Evening star., 1901-10-12
ACRES OF STUMPS
Turned in as Forest and Owners In
demnihed.
COURT OF LAND CLAIMS NEEDED
Government Defrauded in Public
Reservations.
CURT OF LAND CLAIMS NEEDED
NEW METHODS DEMANDED
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
DENVER, Col, October g. 1901.
The present scheme of forest reservation
and the administration of the same are CIV
ing rise TO many complications due to i'm
perfections in the law, and an apparent lack
of understanding on the part of those
charged with carrying It out.
About fifty million acres of forest have
been reserved from the public domain for
the purpose of protecting not only the tim
Der but the water supply originating in the
mountains These reservations have in
variably been made upon straight north and
south and east and west lines, generally
following the section lines of the land sur
veys. AS 1t Is evident that no forest or
forest land is found in exactly rectangular
blocks it must follow that in these reser-
vations are many acres of open valley land
suitable for settlement or upon which set
Element has been made. The reservations
have been set aside, however, regardless
of this fact and those who already had Sc
cured land from the government within the
lines of these new reserves have been COM
pensated by being given transferable scrip
entitling them TO take up other govern
ment land acre for acre in lieu OF the iand
absorbed in the forest reservation.
30 much OF this scrip has been issued or
late that It has become recognized mar
ketable product. and the going price for the
same IN Washington, Idaho and other
Tsates where reservations have been made
II IS per acre This scrip Is bought by
those who have exhausted their land rights
as citizens to further extend their posses
Sions, by large live stock companies to per-
feet their hold upon the public range, and
By railroads and other corporations who
have need of certain pieces of land for
which there is no other way to obtain title
This scheme of issuing indemnity scrip has
made an opening for widespread abuse of a
law which was thoroughly good In its in
tent. 1t Is a drawback to any section Of
the country to have the mountain valleys
reserved from settlement. for these valleys
ofttimes contain the richest and most ara
bic land and furnish admirable live stock
ranches The reservation Of the forest Is
Of course enormously beneficial but the
same result could be secured by making
these reservations conform to the timber
and not to section lines. That Is to say
the timber district could be drawn out up
on man according to the topography Of
the country and not according to the sur
veys. This would include all of the forests
and exclude all Of the land which might
have been settled upon or could be sett, ed
upon IN the future. This plan is highly in
dorsed by Prof. Pinchot of the bureau Of
forestry and by Mr.. Newell, the chief of
the hydrographical survey; but for some
reason or other there seems to be great
difficulty in securing consideration for this
much needed change In the present system
Have Timber and Land.
The result of issuing scrip to settlers
within the forest reservations has been
that in many instances they have obtained
indemnity land In lieu of other land from
which they have stripped all of the timber
ana which was taken up by these settlers
tor me sole purpose Of securing the lum-
Der which could be cut therefrom. In cases