The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-05-30
Mr.. JONES IS HONOREp.
SELECTED TO PREPARE SUBsTI-
TUTE FOREST RESERVE BILL
HIS Recomm endatfOns in Regard to
the Lands of Settlers on Reserves
Prove Acceptable to the House

Special Dispatch to the Post-Intelligencer.
WASHINGTON, May 29.-The house
committee on public lands honored Rep
resentative Jones by selecting him to pre-
pare a substitute bill relating to the land
of settlers in forest reserves. The report
of the house. which Mr.. Jones submitted
IN connection will the substitute meas
ure, is as follows:
The sundry civil bill approved June 4,
1888. contains the following provision:
That in cases in which a tract covered
by an unprotected bona fide claim or by
a patent is included within the limits Of a
public forest reservation, the settler or
owner thereof may. if he desires to do
so. relinquish the tract to the government,
and may select In lieu thereof a tract of
vacant land open to settlement not ex-
ceeding in area the tract covered by his
claim or patent; and no charge shall be
made in such cases for making the entry
OF record or issuing the patent to cover
the tract selected; provided further. that
IN cases OF unprotected claims the require
ments of the laws respecting settlement,
residence, improvements. and 50 forth.
are compiled with on the new claims.
credit being allowed for the time spent on
the relinquished claims
II win be noted that this bill provides
tnat lieu selections may be made of "a
tract OF vacant land open to settlement"
rms provision was construed by the sec
rotary of the interior. and no doubt prop
erly,. to allow lieu selections under said
provision to be made from both surveyed
ana unsurveyed vacant public land.
This provision was no doubt inserted in
this great appropriation bill and adopted
without much consideration. The OBJ
Ject OF the provision, as IL was no doubt
UNDERSTOOD was p~raiseworthy. Many
inchoate claims and many perfected claims
were Included within the limits of forest
reservations The purpose of these res
ervations would be best Accomplished by
eliminating private claims. and this was
me object OF ene provision. The evil
n ms provision. however, is in allowing
lieu selections to be made from unsur-
veyed lands. 1t was certainly not the
intention to allow such selections. but
II was done. This was a departure from
ment Many laws have heretofore been
passed providing for lieu selections. but
THESE selections have almost uniformly
been confined to surveyed lands. Scrip
and land warrants have been permitted.
put their location has always been con-
nhed to surveyed lands, except in the
raaehsd Of valentine scrip: This scrip
could be located upon any vacant public
land.
No Benefit to Settlers.
Almost all claims within forest reserva-
tons, III not all, consist OF the claims 81
settlers who have not yet received title.
ana lAnd grants to railroads and other
companies. BY existing law these compan-
les can release their worthless land and get
NfF N'iN - III Hcu OF III. Inc existing
law H. OF but little benefit to the %settlers
because II they should avail themselves of
us provisions they would not only nave 10
select Ecu lands, but would have To res,de
upon the same until surveys were made
before they could make proof and get title.
The law gives them credit for the time
they have lived upon their claims within
the forest reservations and the proposed
law makes no change In this respect on
the contrary the existing law is OF great
benefit to the party having fun title 10
land WITHIN a forest reservation No
ter what the character of his land may be
ne can surrender IL to the government and
pick out The very best'land I'm the country
that Is vacant and unoccupied and hold 1t
against any one. Even II his land has been
cleared ne can surrender II and take the
very best timber land he can fnd. and a
very large amount of land within these
forest reservations that can be thus sur.
rendered to the government r. absolutely
worthless, being nothing more than the
tops OF mountains and areas Of rock not
even fit for grazing, This land can be sur
rendered and the very best timber land In
the world selected IN lieu of IL. Further
more. separate tracts within these reserva-
lions can he surrendered to the government
and relocated In one body. thus enabling
syndicates or corporations to buy up sraIi
tracts and relocate upon large bodies CT
unsurvevtd timber lands; timber lands
which the government Itself cannot dis
pose Of otherwise until surveyed The re
suit OF this law has been that worthless
tracts of land within these forest reserves
have beer. given a value OF three, four or
i've ana often more dollars an acre. TnPr
have Furnished n most profitable inves.-
ment for spectators and deprived the gov
eminent of some Of IT'S most valuable lard
While It Is true that II Is not the policy
OF the government to make money out Of
the public domain, IL IL its policy To Sc
cure settlement. and as many Individual
holdings as possible. BY the operation OF
existing law. however. this Is not done.
II places the owners Of land within forest
reserves upon a different footing from
any one else. II gives them privileges In
a fpTpnpfa TING Y4ahifn AAn.ntp aIf1uraI -
no other class OF people.
All Have Same Riaht.