The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-08
Err AT s A. NJ
WORTHY OFF IFS COMPANY.

The amendment to the sundry civil
bill. making imperative the revocation
of President Cleveland's order setting
aside forest reserves in certain West
ern states, is worthy of the company
in which it finds itself. 1t is fit asso-
ciate for a bill appropriating $53, 900, 900
of the peoples money, of which at
least one-third, and probably much
more. is a cold steal. 1t is also worthy
of the record that the United States
senate is making On all public ques-
lions. The setting aside Of forest re-
serves was not private act on the
part of Mr.. Cleveland, nor did it repre-
sent merely his personal opinion. 1t
was part of the policy inaugurated long
ago at the instance of scientific author
tiles, partially carried out, with the en-
tire approval of the people, by Mr..
Harrison, and followed up by Mr..
Cleveland only after careful inv>ssiga-
ton of the whole question. 1t WAS an
act of the creates public benefit to
the country as a whole. 1t was des-
tined to preserve our forests, to guard
the sources of water supply, and to
prevent those destructive alterations
of drought and flood from which the
country suffers more and more severe
1y as a reckless denudation of its for
est areas goes on. To put tariff on
10 n
cut down their own trees, instead of
resorting to the abundant supplies of
their neighbors, and then to forbid that
any portion of the forests that remain
shall be protected from the lumber
mans ak, is in keeping with the other
policies that find favor with our SEN
ate.
1t mattered nothing that Senator
Gray pointed out that Mr.. Clevelands
action was merely carrying out the
recommendation of the national asso-
citation of science after years of study
of the problem. A few of the Western
senators, at the instance of lumber
syndicates and speculative Iand-grab-
bers, demanded the throwing down of
all barriers, and these senators are at
present in the saddle. Therefore, they
succeeded in tanning through the
amendment authorizing the president
to. revoke, modify or suspend" orders
and proclamations designating forest
reserves, and specifically suspended the
operation of the executive orders and
proclamations of the last administra-
ton until further action shall be taken
We have little hope that this act will
be negatived by the house. That body
viii be subject to pressure from the
same combination that is aIl-powerful
in the senate. Worse than that, the
interests which are behind this sundry
civil bill are so powerful that they will
not be willing to hazard the failure of
the jobs which they have incorporat fed
IN 1t merely to serve the public inter-
est by maintaining the forest reserves
The attention of the people has not
been called sufficiently to the charac
y
pose which it is now regularly made
to serve. The amount of old claims
against the government of the United
States, mostly fraudulent, which are
constantly before congress clamoring
for recognition, is something appalling.
We have been informed that the total
of bills of this sort now presented to
congress in one shape or another is
little short of $25O,OOO,0 OO Probably
nine-tenths of this represents claims
that have no shadow of honesty, but
are merely schemes for looting the pub
lie treasury, whose promoters force
them upon senators and representa-
tives as the price of their political sup
port. Of this vast aggregate, a portion
every year goes through the two
houses by a combination of party in
terests. Not much less than 500, 900, 900
of such appropriations are included in
this monstrous sundry civil bill, and
we can expect the total to mount by
millions at a leap with each succeed
ing session, until the people are suffi-