The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-04-18
TO STOp TIMBER CUTTING.

Under the above caption the Helena
Jndependent Of the 18th inst. announces
that a firm Of land and mining attorneys
of that city were employed, some time
AGO. bv certain parties to represent to
the government that men were cutting
timber u,,on the west bank of the MIS-
souri, river. near a place called YORK Tor
the avowcd purpose of floating the logs
To Great Falls to be MANUFACTURED INTO
,umber for sale. The Independent furth-
ermorc y~ouchsafcs the information mat
the interior department took prompt ac-
ton 10y ~instructing special agent W.
7 Haley. to examine into and report
upop this rape of the forest. Mr.. Haley
went. and saw and returned to Helena
from whence he informed the interior
department that the land upon which
the timber is being cut is unsurveyed,
and that he couldn't tell whether the
government or the Northern Pacific rail
road company was the party which is be
ing hurt. II the timber was u upon
even numbered section the government
had a kick coming: if upon ODD num-
bered sections then the rights of the
railroad company were being invaded
In order TO determine whose corns were
being trod upon Mr.. Haley recommended
that a special survey be maze OF the
lands in question SO that the even sec
tions may be segregated from the d sec
lions. The gentleman could do no more;
he could not well do less.
And now come the Hon. Thomas II.
Garter. who was recently appointed land
commissioner, with a telegram to thos"
sadly exercised souls. who would rather
see the first and great interest of this
state paralyzed rather than witness the
telling Of a tree upon a mountain $ par
rem sides. in which he states he will tax.
the earliest action possible to remove the
cause of complaint, which means INA
Mr.. Carter will in due season recon-
mennt that congress make an appropria
HON 10 COVER lItt t'St vi q w ''
timber lands on the Missouri river. Mr.
Carter can not promise more, he could
not well promise less. The Independent
concludes it's article with the remark
that lit seems to be the purpose OF Mon
tana's land commissioner to stop the
wholesale destruction Of what remains OF
our much needed timber lands"
Now if our very eminent and much re
spected but somewhat inconsistent con
temporary will cast its eyes upon the
bare, bald hills :.and mountains which
surround the ambitious but truly tigh'
and bright little city upon the banks
of Last Chance gulch, they will res
upon grounds which a few short years
ago were covered by ''monarchs Of the
Forest which have either gone up il
smoke from the hearthstones Of it,
citizens or are sheltering them from the
scorching rays of the summers sun, ant
the keen, cutting blasts OF a winters day
And should it venture out a score OF
miles in any direction from in perch or
Broadway it will witness a treeless area
which, during the past quarter OF
century, has yielded a wealth OF timber
TO the needs and necessities OF the once
struggling capital city. Coming dowr
nearer to the present it will find among
it's files Justly indignant protests ant
ably written articles against Car
Schurtz unreasonable scheme "to stop,
using it's own language-'the wholesale
obstruction of what remains OF u mucl
needed timber lands" This much in re
ply to the Independents comment upor
what is being done to prevent the citizen
Of Great Falls and the miners OF con
tiguous camps from procuring the neces
sary lumber to develop the vast resourc
of the surrounding country.
Now this matter of timber cutting
upon the public domain in Montana wa
determined and settled for all time t
come when the government, after havinI
been beaten in the courts of this state il
its suit against the Bonner Mercantil
company and others to recover some
thing over a million Of dollars 70
timber alleged to have been cut upo
government lands on the wes
side, withdrew it's cases at il
own cost, and permitted the defendant