H are the richest heritage of this peopl.e. H Had the court decided adversely, we would have seen the local M headquarters lose its importance as a government station and event- Hl dally disappear. Now we may expect it to grow in importance by H expanding in usefulness. H Front a purely selfish standpoint, We have cause to be thankful; M from the broader view of the worth of the service to the American M , people, particularly to the western livestock owner, wc have a right H I to rejoice H J The history of the Grimaud case, in which the court gave its most H I important onmion, is briefly stated as follows; H I "The point in controversy in the Grimaud ease was the cousti- Hj tutionality of that part of the Act of June 4, 1897, providing for the H I creation and administration of a National Forest, and particularly H'i ! providing for the penalty for the violation of regulations as set forth N ' in tl'ie following language: '1 ' , " 'He (which means at the present time the Secretary of agri- H culture; may make such rules and regulations nnd establish such l I service a will insure the objects of such reservations, namely, to i' regulate their occupancy and use and to preserve the forests thereon H from destruction; and any violations shall be punished as is pro- H vided for in tln act of June 4, 1898, amending section 538S of the H Revised Statutes of the United States.' M "The opponents of the forest service held that this was an at- H I tempt on the part of congress to delegate legislative authority to W the secretary of agriculture. If their holding had been found to be Hj ' 1 correct then the law would have been held to be unconstitutional. H) On the other hand, the government held that this Svas not an at- M tempt to delegate legislative authority, but was direct legislation M J on the part of congress itself, determining what the secretary of M agriculture should do in order to protect, improve and administer H1 the national forests, and fixing a penalty for any interference with M the work, merely leaving it to the secretrny of agriculture to de- Mi ; termine what acts were injurious to the forcst and what protection Ml was necessary in order to properly prpmoto their growth." M The decision of the supreme efcurt is a sweeping vindication ' of the position the forest service has taken with reference to the MF validity of the law, and proves that they have acted uniformly in H conformity with the wishes of congress and within the limits of the H constitution. District Forester E. A. Sherman, of the Fourth dis- H 1 1 trict of the forcst service, when asked today how the decision would H , affect the work of their organization, stated that it would greatly H I strengthen the hands of the forest officers and at the same time Mr would save the stockmen pf the west a great deal of trouble, cx- H ak I pense aud unccrtairity. Hxj said it was his opinion that had the. H )' decision of the supreme court been adverse jto tho forest service Hr " , the stock associations of the Avest, who are interested in grazing on M , the national forests would have had a strong delegation in Wnsh- H i, ( ington within ten days, urging congress to enact into law the presont M I forest service regulations prohibiting grazing upon the forests with- Hj out permit. He stated that the stockmen who were using the H national forests feel that the protection of their individual allot- H ments is absolutely necessary in order to insure their continuance H ( in the business, and he was confident that, had the supreme court H shown the regulations to be invalid, the stockmen would have takon i . ' immediate stops to secure this protection by congressional enactment. |