Arizona citizen., 1877-06-16
Pine and other Timber Lands.

matic changes produced by the destruC
 tion and renewal of forests have beer
 accepted as facts, and under the en
 frightened governments of Western Flu
 rope are being practically demonstra
 ted tO the great advantage of thost
 countries by the restoration and preser
 vation of their forests.
 It is not my intention to advance O.
 maintain any theory of climatic chang,
 arising from the destruction of forests
 but only deal with the facts of the
 wicked and wantOn waste of the tim
 Der on the public lands, and the con SC
 quent loss to the Treasury of the Unit
 ed States
 A national calamity is being rapidly
 and surely brought upon the country
 by the useless destruction of the forests
 Much of this destruction arises from the abuses of the benefcent laws tor
 giving land to the landless. The oper. auon of these laws is salutary when settlemeLtS are made under them upon
 lands fit for home and for cultivation
 by the agriculturist; but the policy, if such 1t may be called, of allowing the pine lands to be settled upon under the pre-emptiOn and homestead laws is d mistaken charity, prolific of great evil.
 These lands, whether situated on the Atlantic sOr Gulf coasts of the South. the Lake Superior and Upper Missis- sippi regions of the North, or on the mountains of the Territories of the great interior and the Pacific coast, are alike unfit for agriculture and in no manner meet the requirements of a home and continuous residence for the agriculturist; they are valuable only for the timber growing upon them. Settlement upon these lands under the homestead and pre-emption laws is on- ly a pretense, which enahles the de structiOn of the value of the land by cutting of the timber, and when that is done the homestead or re-empton IS abandoned. In all the pine region ot Lake Superior and Upper Mississip, pi, where vast areas have been settled under the pretense of agriculture un- ! der the hnnna-taad a.,~I - I laws. scarcely vestlge of agriculture appears. The same is true on the Pa cific coast and in the mountain regions of Colorado, Utah, Montana and Idaho.
 It will be perceived that 1 am not Tn favor of allowing homestead and pre- emption settlements upon the pine anG other timber lands, neither am l III ta- vavor of permitting the location of these lands by any of the various land scrip which has been issued Hnder h. dian treaties or acts of Congress. There remains, therefore, the most difficult task of recommending what ought to be done either to preserve the forests from waste and for future use, or to realize their value to the National Gov ernment if they must be destroyed. In every country in Europe the greater part of the forests formerly belonged ! 10 the government, and large revenues were derived from them. This is still the case in France and Germany, and l I can see no reason why it ought not | to be so in our country. The timber on the land remaining unsold Is as much the property of the Government as the money in its Treasury, and far more important to its future prosperity and welfare. If this Is so, then why I should it not be kept as other Govern ment property, or sold for it's value as the demands of the country require il? | In order to accomplish this, a total change of policy and of the laws is re- ouired. The law should provide for ! tke sale of these lands only for cash .. ] Provision of law should also be made for the immediate survey and appraise- ment of each smallest subdivision. The appraIsement should be made by ex- perts and the value based upon the ac- ,l feasibility of the timber. The law should further provide for absolute confiscatiOn of all timber cut upon the public lands, and a fine and imprison- ], ment of the trespassers. No com | pounding with the offenders should be allowed, as is now the custom. The . lands should be subject to private sale for Cash only. Some of these provis- F ions would be imperative, If not un- just, until after the lands are surveyed,
 appraised and subject to sale. In most of the mining districts the timber lands , are unsuryeyed, and the timber neces- ], sary for mining purposes has of neces- sitv to be taken from the unsurveyed Government lands Expert agents should be appointed in all such dis tricts to measure or estimate the amount of timber taken and the value of it, at a reasonable price to be fixed, the amount collected and pald into the Treasury.
 It may be said that the expense and loss by dishonest officials would exceed fl the revenues collected. To this argu- r ment 1 say No" for the reason that ] the value of the timber on an acre of | good pine land is worth about s per | 1000 feet, or about $50 per acre, and for the further reason that, in my Opin ion, men may be found for agents for 2 this service who are as honest as Tn other departments of the Government
 If the pine lands were appraised at their full value and depredations pre- } vented, they would sell as fast as the C, -s,.., ,,,.,,,. ,,-orrld dasirn tO sop thpD1 , denuded of their forests. The timber would be more carefully husbanded in the hands of men whom it had cost a fair price than in the hands of the law less trespasser or the bogus homestead , CT or pre- -emptor. II is an anomalous fact that the Government Is giving away the rich alluvial soil of Iowa, ] A--L.a.l-a Knnrna nnd Minnesnfa tn